Crush Control by Jennifer Jabaley - Review

I ordered this book on recommendation from Kristi The Story Siren, and it turned out to be just as great as I thought it would!

Summary from Goodreads:

Willow has spent most of her life as her mother's sidekick in a popular Las Vegas hypnotism show. So when she and her mom move back to their sleepy southern hometown to start over, she thinks she's in for a life of quiet normalcy. Except that her new life turns out to be anything but, when she kinda sorta hypnotizes Quinton, the hottest guy on the football team, to fall madly, deeply, head over heels in love with her. But what started out as an innocent way to make her best friend, Max, jealous soon gets way out of hand, and Willow begins to wonder if the mind - and more importantly, the heart - is something you can really control.

My Thoughts:

I really did enjoy this light, quick read. Willow is a great character and I didn't find it hard to identify with her. To me, she is indicative of so many teenage girls out there whose only desire is to fit in, or be accepted and she makes some bad decisions in her quest to do just that.

I really liked the idea of her making a transition from glitzy Las Vegas to a sleepy little Georgia town, it really added to the overall story.

Of course, Willow learns some valuable lessons and lucky for her she doesn't do enough damage that it can't be reversed. She comes to know who is important to her, who is true, and why she needs to remain true to herself if she wants to truly find her niche.

One part of the novel that I really appreciated as a teacher is how the author made a point to show that academics were important to the "popular" crowd. Many times in reality they are not, so it is nice to see that showcased here.

While this novel wasn't full of memorable passages for me, I did see one passage that I wanted to share:

"I thought about Mia's beach photo and realized that maybe there was no perfect model family. Maybe the more you try to mold and create something, the more likely it is to crack. Maybe, instead, we all had to find our individual best selves and that happiness would bond us together as a whole."

I would HIGHLY recommend this novel - it is the perfect light summer read! And since I haven't read Jennifer's other novel Lipstick Apology it is definitely on my TBR list now!