Effortlessly Reading

My Rating: 3.0 I remember wanting to read Cruel Summer a very long time ago right when it first came out in (I can't believe that it's been that long!) 2008. Now I finally have a chance to read it when I obtained a copy of Forever Summer, which includes both Laguna Cove and Cruel Summer, only to have Cruel Summer disappoint me.First of all, readers should know that unlike all Alyson Noel's other books, Cruel Summer is written in diary entries, emails, and blog entries from the point of view of a teenage conceited person named Colby. And yes, Colby is indeed a girl.I have never met a person in a book that I seriously want to slap, smack, and roll down the stairs over and over and over again. Yes, that's what Colby is doing to me. (You can ask my friends, I was complaining again and again and again when I was reading Cruel Summer on how much I'll love to kill Colby.) Colby is one of those annoying whiny girls that complain endlessly when she doesn't get things her way saving that it'll ruin their life, dumps her best friend for many years as soon as a popular girl notices her, and gives away her virginity to the most popular boy as soon as he makes out with her. (And when she obtained the most sweet caring boyfriend ever and the popular boy comes back, guess who she goes running to.) Simply put, Colby is a witch with an nasty itch. Colby never even changed when she learns her lesson at the end of the book. I know I swore that I would never give a lower rating than what the book deserved just because I couldn't stand the main character, but honestly, Colby deserves it. I was just so tempted on putting the book down before I finished one-fourth of it, just because of Colby's nasty whiny attitude.And then there's Colby's writing - or namely the way she writes to Amanda, the popular girl Colby is constantly sucking up to. "This is the last txt msg Ull get from me bcuz IM packed N ready N lvg 4 LAX v soon so I wanna say bye N also 2 say last nite was soooo fun but it also makes lvg that much harder I still cant believe my rents R doing this 2 me O well Plz say bye 2 Levi 4 me N plz give him my email cuz I 4got 2." (page 4-5) I rest my case. (I don't know if it was a thing of four years ago, but I'm pretty sure teenagers don't type like that shorthand.) And what the hell is "ldering," which was constantly mentioned in all Colby's emails to Amanda. I still can't figure it out and can care less about Googling it.And then there's sweet Yannis. I totally fell for him when I first read his name. (Turns out Yannis in English is John, but I adore Yannis a whole lot better.) Yannis is sweet, kind, hardworking (do you know any other sixteen year old helping his father build a hotel? Yeah, I don't think so.), and caring, and sadly in love with Colby. Not to mention Yannis has a sexy accent. If only I can find a Yannis for myself.Overall, Cruel Summer is a book I can afford not to read mainly due to Colby. Just thinking of her makes me - ugh. ohdamnbooks: cruel summer