Customer Reviews

Boy Down Under

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Have you ever tried to explain something but you can't? Maybe you can't find the right words or maybe you don't really even know what happened. When Rowena (Ro) and her mother move to Sydney, Australia, Ro runs into a guy named Patrick Carroll. Actually, he jumps onto her balcony. Right away, Ro feels at ease around him, and she is having the time of her life. Everyday when she and Patrick go on a walk they end up in the most exotic places like, gorgeous gardens, outstretching deserts, and beautiful white sanded beaches. Wherever Ro goes, she sees Patrick. Ro is so excited about Patrick but scared at the same time. One day Hallie, Ro's friend from the United States, calls her. Hallie tells Ro she will be able to come to see her during Spring Break. Ro is ecstatic. She tries to tell Hallie about Patrick but her mouth won't let her. She is just not able to say his name to anyone. When Spring Break comes, Hallie goes to Australia to visit Ro. The first thing Hallie wants to do is meet Ro's unexplained boyfriend. While Hallie is in town, things begin to go wrong between Ro and Patrick.
I loved this book. It kept me wanting to turn the page and find the resolution to Ro's problem. The lesson is, if something is making you happy, other people won't necessarily share your happiness. This book takes you to the most exotic places while sitting your favorite chair.

After being yanked from high school and all her friends when her mom takes an assignment in Australia, Rowena (Ro) is naturally lonely. Her heart's cry is heard by a strange young man who is literally beyond description and lands on her balcony. Although she can never remember what Patrick looks like and can't even say or write his name to tell anyone about him, Ro finds herself falling in love. It makes no sense at all, but he gives her all her dreams. When Patrick is around, time stands still and she can walk in the clouds. Is he a dream or an angel? Though he claims to be real, and even gives her roses that people can actually see, there is something mysterious about Patrick. Maybe he is not a ghost or angel, but he definitely is hiding something spooky.

**** I am almost reluctant to categorize this as young adult; it has a depth that you will only understand after reading it, but a magical quality that perhaps you must be at least a child at heart to grasp. Everyone needs a Patrick in there life, even if it's only in print. ****

All-American girl, Rowena - Ro - Maven, isn't completely excited when her Mother, Dr. Mold, informs her that the two of them will be heading to Sydney, Australia for a year, so that she can conduct a series of lectures in the great Down Under. However, Ro knows that she can try to make the best of it. After all, there are sure to be tons of hot guys with abs of steel, who surf daily along the beach in the bright sunshine. But boy is she wrong. In fact, everything in Aussie is completely boring - or gross, meaning the Roach Hotel she's forced to stay in - until she meets Patrick Carroll, who sppears out of nowhere one day. Soon, Ro has her very own boyfriend, but there's something strange about Patrick. In the blink of an eye the two of them are transported to secluded areas where they exchange ethereal kisses. But the strangest fact is that no one but Ro can even see Patrick, and she can't tell anyone about him, making her think that she could be imagining his presence completely. Then she does the ultimate wrong-doing. She tells her best friend Hallie, and suddenly he's gone. Leaving her to do nothing more than guess about where he could possibly have gone.

Sally Odgers is a wonderful new author to join the team of Smooch YA, as her vivid descriptions, and unique, yet magical situations and plotlines, are utterly unbelievable, and will draw readers in left and right. BOY DOWN UNDER is a lovely tale of first love, filled with a bit of paranormal phenomena, that will capture the hearts of romantics young and old within the first chapter. An absolute must-have for all.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

When Dr. Craig is hurt in a stateside car accident, his agent needs a viable substitute to provide the series of lectures in Down Under. He chooses another client Dr. Mold to provide the talks. Dr. Mold takes her teenage daughter Rowena "Ro" Maven with her.

In Sydney, Ro finds herself totally bored until a strange teen Patrick Carroll falls from the sky. He begins to take her places that she can only dream of, a departure from the Roach Hotel that is Ro's reality. With a blink they are alone on secluded beaches and though he seems ephemeral, his kisses are realistic. With her best friend too far away in the states to help her, Ro has her first boyfriend, who no one else can see or even mention him to anyone. When she finally does he vanishes leaving Ro to learn who is the enigmatic Patrick and where did he go for she does not want to be without him?

This young teen romantic fantasy provides readers with an intriguing tale as the audience will wonder if Patrick is just a figment of a lonely girl's imagination and if not who and what is he. Readers will enjoy the "dating" of Patrick and Ro as he escorts her to isolated places and never is seen by anyone but her. Teen readers will want to join Ro as she seeks to solve the mystery of the BOY DOWN UNDER that she cares about.

Harriet Klausner

Another failure in my quest to find another book like Twilight. The description sounded promising:

All-American girl, Rowena - Ro - Maven, isn't completely excited when her Mother, Dr. Mold, informs her that the two of them will be heading to Sydney, Australia for a year, so that she can conduct a series of lectures in the great Down Under. However, Ro knows that she can try to make the best of it. After all, there are sure to be tons of hot guys with abs of steel, who surf daily along the beach in the bright sunshine. But boy is she wrong. In fact, everything in Aussie is completely boring - or gross, meaning the Roach Hotel she's forced to stay in - until she meets Patrick Carroll, who appears out of nowhere one day. Soon, Ro has her very own boyfriend, but there's something strange about Patrick. In the blink of an eye the two of them are transported to secluded areas where they exchange ethereal kisses. But the strangest fact is that no one but Ro can even see Patrick, and she can't tell anyone about him, making her think that she could be imagining his presence completely. Then she does the ultimate wrong-doing. She tells her best friend Hallie, and suddenly he's gone. Leaving her to do nothing more than guess about where he could possibly have gone.

Sadly, this story works better as a summary than an actual book. The writing is very poor and feels like a first effort. The romance between Ro and Partrick was really bizarre. Patrick comes across as creepy and stalker-ish. The real issue I had with this book was the explanation for Patrick; It was ridiculous and unsatisfying.