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Not Exactly a Love Story Hardcover – December 11, 2012

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Audrey Couloumbis (Author)
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Audrey Couloumbis (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars 15 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Age Range: 12 and up
  • Grade Level: 7 and up
  • Lexile Measure: HL660L (What's this?)
  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (December 11, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 037586783X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0375867835
  • Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 1 x 5.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,829,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars3.5/5-a review from Bookworm1858
By bookworm1858 VINE VOICE on March 16, 2013
Format: Hardcover
Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

As seems to happen so often to me of late, I am of two minds about this book, one very positive, the other latching onto one element that really drags down the rating of the book because it just strikes me the wrong way. It's a huge bummer because of course I want to love every book I read.

Let's start with the good, which is that this is a historical. It is so weird to classify this it that way but it is set in 1977 while being written today so that is what it technically is (sidenote: props to Coulombis for not making any characters obsessed with Star Wars because I would have been unable to resist that temptation). But it feels very contemporary with its focus on high school, love, and family. I especially loved the family plot, which has Vinnie's parents getting divorced, his mother almost immediately remarried, and Vinnie moving across the city, forced to attend a new school and getting bullied. He's also navigating crushes including the beautiful popular Patsy who is dating Vinnie's bully. All of these parts were just fine with a good balance struck between everything.

What is the bad then? Well, Vinnie steals the phone number to the private line of Patsy, who lives next door to him. He decides to call her at midnight and his opening line is...shall we say...not smooth. He sounds like a pervert and he continues to call her, trying to develop a real relationship. Along the way he thinks about how she could've been nicer and more understanding but it's not like she owes him anything. It's also really creepy that she learns he goes to her school but he refuses to divulge his name or his private number or anything about himself.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsVery Odd and Lovable
By Christina (A Reader of Fictions) on March 18, 2013
Format: Hardcover
Despite not ever having heard anything about Couloumbis or Not Exactly a Love Story, I was intrigued. I mean, how many YA books do you hear about set in the 1970s? That's just not a popular era for historical fiction yet. At first, I wasn't too sure whether this was going to be something I would enjoy. Vinnie's narrative voice grated a bit at first and the plot does some...interesting...things, but in the end, Couloumbis won me over to her odd, unique, surprisingly sweet story.

When we meet Vinnie, his girl, the girl he's been crushing on, has moved away. His parents then announce their divorce. Vinnie doesn't take this particularly well. His previously high grades slip. He even fails gym, a feat he didn't think was actually possible. Of course, this means his gym teacher, Mr. B, has to meet with his mother about the situation. Then Mr. B and his mom start dating, marry, and move.

Vinnie immediately develops a crush on the gorgeous girl next door, whose room he can see through his window. Yes, he does peek. That's Vinnie. He imagines that she will go for him, even if he isn't a jock type. For the first day of his new school, he dresses to showcase his sweet style by wearing his rad leather pants. Mind you that this was in summer. Oh, Vinnie and his leather pants. This was one of those factors that sold the time period, and reminded me about how crazy the characters all must have looked (like photos of my parents in college). Sadly, though, Patsy, the neighbor, does not take any notice of him, focusing her attentions on the new football star, who Vinnie nicknames Biff.

Here's where things take a turn for the different: Biff obtains Patsy's number, but accidentally drops it in the locker room. Vinnie finds the number and takes it.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsCompelling But Left with Mixed Feelings
By Books31 on January 6, 2013
Format: Hardcover
So I had mixed feelings for Not Exactly a Love Story. I felt compelled to read it to the point that I couldn't put it down, yet at the same time I didn't love the protagonist.

Don't get me wrong, I commiserated with his feelings of inadequacy, his nervousness, and even his changing personalities, but I just couldn't relate to some of the personalities he creates in the book, nor the drastic change in between each personality. For a character who doesn't have a serious mental disability the changing personalities should not have been so dramatic. As for the personas that I didn't like, The over confidence of the phone caller was a bit much, and the fact that Patsy would stay on the phone after Vinnie was so crude and offensive boggles the mind and made me almost want to put the book down right there. Also on top of that point why in the world would he say something like that (I do understand that there must be conflict for the story to move forward but there must also be a sense of realism in a book like this, otherwise a reader will just roll their eyes and move on).

Besides those troubling aspects of the book I find myself leaning towards recommending the book. As I mentioned before there was some aspect that compelled me to keep reading, I'm not sure exactly what it was, but compelled I was. Possibly it was the interesting side characters such as Vinnie's father and step-father, who grow into likable and more realistic characters. Possibly it was Vinnie's growth over the course of the book, whether it be through his athletic prowess or his emotional growth. Or possibly it was just the speed of the book, moving at a good clip that intrigues the reader while not leaving out important details.

Who knows exactly what it was that made this book compelling, but it was and so if you're looking for a YA book to read give Not Exactly a Love Story a shot.

[...]
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great read!

Published 9 months ago by renaenightengale
4.0 out of 5 starsA Cute YA Contemporary that Focuses on the Relationships with the...

What a cute and quick read! It’s a feel good story with adorable and relatable relationships.

Vinnie and Patsy’s phone conversations are precious. Read more

Published 18 months ago by Ryann Dannelly
4.0 out of 5 starsCute story with great voice narrative!

I listened to this audiobook while commuting to my job and while working. It was a cute story without any complication. Read more

Published 21 months ago by Heather
5.0 out of 5 starsEngaging characters in a fine story

I love this book!
Set in 1977, the story is not stuck there, but this time period offers a solidity at expounding the plot without having to compete with modern technology,... Read more

Published on March 27, 2014 by Deborah Sandford
5.0 out of 5 starsSwitched Roles

I like it when a female writes from a guy's perspective and when a guy writes from a girl's perspective. This book was absolutely grand. It was so worth $10.99. Read more

Published on August 27, 2013 by SabrinaSullivan
3.0 out of 5 starsReview: Not Exactly a Love Story

Vinnie is a high school student with a face full of acne and an extremely awkward personality that makes you sympathize with him. Read more

Published on March 20, 2013 by Kris
4.0 out of 5 starsQuirky yet heartwarming

What happens when a teenage boy finds himself in possession of the unlisted number of the beautiful girl next door? Read more

Published on March 3, 2013 by Sue Poduska
5.0 out of 5 starsTerrific juvenile book - great story even for an adult

I'm an adult, but I really admire well-done juvenile literature. I blasted through _Not Exactly A Love Story_ in my spare time over the last couple days, and find myself wanting... Read more

Published on February 8, 2013 by Karl Erich Martell
4.0 out of 5 starsSolid story

Vinnie is not having a good year, and he keeps messing up. He doesn't mean to make things harder for himself, but it keeps happening. Read more

Published on January 27, 2013 by CWilli00
3.0 out of 5 starsIt's ok

First time I have read this author. The book did not keep my interest but I always finish what I start reading. Maybe a little juvenile for me.

Published on January 17, 2013 by Roberta Scott

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