Sunday, October 2, 2011

Past Perfect by Leila Sales

Summary:
All Chelsea wants to do this summer is hang out with her best friend, hone her talents as an ice cream connoisseur, and finally get over Ezra, the boy who broke her heart. But when Chelsea shows up for her summer job at Essex Historical Colonial Village (yes, really), it turns out Ezra’s working there too. Which makes moving on and forgetting Ezra a lot more complicated…even when Chelsea starts falling for someone new.

Maybe Chelsea should have known better than to think that a historical reenactment village could help her escape her past. But with Ezra all too present, and her new crush seeming all too off limits, all Chelsea knows is that she’s got a lot to figure out about love. Because those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it…. (from GoodReads)

Review:
When I read Leila Sales's debut novel, Mostly Good Girls, I fell in love with this author's writing. Mostly Good Girls was hilarious and I was so excited to hear that she was writing another book. Luckily for me, Past Perfect was just as funny and awesome as its predecessor.

The thing that I loved the most in Past Perfect was the setting. Chelsea works at a colonial village a la Williamsburg in Virginia. I got the feeling that this was supposed to be Williamsburg (since the novel takes place in Virginia) but a little smaller. I love history so I was super jealous that Chelsea got to pretend to be living during the Revolutionary War as her job. I may be a dork but I just thought that was the coolest thing. And what was even better was that right across the street from Essex is a Civil War Reenactment Camp and the two historical sites have a "war" with each other. The kids that work at each place prank each other and it really just seemed like a fun way to spend your summer.

So a big part of the book is Chelsea trying to get over her ex, Ezra, but it's really tough because he gets a job at Essex so she has to see him all the time. But, to take her mind off Ezra, she starts to like Dan, a member of the rival Civil War reenactors. So there's a little bit of the star-crossed lovers thing because Chelsea and Dan can't be together. Which is kinda dumb and kinda awesome at the same time. Seriously, guys, I need to become a reenactor.

What I really liked about Past Perfect (besides all the other amazingness) was that it had a really great message. The message was about learning from the past and recognizing the mistakes you made. Which is why history is so important. We, as a society, need to examine our past and see what went wrong and what went right.

Overall, I loved Past Perfect! It was funny, romantic, historical, smart and had the best setting ever! Please read this!!

Cover note: I think it's really cute, but it honestly has nothing to do with the book. Hmmm...

Rating: 10 out of 10!
Release Date: October 4, 2011
FTC: Simon & Schuster GalleyGrab


2011/Simon Pulse/322 pages.

No comments: