Ditched: A Love Story [Hardcover]

Robin Mellom (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 3, 2012

High school senior Justina Griffith was never the girl who dreamed of going to prom. Designer dresses and strappy heels? Not her thing. So she never expected her best friend, Ian Clark, to ask her.

Ian, who always passed her the baseball bat, handle first.

Ian, who knew exactly when she needed red licorice.

Ian, who promised her the most amazing night at prom. 

And then ditched her.

Now, as the sun rises over her small town, and with only the help of some opinionated ladies at the 7-Eleven, Justina must piece together -- stain by stain on her thrift-store dress -- exactly how she ended up dateless. A three-legged Chihuahua was involved. Along with a demolition derby-ready Cadillac. And there was that incident at the tattoo parlor. Plus the flying leap from Brian Sontag's moving car...

But to get the whole story, Justina will have to face the boy who ditched her. And discover if losing out at prom can ultimately lead to true love.

Filled with humor, charm, and romance, Ditched: A Love Story by debut novelist Robin Mellom will have readers dreaming of love on their own prom nights.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Every girl dreams about her prom night. If Justina’s perfect prom night plan was to lose her date, ruin her dress, ride around with pot smokers, and eventually wind up in a ditch, then her dreams came true. As she recounts the comically pathetic evening by pointing out the stains on her thrift store dress, Justina realizes that maybe her best friend/date, Ian, didn’t have the best time either. Will she able to salvage their friendship and even move a step forward, or did the prom take that, too? Author Mellom’s debut is a laugh-out-loud tale of a prom nightmare. She understands what makes teens giggle and what makes them cringe as she glances over some mature issues including sex, drugs, and alcohol, but Justina and Ian maintain a sweet, innocent relationship. Give this one to those non-Cinderella types who have a knack for getting into trouble. Grades 9-12. --Bethany Fort

About the Author

Robin Mellom (www.robinmellom.com) has taught grades five through eight and has a master's degree in education. Ditched: A Love Story is her first novel. Her new middle grade series, The Classroom, launches in June 2012. She lives with her husband and son on the Central Coast of California. Follow her on Twitter (@robinmellom).

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (January 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423143388
• ISBN-13: 978-1423143383
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #450,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robin Mellom has taught grades five through eight and has a master's degree in education. DITCHED: A LOVE STORY is her first novel. Her new middle grade series, THE CLASSROOM, launches in June 2012. She lives with her husband and son on the Central Coast of California. Visit her at www.robinmellom.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Super fun January 10, 2012

By S. Power TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Ditched: A Love Story begins at the end with Justina being pushed out of a car in a very stained prom dress. She makes her way into a convenience store where she tells her story to the cashier. We are brought to the beginning of the story and Justina explains everything that happened leading up to her stumbling into the convenience store starting with the events that led up to prom.

This was a delightfully entertaining love story. While at first I didn't like Justina I grew to love her as the book went on and her missteps and disasters were so funny. She was flawed in a very real way but was still sweet. The other characters seemed very real from her best friend to Ian and Mike and Other Mike. The book was fairly short and a very fast read which I finished in a few hours. It reminded me of an end of the year crazy teen movie about that one crazy night where everything goes wrong but ends up ok in the end.

Appropriateness: This is a book with lots of teen behavior and the teenagers act like teenagers. There is drinking by other characters however, the main character does not drink. There also seems to be a constant search for designated drivers which gives this book a nice anti-drunk driving message. There is a set of stoner characters who talk about their bong. Justina's romantic situation is in part due to the fact that she and her best friend tried to kiss as many people as possible when they were younger which gives a nice message about how your past actions will follow you. There is no sex and the romance is limited to a bit of kissing. Despite all of this I wouldn't have a problem with handing this book to even a young middle schooler because the message is ultimately a good one. Justina has to deal with the consequences of her past actions and the whole experience is related in a way that does not glorify any of the negative behaviors. I would recommend this book to teens 13+

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great teen read January 11, 2012

By Cathe Fein Olson VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

It's prom night, and Justina has decided this will be a magical night when her relationship with her best friend Ian will become more than friends. But things go horribly awry, and she ends up ditched--in an actual ditch. As Justina relates the tragedy of her night to a sympathetic 7-11 clerk, the reader finds out all the messy details. This was a crazy, funny, and touching story that teen girls (and teen girls at heart) won't be able to put down.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Hilariously Endearing January 10, 2012

By For Love and Books

Format:Hardcover

Ditched had me at dyed iridescent shoes! Justina is pretty much everything I was in high school (except she's cool and I was kind of a giant geek with my thrift store shopping at my "rich side of town" school.) And she gets to go to prom with her dream date!

I could tell you my prom story, but I won't. My Junior Prom kind of sucked. But after Justina's story? I'll quit complaining. This poor girl, she had me both shaking my head at her choices and wanting to pull her under my wing.

In her debut book, Robin Mellom had me laughing out loud the entire time. I mean, Dog Swapping? Really? The troublesome teen in me is a bit jealous I didn't come up with the idea and/or convince my friends to partake!

The characters are vivid, unique and full of life. The perfect mixture of teenage angst and middle aged meddling. Justina truly was the star of the show, but the Marks and the Ledbetter girls have a special place in my heart. I also have to note that I loved that the main love interest was not even present for much of the book.

If you are looking for a light hearted read that will have you laughing and cringing, I highly recommend Ditched: A Love Story by Robin Mellom!