Book: The
Libby Garrett Intervention
Author: Kelly
Oram
Publisher:
Bluefields
Genre: Young
Adult Fiction, Romance
Due Out:
October 24, 2015
Blurb from Goodreads:
Libby Garrett is addicted to
Owen Jackson's hot lovin'. But the sexy, popular college basketball player
doesn't appreciate all of Libby's awesomeness. He refuses to be exclusive or
even admit to people that they're dating. The relationship is ruining Libby and
she's the only one who can't see it.
When Libby's behavior
spirals completely out of control, her best friend Avery Shaw and the rest of
the Science Squad stage an intervention hoping to cure Libby of her harmful
Owen addiction. They put her through her very own Twelve Step program—Owen's
Anonymous—and recruit the help of a sexy, broody, hard as nails coffee man to
be her official sponsor.
Adam Koepp has watched Libby
Garrett for years. How could he not notice the sassy girl with the purple
skateboard and helmet plastered with cat stickers? But in all the years he's
crushed on her, Libby has failed to take notice of him. Why would she when he
was just a nobody high school drop out who served her apple cider several times
a week? Especially when she was hooking up with a guy like Owen Jackson—a guy
with a college scholarship and more abs than Kyle Hamilton.
Adam finally gets the chance
to meet Libby when his co-worker Avery Shaw recruits him to take Libby on the
journey of a lifetime. With his ability to play Bad Cop and his experience with
the Twelve Step program he's the perfect candidate to be Libby's sponsor. But
will he be able to keep his personal feelings out of the matter and really help
her the way she needs? And will Libby hate him when he forces her to take an
honest look at herself?
This follow-up companion
novel to The Avery Shaw Experiment can be read as a stand alone. (But where's
the fun in that?) ;)
My Review:
Going into this I had two
things in minds. One. Kelly Oram is a good author judging by
the tears I shed while reading her book Cinder and Ella. Two. I have no idea who Libby Garrett
is. Based on the blurb, I knew
that Libby is a character from Oram’s other popular book The Avery Shaw
Experiment which I’ve never read so I was wondering if I should or could skip
that and jump into Libby.
I’m glad I did.
The Libby Garrett
Intervention is a stand alone book dealing with losing and finding
oneself. Libby is a not so typical
teenage female protagonist. She is
overweight, nerdy and sarcastic (oh I love that trait the most. All these make her so relatable to me
personally because I am all these myself so 2 points for Libby). The problem with Libby is that she is
addicted to a living, breathing drug, Owen, a gorgeous jock who wants nothing
more from her than hook ups. Or as
a character in the book says, Owen treats Libby "like a prostitute he doesn’t
have to pay".
Enter Adam, otherwise known
as the Coffee Man. He is a close
friend and co-worker of Libby’s best friend Avery. A tattooed high school dropout with problems of his own. He has always had a thing
for Libby, so seeing her change from a confident and funny person to a
desperate, I-can’t-NOT-have-sex-with-Owen is more than he can take. One public indiscretion by Libby and
Owen sends Adam to suggest staging an intervention for Libby.
A 12 step program is not
exactly a good way to start a relationship, but it is a great way to end one
and to make Libby see what she has become with Owen, and in the process, it
helps Libby realize that she is not as unlovable as what she has believed
herself to be. Addiction though is
tough to beat. Will she keep going
back to her personal version of crack (Owen)? Or move on to the person who can
help her get her old self back?
One thing I love about Libby
is her wisecracking ability. She
is smart as a whip and can dish it out like nothing else. The character is LOL funny with a side
of sexy. Yes I said sexy. She is beyond chubby (based on the
description and the beautiful picture on the book cover) but she is pretty
(Again based on the cover model and descriptions in the book). The thing is, I understand
perfectly her need to be the object of such adulation from a beautiful man and
her need for acceptance. After
all, she grew up bullied for how she looked her entire life so having the
attention of a popular jock is like a dream come true for her.
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I like how Oram settled the
issue by NOT making Libby change physically. She didn’t make Libby go on an exercise spree to lose
weight, nor did she write the story as if being Fat is the reason for her
problems. In other words she
didn’t resolve Libby’s dilemma with a miraculous “ugly duckling turned into a
swan” angle. Oram made sure the
readers would understand that the problem here is WHAT Libby thinks of
herself….and it’s not a lot. Libby
put so much stock on being unlovable because she looked a certain way, she
overlooked the fact that she is beautiful in every other way. Fat is just fat. In the end, it is how we are as people
and how we treat others that define us.
And Libby realizes that with the help of wonderful and supportive
Adam.
Oram didn’t make Adam the
typical gorgeous, Edward Cullen type of guy. He is the anti thesis of a male protagonist: drop out,
tattooed teenager, skinny and thinks himself a loser. My heart immediately went out to him. Adam gets Libby because he has been
through the same nightmare of addiction albeit indirectly. He is, in his own way, the perfect
hero. Libby’s hero.
This is a good read with a
huge helping or sarcasm, wit and laughter. If you’re up for a book that will make you want your own
Coffee Man, if not just your own coffee, then read this. Now excuse me while I go get a
tall drink of Frapuccino.
Photo Credit: All photos were lifted from Goodreads.com and the author's Facebook account
