Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay

Plot: "Marcie has been dragged away from home for the summer - from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She's left behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father. By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this "summer vacation" has become permanent. She has to start at a new school, and there she leaves behind her Leftover status when a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up. But understanding love, especially when you've watched your parents' affections end, is elusive. What does it feel like, really? Can you even know it until you've lost it? Love & Leftovers is a beautifully written story of one girl's journey navigating family, friends, and love, and a compelling and sexy read that teens will gobble up whole." - Inside book jacket.

Comments: I was skeptical about the way in which this book is written - as a series of poems by Marcie - but I did end up enjoying this different way of telling a story. I liked hearing the story from Marcie's point of view and through the creative medium of free verse poetry.

I didn't actually enjoy Marcie very much, though. All she really wanted was to fall in love (she actually says: "My wish is to fall cranium over Converse in dizzy daydream-worthy love."). This might be accurate for some teenage girls, but I didn't think she had much depth to her character. Romance was all she cared about, and that was annoying. There are other priorities in life, too, you know! I don't know if the author, Tregay, did this on purpose to create one specific character or if she just figured this is how teenage girls in general think and act.

Because Marcie was so desperate to be loved (and, for some reason, get somewhere physically), she cheated on her boyfriend. I didn't like that. I couldn't relate to her actions or her justification for what she did. 

The ending felt unrealistic, too. Everything turned out just fine in the end and it didn't feel right. Overall, the story was interesting - actually, I read the whole thing in one uninterrupted go of a few hours - but lacked empathetic characters and a sense of reality. Any characters who weren't the main focus weren't described well and felt like cardboard cutouts just filling in space for the needed role.

Rating: I rate Love and Leftovers a six out of ten.