Slammed Review

Book Review

The novel even Non-Poets will appreciate!!

Slammed by: Colleen Hoover

★★★★★ 5 Stars 

Blurb:  Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she's losing hope.
Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope.
Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart.

Slammed will make you laugh, cry (the good kind) and change your life. It will easily become one of your favorite books, even after reading it five times. 

Slammed is what every good book should be: Awesome. I read this book in a matter of hours and could not believe how sad I was when it ended, even with book two, Point of Retreat , sitting right next to me. This was truly an amazing read that was not a bit what I expected and still managed to exceed my expectations.

The main theme in this book is life; living it, living through it and how to get over it. The loss these characters endure, is remarkably heartbreaking, but have no fear, Slammed, is far from a sad, mopey and depressing read.

Layken (combo of Layla and Kennedy) struggles to find herself in a new state, after the loss of her father during her senior year of high-school. Layken is such a strong character and extraordinary role-model. She struggles just like normal people and had to go through a self-evolution that was interesting to experience with her. Somehow Layken manages to find herself amidst the crisis that is her life. She must pass through the stages of grief, far too many times, and each time she pulls through stronger than before. Even when her relationship with Will is anything but normal she manages to portrays an adult-like persona that I doubt I could even manage, considering the circumstance.

Have I not mentioned how much I love Layken and Will. Their chemistry is immediate and drew me in from the beginning. But these two have no easy love/romance and it's a constant struggle to remain aloof and pretend their okay with the way things are, even when we all know they are not.

Wow. The slams at Club N9ne were truly impressive. I've never been too fond of poetry myself, but every time Will performed I could visualize him perfectly, shouting, leaning, jumping and just plain performing at each precise moment, giving each word a life of it's own. Really gave this book a whole new element that I've never read before. These slam poems are anything but normal, and they give the characters a unique outlet, that not only expresses their pain and passion but releases their grief in a manner they are able to tolerate. Will shoots it out of the park every-time.

Layken's mom was a very special character. Extremely strong till the end, really putting her kids and their happiness above all else. When she helped the boys make their outlandish Halloween costumes, she really became special. Plus this brought on my favorite line that had me laughing so hard my dogs gave me the stink eye for waking them up.

Katy, "She just wanted to know where we got the materials for your costume so she can be a hemmorrhoid next year," (292).

Enough for now, but if you haven't read Slammed, stop reading this, immediately and go out and read it. You will be happy you did.

HAPPY READING!