There are two ways to appreciate this book, either by giving 2 stars or 4 stars. 2 stars because the protagonist of the story acts like 13 year old girl than 30. Well, that made the story interesting and it changed in the end. She grow and so do her love to somebody else, if you believe to things that aren't we used to be we can get it like a falling star waiting to be catch by the dreamer. 4 stars because I can't stop from reading the book, it was simple but the concept was far different to other books I've read or I'm not a chic-lit hoarder, I only read chic-lit if I want to unwind myself.I really liked the book because the protagonist, Kate, have a certain thing that produces a greater outcome in the end. Far from what I expected and her last decision was the most outstanding thing ever happened between the reader and the protagonist. From the first chapter of the book until the end, I can't stop form turning the pages one at a time and reading every wonderful words that popping in front of your naked eyes.While the story progress you can feel the tension and the annoyance of the protagonist being so obsess to one guy that cares for her but wanted fame. She met this guy whose name is Jake Sharpe, he was like Bieber in real life, I'm not joking and it was true. Being cocky and everything, jeez, that's what a fangirl all about or maybe I'm wrong. Believe it or not Jake broke with Kate to made millions and platinum records. I don't know if he really has the guts to face her after the end of the story.The story was absolute, she had a friend who always cares for her, Laura, a bandmate who always on her side for fun and a family who always cares for her. She's blind and getting rotten waiting for Jake, not realizing there are still million of cute guys waiting for her and those people who cares for her were the greatest treasure she can get. Jeez, that's what love can do, made you blind. Kidding.The story alternates from year 2005 and her childhood years with Jake, well that made the story again unique and I enjoyed this one than Nanny Diaries. I think her friend Laura, should receive the high dedication in her life and most important is she is sick of love. Dedication is a story of a woman waiting for her soulmate until the end of life in Earth. Kate, a 30 year old woman, a successful, intelligent and educated but one thing that really lacks in her life. It was someone who can comfort her forever and she thought that soulmate of her will last forever. It was like a song, a three minutes song for a 17 year old girl is a lifetime but for a 30 year old woman it's just a song. A song that only last for 3 minutes and nothing in the end. Pete Doherty is a great disappointment after all those hard work he just waste it because of drugs and alcohol. I only read one of the articles online that he's trying to change, a no drug Pete Doherty. I pity them.Rating - Dedication: A Novel by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, 4 Sweets and to Laura, no to Kate. (I can't wait to read more of your works, girls you did a great job for this book although some readers don't liked it. Everyone have different tastes.)Challenges:Book #58 for 2011
http://books-forlife.blogspot.com/After hearing from her best friend back home, Kate jumps on a plane and heads back to her where she grew up. The reason is her long lost boyfriend, Jake Sharpe, one of the music industries most bright stars.Eleven years ago, before prom, he disappeared without a trace or sound. What she was left with was songs on the radio, and all about her. Now he has returned to Vermont, with her celebrity girlfriend, and she has the chance to once and for all confront him on what he did.She will soon turn 30, and to live fully as a grown-up and put Jake behind her she needs to visit her home town. And she is not the only one Jake let down those years ago, there is also his band. Can she put everything right?First of all I read this one in Swedish and I was not that fond of the title, cos I guess the meant "My lost innocence", but that word is the same as virginity, and yes it will be read like that. It was one of those chick-lit titles they give when they translate that can look weird sometimes.But to the book, it was ok, and I needed to know what was going to happen. I even stayed up late for it, but that didn't make it any better than ok in the end. It was kind of strange in a way. Of course I understood why she needed closure, I would have been pissed off, but couldn't she just have done it earlier, before he was a megastar? The same with his band.The book also jumped from place to place, we saw like 6 years of her life go by as they first noticed each other, and the started dating. Between that was the present as she came back home to get a hold of him. That I liked in a way, cos we got to see how it all happened.The bad things, was it meant to be funny or not? Because I didn't laugh, did I even smile? Maybe it got lost in translation.The way the spoke in the book, now that was good, you could feel her grow up. Still I would have wanted more on why Jake was like he was, in the end, and her parents. No I never warmed up to them. What I did like was the end, I will say no more. But since most of the book could be cliche sometimes, then they did manage to surprise me once.
What do You think about Dedication (2007)?
I wish I could say I liked this one as well as the other books by these authors. It was cute, I guess. The story alternates between 2005, when the main character is confronting her ex-boyfriend in their hometown, and flashbacks to their high school years. Her ex became a famous musician and his most famous song is about losing his virginity to the main character. There are about ten zillion pop culture references to the early 90s, some of which are funny, but others just feel like they're trying too hard to bank on nostalgia. One word: Zima. Really? C'mon. Teenagers didn't really drink Zima, did they?Anyway. Mostly the ex-boyfriend character seems like such an ass that you wonder why this girl would be hung up on him for 13 years. It's a bit insulting to read about an allegedly intelligent, successful young woman who is willing to stop everything in her life to track down some musician dude who seems suspiciously like John Mayer. Oh, whatever. I knew going into this book that it would be complete fluff. I just wanted some light summer reading. But I didn't think this book would be so light that it would practically float away. I thought these two authors had a more savvy slant on chick lit, something for the girl reader with a brain. Um, nope. Not this time.
—Amy Formanski Duffy
I got this as a clearance book at Books a Million. I'd had it sitting on the shelf for over a year, and almost got rid of it without reading it, but then I noticed it was written by the same authors who wrote "The Nanny Diaries", and I decided to give it a try. Verdict? I'd probably be upset if I'd paid full price for this book. It was okay, but just okay. There were times I found myself wanting to hit the narrator-- her high school boyfriend has become a big rock star, by writing songs about her-- very intimate songs about her. Here's the thing-- it's been YEARS. She's thirty and has a successful career, and she STILL wants to get back at this guy for doing her wrong. See what I mean about wanting to hit her and knock some sense into her?I found the ending of the book to be unsatisfying. I don't want to give anything away, but I found myself saying "That's it? I read the whole book, and THAT'S how it ends?"
—Claire
3 STARS"Kate Hollis's ex-boyfriend's face plasters newsstands and TV, the Internet, and the multiplex. Jake Sharpe is one of the biggest recording stars on the planet, and every song he's famous for is about Kate. For over a decade his soundtrack has chased her -- from the gym to the supermarket, from the dentist's office to the bars. Now thirty-year-old Kate gets the call that Jake has finally landed back in their Vermont hometown for an MTV special. The moment she has been waiting for has arrived.On the eve of their prom, Jake Sharpe vanished, resurfacing when his song "Losing" -- about his and Kate's first sexual experience -- shot to the top of the Billboard charts. And the hits kept coming, each more personal than the one before.Now Kate gets her chance to confront Jake and reclaim her past. But after eleven years of enduring protracted and far-from-private heartbreak, everyone in Kate's life has a stake in how this plays out. Kate must risk betraying the friends Jake abandoned, the bandmates whose songs he plundered, and her own parents, who fear this will dredge up a shared past more painful than any of them want to acknowledge. But after getting the call in the dead of night and jumping on a plane, can she turn back now?" (From Amazon)A fair romantic comedy.
—Kris - My Novelesque Life
