Evaluation: Slammed

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I just recently finished a novel entitled Slammed by Colleen Hoover in 2012. This young adult romance novel is a New York Times Bestseller. This novel is about a young girl named Layken who must grow up immediately and become the rock for her family when her father dies. She must now balance school, a job, and keeping her mom and younger brother emotionally stable, all while trying to maintain her emotional stability. Her world is full of confusion when Will Cooper enters. Once she finds out that their lives are strangely similar, he brings hope back to her life. Unfortunately, shortly after they realize they are basically soul-mates, they are stopped dead in their tracks. They must decide between staying together, sneaking around, and ending what they share based on the secret that tears them apart.

The criteria for writing a young adult romance novel is keeping the interest of a young adult, having a useful lesson at the end of the novel, all while maintaining the accuracy of a young-adult lifestyle. I think Colleen Hoover did a wonderful job of completing the criteria. The heart-stopping pace of this novel makes a reader not want to put it down. “If you're in a reading slump, and you want to try something genuinely unique, unlike anything else out there-here's your book...I honestly don't want to tell you any more. And when you hit that point at about 20% or so that makes you go,"OMFG!"-that's your departure point, right there. Strap in and put your tray in the upright position” says Tammara Webber, author of New York Times best-seller, EASY. This author reassures that there is no putting this novel down once you get to that one crucial piece of information dropped on you. Every young adult reader that enjoys a good romance novel will undoubtedly get emotionally attached to the emotional rollercoaster of Layken’s life. The emotional attachment Hoover creates with the characters is what keeps the reader well interested and makes them not able to put the book down. The heart-wrenching way Hoover does this in Slammed makes the novel that much more enjoyable. Hoover also conveys some important life lessons throughout the novel. Readers realize that no matter what obstacles you come across in life, if it is meant to be the obstacles become miniscule. Through Layken’s life, she learns that sometimes life gets in the way of wants. Obstacles that make her just want to give up get dealt with and the novel ends on a happy note. This novel is definitely accurate to the lifestyle of a young adult. There’s the pressure of doing what is right versus what you’re heart says is right, a normal pressure for a young adult. Overall I think the novel’s place on the New York Times Bestsellers is very well deserved.