If I Tell by Janet Gurtler

Title: If I Tell
Author: Janet Gurtler
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: October 11, 2011
Source: Thanks Negalley and Sourcebooks!

Summary: Jasmine Evans knows one thing for sure... people make mistakes. After all, she is one. Jaz is the result of a onenight stand between a black football player and a blonde princess. Having a young mother who didn't raise her, a father who wants nothing to do with her and living in a small-minded town where she's never fit in hasn't been easy. But she's been surviving. Until she sees her mom's new boyfriend making out with her own best friend. When do you forgive people for being human or give up on them forever?

Review: It's safe to say that I was throughly surpsied by If I Tell.

It was hard for me to get into If I Tell, for some resason it was very hard for me to connect to the characters and their problems. Jaz is a bi-racial girl in a very small town. I felt for her but she had a somewhat whiny voice. Thankfully, I connected with her but it was at the very end when she was coming to accept who she was and what she needed to do to make her life better. For some reason it was just hard for me.

One of my favorite things about If I Tell was the writing. Gurtler had some a special way of putting things and it was just beautiful to read. Even when Jaz was being a little whiny I enjoyed Gurtler's writing. I also appreciated how she conveyed differnet messages throughout the book.

If I Tell definitely had some interesting side characters. I wasn't quite sure what to make of any of them. It was just weird. It was sort of like, what are the purpose of these characters? I can't say that I disliked them but they just irked me a little. I did like Ashley, Jaz's friend from school, who always said what was one her mind and was quite funnny.

Overall, If I Tell has some spotty characters but it should definitely be picked up because of its messages and beautiful wrting.

Rating:

Happy Thanksgiving!