The Snowball Effect

All of a sudden, everything that 18-year-old Lainey Pike's ever known has changed. Her mother has committed suicide -- just months after her stepfather's death in a motorcycle accident -- and it's up to Lainey and the older half sister she barely knows to take care of their young adopted brother. To make matters worse, five-year-old Collin is hardly an easy child. As he's had a rocky start in life, he's got all sorts of behavioral problems. And the only person who seems to be able to handle him -- Lainey's longtime boyfriend Riley -- is the main person she's currently having issues getting along with. Nobody believes that Lainey could possibly want to ditch the seemingly perfect guy she's been with since she was 14 years old. But after a chance encounter with a stranger at the local 7-11 one night, Lainey becomes fixated on "Slurpee Guy," dreaming about starting anew with him as her boyfriend. As time passes and Lainey, Vallery and Collin struggle to become a family in this new version of their lives, Lainey also grapples with what she wants from herself and her life. Unlike most girls coming of age, nothing in Lainey's world is certain -- she doesn't know if her sister will stick around or even where next week's grocery money is coming from, let alone if she might be able to go to college in the fall. It's during this bleak time that Lainey finally begins to ask herself questions, and take charge of her own life. Hoxter's debut novel portrays regular people living regular lives, who are suddenly called upon to make difficult choices. Readers of all ages will be able to identify and sympathize with Lainey, Vallery, and all their friends as they attempt to make sense of the chaos in their lives.

My Thoughts: YES! YES! YES! Its been a little while that I read a book that I absolutely loved. I had seen a few buddies reading this a few months ago, and knew I had to give it a chance from their words on goodreads. I'm so happy I did. It was a great book. We meet Lainey who is 18 but has her whole life ahead of her. She gets thrown into a world of responsibility. Her mother takes her own life which leaves her 5 year old brother and a sister she never knew. We also meet her perfect boyfriend. I really liked Lainey's boyfriend. I loved their relationship and he just seemed so together, I wish I could have dated him at 18. She also meets another guy, who she is drawn too. She is so confused between the two. I also really liked him as well. Thats usually what happens, you get stuck between two great guys!!! They are complete opposites! Honestly I'm happy who she chooses in the end. Lainey has to deal with everything, money, family, boys, best friends, drama, confusion, hurt. I could totally relate to Lainey. She did hold it together most of the time. I would have probably broke down if I had been through everything at her age. I really liked this book. I love the idea of snowballs. I loved the characters. I loved the way she treated her brother. She was just a special girl. Please read this book! Its wonderful! Overall: Loved It! Its wonderful. Cover: Its awesome! I love the way the authors name is across the cups. Its one of the more creative covers I've seen in a while!

Lainey Pike can describe her family by telling you how her family members have died. Her mother, for example, was a depressed and discouraged life coach who committed suicide just days after her high school graduation. Now left with her special needs brother, Collin, and Vallery, her stranger of an older sister and Collin's new guardian, Lainey has to sort out her feelings for everyone that's left in her life: her friends, her boyfriend Riley, and the strangely compelling guy she keeps running into. As Lainey deals with the aftereffects of her mother's death, she slowly makes peace with her life, childhood, and most importantly, her mother. The Snowball Effect is a book that stands apart, in more ways than one. Set after Lainey's high school graduation, she feels her future and its possibilities and expectations stretching out before her, and suffers from the conflicting feelings of wanting to be independent and on her own, and her responsibility to her family and Collin. This plays into her anger, denial, and hurt over her mother's suicide, and Lainey's struggle to understand her mother, who is portrayed as distant and flighty, is well drawn out and thoroughly examined. The blue-collar setting is different, but welcome: Lainey is quite blunt about her family's financial situation, from their lack of money, her dead-end mall job, and the fact that many of her friends don't attend college. This well-written and thoughtful book, which reminded me of Peter Hedges' What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, is honest and riddled with smart metaphors that will really resonate with readers. Holly Nicole Hoxter is an author to watch!

I seriously just LOVED The Snowball Effect so much that I feel that there's not a good enough word out there to express just how much I enjoyed it. I'm not exactly sure why I specifically liked it so much. Since, there was a few flaws to it such as how the story kind of jumped around a lot. Though, by the end all the flaws came together with the perfections and formed a fabulously told story. One of my favorite parts of The Snowball Effect was how unique yet real it was. I mean who hasn't lost a loved one, let alone three in one year. Yeah, I doubt a lot of you haven't, so that's just one tiny thing among others that teens can relate to with Lainey. Since, The Snowball Effect is basically her story of coming to terms with the lives of her lost ones all while moving on, forming a better life for herself in the process even when she screws it up at times. Plus, I adored Riley simply because he was so sweet and loving towards Lainey even when she was acting like a bitch to him. Oh, and I loved how Vallery, Lainey, and Collin had formed their own little dysfunctional family by the end. Further more, Holly's writing flowed extremely well and she certainly has the talent to form a fantastic story because of her ability of making a sad story hysterically funny at times but moving at others. It just shows what great of author she is and gives you a taste at what's to come over the upcoming years. Overall, The Snowball Effect is one of those books that will leave you with a goofy smile on your face at the end, leaving me to highly suggest it to all of you teens (and adults!) out there. Oh, and because I know there's some Sarah Dessen lovers out there who read this blog, The Snowball Effect actually reminded me of something Sarah would write several times. :) Grade: A+

It has occured to me lately just how high the quality of YA novels can actually be. I have been lucky enough to have come across some of the most moving, well written and touching YA novels in the last few months and the Snowball Effect rates right up there - as you can see by my 5 STAR RATING - which is, incredibly rare for me. The Snowball Effect tackles a few extremely tough subjects at the same time - suicide, depression, reconstructed families and dysfunctional ones! This easily could have gotten itself drawn into either a ridiculously depressing and boring read, or become one of those "someone will come in and save everyone at the eleventh hour" - both of which would have been horrible. Instead, author Holly Nicole Hoxter has creafted a book that is the perfect, perfect mixture of sadness and hope intermingled with everyday circumstances and characters that alternatively struggle, overcome, learn through hard life lessons, despise, love and hate. In other words - this book is about real life and on how tough it can be. Perfectly written for the YA audience - this book also works as a message of hope - and while the author shows all sides of life, there is always that little gleam of "you can get through this". I loved, loved it.