Customer Reviews

I Know It's Over

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read another review that said I Know It's OVer was going to break my heart, so I picked it up and was prepared to be totally heartbroken. I might have even been looking forward to it, because I like a good heartbreaking story (it's usually the happy ones that freak me out).

But as much as I thought I was prepared for this book, I totally wasn't. It doesn't just break your heart--that's putting it too mildly--this book will rip your heart out of your chest, break it a thousand times over and then direct you to the cupboard where the glue is so you can begin the process of pasting the pieces of your old heart into a NEW heart.

The good news: it's so worth it.

I Know It's Over is a book about a guy named Nick and his intense, all-consuming relationship with a girl named Sasha. The two are so full of each other they can hardly breathe. When they break up, Sasha citing a need for space, Nick is devastated. It's not what he wants and he struggles to understand how it's something she could.

And then Sasha comes back--not to tell Nick she wants to get back together... but to tell him she's pregnant. Together--but not--they must figure out what to do, how to cope and how to continue after the decision is made.

This is one YA novel that really impressed me. It tackles some big issues--teen pregnancy, sex, sexuality--but never once feels like an Issue Book. Martin never once goes for a melodramatic or heavy-handed approach, nor does she have an agenda, which is sure to make people on either side of the fence mad.

Nick is one of the most memorable male protagonists I've read in a long time. His observations are candid and devastating. He's a frustrated, 16-year-old guy, struggling with his own perceptions of himself and other people's perceptions of him. Martin drives home the fact that it's tough just to be a teenager, let alone one who is about to go through the things that Nick goes through. Martin is also excellent at taking down walls between characters and the reader. If you don't know these people, you will know them. I think that familiarity is especially important when considering the book's subject matter.

The writing is frank, brutal, beautiful and emotionally confrontational. I'm sure it'll force people to ask questions they don't want to ask. After reading I Know It's Over, I'm convinced there's nothing Martin won't say and that's good. That's what I want on my YA shelf. That's what I want on EVERY YA shelf...

A heart-strings pulling story about teenage love, friendships, and family, consequential life-altering decisions and understanding, and the evolvement of [forced] maturity within a brief span of time - while still holding on to the characteristical youth... as life goes on.

Not just your everyday, sappy "teddy bear love" type of teenage love that disintegrates almost as soon as it begins - but rather, the kind that unexpectedly takes your breath away and reformulates your heart's desire with its permanent indentation. The friendships, which give a solid glimpse into the the effects, pressures, and comraderie that can form within one's youth, and family events and actions that may feel like near tragic stories in the future - all become experiences that shape and guide the younger characters into the years of maturity and eventual adulthood that they inevitably face.

C.K.Kelly Martin portrays each character so accurately to their respected situation, that you will fluidly visualize and hear them speaking in the voices that you know they were intended. She also brilliantly narrates as a 16 year-old boy, and not for one moment will you ever imagine anyone else telling the story.

Although I am not a young adult, I was unable to put this book down for long! The story captures your heart (have I mentioned that yet?) and reaches into your emotions, pulling you into finding out where the path leads for Nick and Sasha.

There are brief moments in a few scenes that may be slightly graphic and heavy for some young readers. With that being said, those particular scenes really do provide for a more deeply rooted and precise understanding of why, how, and where Nick and Sasha are headed by the end of the story. Without those scenes, it may not have painted the picture that the author so beautifully literated for us.

I love young adult books, even though I am way older than most of the characters I read about; I still feel as though I can relate to most of the characters in books.
I have never read anything by C.K. Kelly Martin and I Know It's Over was an amazing book to start off with.
I loved that it was told entirely from 16 year old Nicholas' point of view. Not to often do you find a book about teen pregnancy told from the "fathers" point of view.
I couldn't relate to Nick personally, but I knew how it felt to be a teen and pregnant so I could relate to that aspect of his life.
I don't like the way things were handled between Nick and Sasha. Her parents were a little stricter than I remember any of my friends' parents being, their rules for Sasha dating Nick made sense to an extent, but I feel that when there are a ton of rules placed on teens that the parents are just asking for trouble.
The ups and downs that Nick goes through while waiting for word as to what Sasha is going to do about the " thing" inside her, are really heart breaking. I love that he acted like I believe a normal teen boy would in a situation like that. He didn't shun her or make it all her fault like some teen boys are known to do.
Even though I was not please with what happened in the book, I did enjoy reading it. Nick is a very lovable character.

Overall I thought this was a great book! The characters were great. I loved Jillian's character as well as Sasha, especially the first impression Nick has of her. The plot was great as well but the plot just bugged me a bit. In parts I felt it was just a little to slow, and I felt the beginning was a little confusing but once you got into it, it was fine. Plus, I'm a hardcore pro-life supporter, so I was a bit hard for me to get through it, so that might've been part of my rating.

Nick plans on having a long, carefree summer with no distractions and no problems. What with his parents' divorce and his father's new girlfriend, Nick needs all the downtime he can get. Even the girl he's seeing (Dani) is starting to get to him. The girl is up for anything, but for some reason Nick just doesn't seem that in to it anymore.

But Nick's summer plans of carefree go out the window when Sasha shows up. She's been going to school with him for as long as he can remember. They've just never really talked to each other. One day they do, and suddenly something starts. Sasha is totally different than Dani and isn't about to do anything sexual quite so fast. But Nick and Sasha start getting hot and heavy by the time fall rolls around. And then Sasha breaks it off, saying that she wants to be able to concentrate on school and getting into the best college. Nick is crushed, but there's not much he can do.

Then, on Christmas Eve, Sasha shows up out of nowhere and tells Nick that she's pregnant. Sure, they were always careful and used protection, but one time something happened. Neither one of them thought much about it at the time, but now they're over-analyzing the night. Sasha is hesitant about her decision regarding the baby. After she tells her parents, she decides on an abortion, and doesn't really let Nick have much say. Nick, being so mixed up about the whole situation, really wishes Sasha would talk to him more and let him be involved. But the truth is that they could never really have a relationship again, even with the baby.

With the help of his gay best friend (Nathan) and his other best friend (Keelor), Nick manages to make it through this whole fiasco. But will he ever have another chance with Sasha? And what will Sasha's final choice about the baby be?

First off, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone under the age of seventeen due to the sexual scenes and the topic of pregnancy and all. That said, though, this was such a great read. I loved how it was told from the guy's point of view, which we hardly ever get to see. I felt so bad for Nick from the very beginning. Of course, my heart went out to Sasha, as well.

C.K. Kelly Martin is such a strong writer and this was an amazing book. Her words just jumped off the page to me. I loved Nick's attitude and actions, along with Sasha's. And Nick's younger 14-going-on-30 sister was great. Basically, I loved everything about this book except for the ending. It was okay; I just kind of wanted it to end differently!

But anyway, definitely pick up a copy of this book when it's released. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. And I really hope the author writes another book soon!

Reviewed by: Breanna F.

I've really been dreading writing this review. C.K. Kelly Martin is so sweet, and this is such a great idea (there are plenty of teen pregnancy books out there, but I don't think I've read one from the guy's point-of-view before), so I really wanted to like I Know It's Over, but I just couldn't get into it.

Don't get me wrong - this book is really well-written, a great example of showing instead of telling. The secondary characters are amazing. The family dynamics are great and so realistic, and I loved reading about Nick's relationship with each of his family members. Nick's friends are great characters, too - I really enjoyed reading about Nathan and Keelor and their relationship with Nick. They're great examples of the kind of friendships I'd like to see more often in YA; they're fully-developed characters and have their own problems, but they're still supportive to Nick, especially Nathan. I also liked the small sub-plot with Jillian, and I wish that would have been elaborated on more.

The main storyline, however, didn't work for me, probably because I just couldn't relate to Nick. He's not a bad character, he's just...okay. I don't even know why I didn't like him all that much, but I just couldn't feel for him. The same goes for Sasha - I didn't get her at all. I didn't get her motivations, and I couldn't feel for her, either. And since I couldn't relate to either of the main characters, their relationship didn't work for me, either.

The plot is... well, it's okay. I think Nick's feelings about Sasha breaking up with him got in the way of his feelings about the pregnancy. Maybe it's because this is written from the guy's perspective, but in my opinion, they don't consider their options enough. Both go back and forth in between thinking they can't have a baby and should get an abortion and thinking it would be wrong to get an abortion, but they never even consider adoption. Again, maybe it's because we read about everything from Nick's point of view and not Sasha's, but I would have liked to know some more about how they considered their options, how they made their decision, etc. Nick's feelings about all of it are described really well, but I would have wanted to know more about what actually happened.

I know my review sounds pretty negative, but I do think I Know It's Over is a good book - the writing and secondary characters are great. I, personally, couldn't relate to the main characters and therefore couldn't really get into the main storyline. But whether or not you relate to a character is different for everyone, and a lot of people have liked I Know It's Over a lot (including Courtney Summers, who definitely knows what she's talking about, much better than I do), so I do recommend this book, if just for the writing.

I Know It's Over by C.K. Kelly Martin is a moving young adult drama that reveals some of the complications, choices and consequences that result from an unwanted, unplanned teen pregnancy.

I immensely enjoyed this novel, and the only reason I didn't rate it higher was because it wasn't a novel I would want to re-read. When I rate a book 4 or 5 STARS it means I loved it so much I would want to revisit it down the road. While I am grateful for the experience of reading this novel, I wouldn't ever feel compelled to read it again.

I Know It's Over stood out from other young adult novels. For one thing, it's told from a male's point of view. The majority of the novels I read are told from the female's perspective, if not solely than mainly. Reading from Nick's perspective was realistic and fascinating.

Martin gives you a front-row seat to Nick's thoughts and emotions. And let me tell you, his emotions are all over the place. At the start of this novel, Nick is single and casually "hooking up" with Dani. His unfiltered thoughts and carefree actions were just like your stereotypical 16-year-old boy. He was almost desperate at times, always taking whatever he could get from Dani, and not interested in a monogamous relationship. Are all teenage boys like Nick? No, but I would guess there are a lot like him out there.

When Nick and Sasha start hanging out, it's one emotion after another: pleasure, happiness, anger, betrayal, sadness, frustration, etc. The relationship between Nick and Sasha is true-to-life; it's not a fairy tale. I really appreciate the way Martin portrayed their first time together. She kept things real.

This book has a lot of great characters, especially Nick and Nathan, Nick's best friend who is struggling with his sexuality. I was not, however, a huge fan of Sasha and Keelor, Nick's other best friend. For the life of me, I couldn't understand what Nick saw in Sasha. Even his memories from the beginning of their relationship paint her poorly. She came across as sort of bitchy, sort of judgmental, and extremely selfish. She breaks up with Nick with a stupid, selfish reason. She ignores him and shuts him out. She also doesn't really include Nick in any of the decision-making. I am all for female power, but Sasha never considers Nick's feelings or opinions. That made her selfish.

I gave I Know It's Over by C.K. Kelly Martin 4 STARS (3.5 STARS). I recommend this novel to all young adults. If you are looking for a happy, feel-good book then this probably isn't the book for you. It's not a complete downer, but it's a realistic take on teen pregnancy...so it's not a fairy tale.

Sasha changed Nick's summer plans and before long she changed his life. He wasn't the same guy: flirting with girls and playing hockey with his best friends. Nick started wanting more. He wanted more of his girlfriend, but he was content to let her choose the course of their relationship. They had their ups and downs and then it ended. Nick was heartbroken. A few weeks later, Sasha stops by his house to drop the bomb. She's pregnant. Now Nick doesn't know what to do. She doesn't seem to want him around. He can't tell his mother. He can't seem to do anything, but think about Sasha and how desperately he wants her back. But he knows nothing will ever be the same again....

This book shocked me - because I judged the book by it's cover. I'd heard good things about this book from blogs and also from someone in the library. So I checked out. I wasn't expecting the story to be from Nick's perspective. I think it worked mainly because it was unique. There are other tales of teen pregnancy, but most are from the girl's point of view or reflect negatively against the male in the story. Here, the situation was reversed. Neither partner came out looking good, but each made a significant impact.

When I picked up this book, I was expecting a story about teen pregnancy. And, while this book does open on a note of dealing with this issue, the majority of the book is spent on the relationship between Nick and Sasha before the pregnancy.

The book opens with Nick on Christmas Eve, confronted by his ex-girlfriend, telling him she was pregnant. However, soon after Nick has come face to face with the reality that this is happening to him - his ex who he hasn't spoken to in weeks really is carrying his child, the reader is transported back in time to before Nick and Sasha had a relationship and will continue from that point forth for the majority of the novel.

In some ways, this may have tainted my view of the book. As I read, I found myself constantly saying to myself "Just get on with it. Do it! So that we can get on with the rest of the story," not realizing that the story was more about the relationship then about the pregnancy itself. I think that fact that I already knew how the relationship ended was sort of took away the suspense of the novel - or at least from the novel that I had thought I had picked up.

That said, I found C.K. Kelly Martin's story to be a nuanced account of a relationship in high school. Each character was intricately told and the way that relationships progressed had an aspect of realism that goes beyond some others of it's genre. Despite the novel being about the consequences of sex, Martin never talked down to the audience, and allowed all the sex-ed talk to come from the parents of the children - which added to the realism of the novel.

I found the most interesting side-story in the novel to be Nick's relationship with his two best friends. The storylines that these two have were the part of the story that I could most relate to - and imagine other readers would feel the same. While I never experienced their exact story, the way friendships transform as we age is something I think most people can understand, and the way Martin tells it is beautiful.

Nick's world crashes around him when Sasha Jasinski, his ex and the girl he still loves, tells him she's pregnant on Christmas Eve, forcing him to re-live their unexpected summer relationship and bitter break-up all over again. Now both Sasha and Nick have to figure out what they are going to do...together, even though Sasha keeps making it clear that their relationship is over.

I Know It's Over is one of those books that stands out for being so simple and direct. The drama surrounding a teenage pregnancy is not often told from the point of view of a teen boy, and the change of perspective is refreshing and fascinating. Martin is extremely straightforward in her representation of Nick and Sasha's relationship as they begin to have sex, and she deals with the emotions and the issues that come with such a decision head on instead of trying to gloss over them or sweep them under the rug entirely. The novel is narrated by Nick, but there isn't one moment when his voice seems off or the reader isn't able to identify with him, and Sasha is just as vivid of a character.

Though Sasha's pregnancy is the central focus of the story, Martin balances out that drama with other issues Nick is confronting, like his parent's separation and his evolving friendship with one of his best friends, who is in the process of coming out of the closet. All of these things play off of each other, showing readers a candid picture of Nick's frustration and struggle to simply get through life as a teenager, and highlight his struggles anew as he tries to do the right thing with Sasha when he doesn't have a clue as to what that would be. This powerful, tough, and important book about growing up, loving, and letting go will ask the hard questions and make you think.