Review: Ten Things We Did by Sarah Mlynowski

Ten Things we did is a really fun YA read that combines authentic teen dialogue and situations along with some serious topics. Sixteen Year old April is shocked when her father announces that he and April's  stepmother Penny are moving to Cleveland. Desperate to finish the year  at her current school  and also stay with her boyfriend Noah Lily concocts a plan to stay with her friend Vi  and her mother Suzanne. The deceptions begin quite quickly since Vi's mom is actually on the road for a musical show for six months.

So what do two teen girls living on their own get into? Crazy parties, Buying a Hot Tub, Lying to their parents and there is a little visit to the clinic to get birth control pills.

There is a lot of madcap fun and also intense emotional situations. I especially liked how Sarah unflinchingly covered sex and teen drinking in this book. She wasn't overly preachy but she really shows the emotional and physical after affects of making the choice to have sex. 

Vi also goes through some major changes. Forced by her mother's flightiness to often be the adult of the household Vi finds her self extremely vulnerable and afraid after making love for the first time. So much so that she drives the boy she loves to another girl!

Lily also has to deal with Noah's strange distance towards her after they have sex and her growing feelings for another boy named Hudson. All these events lead up to an intense finale when Lily's dad comes to the house unexpectedly . A house full of boys (some half clothed in the hot tub!) empty alcohol bottles and Lilly in bed with a boy (not her boyfriend either!)

I really enjoyed Sarah's writing style, it was quick and witty and also full of emotional depth. there are plenty of laugh out loud moments as well as romance.

A really great read with a satisfying ending. I'm a fan of Sarah's after this book!