Review: How to love by Katie Cotugno

Genre: Young adult, contemporary

Publication date: October 2013

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Read: August 2014

Pages: 389

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Summary

Before: Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he's never seemed to notice that Reena even exists until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated-and pregnant-Reena behind. 
After: Almost three years have passed, and there's a new love in Reena's life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena's gotten used to being without Sawyer, and she's finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn't want anything to do with him, though she'd be lying if she said Sawyer's being back wasn't stirring something in her. After everything that's happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again.

My review

   "So?" I prodded. "Did you steal it?"

 "Did I steal it?" she repeated.

 "Few weeks?"

 "A few weeks?"

 "Three?"

 "Three?"

  ...

 "What do you want to know?" 

 What did I want to know?

A lot of conversation were like that. Reena or whoever was always repeating what the other is saying. At first I didn't mind but it kept happening and I got really annoyed. I didn't like the main characters to be honest. They are really messed up. Reena was crazy about Sawyer even if he left her. Sawyer comes back acting like nothing happen and Reena is not doing anything and I hated it! I wanted her to scream at him and tell him that she doesn't want to do anything with him but no, she's too weak. She gets mad but then she let herself get close to him. The only characters I appreciated is Shelby, Aaron and Soledad. They love and care about Reena but she hurts their feelings and I just want to punch her in the face. I didn't like the dialogues in this book, it was repetitive and It was so annoying that I wanted to throw the book. I don't hate this book, the story actually makes sense that's why I'm giving it a 3/5 stars. I just wish some parts were different. 

About the author

Katie Cotugno went to Catholic school for thirteen years which makes her, as an adult, both extremely superstitious and prone to crushes on boys wearing blazers. She routinely finds herself talking about the romantic endeavors of characters on TV shows as if they actually exist in the world.

Katie is a Pushcart Prize nominee whose work has appeared in The Iowa Review, The Broadkill Review, The Apalachee Review, and Argestes, as well as on Nerve.com. Her first novel, HOW TO LOVE, is out now from Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins. 99 DAYS will follow next spring.

The great loves of Katie's life include child's pose, her little sister, and mozzarella and honey sandwiches. She lives in Boston with her husband, Tom.

---> Visit her site http://katiecotugno.com/