Being Jamie Baker {book review} * * * * 1/2

Being Jamie Baker by Kelly Oram

- YA, sci-fi/fantasy -

reviewed by Tara SG

received book to review via We Love YA

Book Order (??)

I really hope this is the start to a new series, but I couldn’t find anything about a second book.

Links

Author’s Website : www.beingjamiebaker.com

Amazon : paperback ($10.99) / eBook ($6.39)

Add To Your GoodReads TBR List

This book in 6 words:

superpowers, loner girl, and real issues

Why did I read this? And am I glad I did?

I wasn’t going to read this. It didn’t sound interesting to me. Then I saw Natalie’s review and I signed up for a blog tour. I loved this book! Not only was it well-written, creative and a fun read, but it also dealt with real issues. I loved learning why Jamie has isolated herself and seeing Ryan pull her out of her self-imposed prison. There were laugh out moments mixed with some tear jerkers.

I’ll definitely be looking for more from this author and I really hope to see more book in this series! PS I never include book trailers with reviews, however, I LOVE this one so you can find it further down in the post

Brief Summary

“Most superhero stories start with a meteor shower or a nasty insect bite, but mine actually starts with a kiss…”

An accident that should end in tragedy instead gives seventeen-year-old Jamie Baker a slew of uncontrollable superhuman abilities.

To keep her secret safe Jamie socially exiles herself, earning the title of Rocklin High’s resident ice queen. But during a supercharged encounter with star quarterback Ryan Miller she literally kisses anonymity goodbye. Now the annoyingly irresistible Ryan will stop at nothing to melt the heart of the ice queen and find out what makes her so special.

Unfortunately, Ryan is not the only person on to her secret. Will Jamie learn to contain her unstable powers before being discovered by the media or turned into a government lab rat?

More importantly, can she throw Ryan Miller off her trail before falling in love with him?

- via GoodReads.com

Plot/Pacing/Writing Style

A teenager being in an accident involving toxic waste and electricity and then turning into a superhero may not sound super original. However, mixing that with the issues the characters deal with was unique and wonderful. The book wasn’toverly action-packed, but I never felt bored.

I thought the author did a fabulous job at being descriptive without overdoing it. And the teenagers sounded like teenagers, which I really love.

Characters

I LOVED Jamie! She is snarky and has a great “I don’t care” attitude that I envy even as an adult. I really enjoyed learning more about what has made her who she is today and wish I could go into more detail, but I hate spoilers so you’ll have to check out the Going Deeper section if you want to know more

Ryan is such a cutie. He’s your typical arrogant quarter-back that knows he can get any girl he wants… until he wants Jamie. Those of you who know me, know I love a guy with a touch of arrogance and Ryan did not disappoint. But don’t let that make you think he’s not a nice guy, because he is super sweet and caring and will have you swooning for sure.

Favorite Quotes

I guess I’m not the only one with superpowers after all. Mike apparently has the ability to lower Ryan’s IQ. Morons.

Ryan flashed me a killer smile. “I want to walk my girlfriend to class. Is that a crime?”

“Considering I’m not your girlfriend, so what you’re doing could be considered stalking? Yes.”

Recommendations

If you like YA either with or without a paranormal/sci-fi feel, then I highly recommend this book! I also think this is a good one for those who don’t read a lot of YA.

Going Deeper – CONTAINS SPOILERS!!

Again I’m warning that this contains fairly major spoilers… I highly commend this book for dealing with rape in a realistic way. One of the side characters is raped by a popular guy in school and while she is obviously affected by it, she doesn’t tell anyone. We later learn that our main character was also assaulted by her high school king boyfriend and didn’t tell anyone. I can completely understand why this happens. I was shocked to see the book take such a deep twist and I loved that it wasn’t a heavy handed message that seemed thrown in without fitting. In fact, it blended perfectly with the rest of the story.