Once Upon a Twilight!: Book Review: Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo + Giveaway

Love and Other Perishable Items
Author: Laura Buzo
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Released: December 11th 2012
Review Source: Random House Children's Books
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) Love is awkward, Amelia should know.

From the moment she sets eyes on Chris, she is a goner. Lost. Sunk. Head over heels infatuated with him. It's problematic, since Chris, 21, is a sophisticated university student, while Amelia, is 15.

Amelia isn't stupid. She knows it's not gonna happen. So she plays it cool around Chris—at least, as cool as she can. Working checkout together at the local supermarket, they strike up a friendship: swapping life stories, bantering about everything from classic books to B movies, and cataloging the many injustices of growing up. As time goes on, Amelia's crush doesn't seem so one-sided anymore. But if Chris likes her back, what then? Can two people in such different places in life really be together?

Through a year of befuddling firsts—first love, first job, first party, and first hangover—debut author Laura Buzo shows how the things that break your heart can still crack you up.

Australian Young Adult Fiction is something new to me. This book was first published in 2010 under the title Good Oil. I must say that this book was a wonderful and quick read during my Christmas Holiday. It left me wanting to know more about sweet Amelia and her troubled Chris.

The main setting is a supermarket. There are times when it's not, however 70% of the time, it is. So I quickly scanned my brain for childhood supermarkets and immediately thought of the small town Piggy Wiggly or SuperDuper grocery stores that were around and envisioned that during my reading. Amelia a young 15 year girl is a cashier and older Chris is her NEW Hire trainer. This brief moment in time and interaction forms a unique bond between Amelia and 21 year old Chris. Amelia forms an unspoken crush on her new coworker, but cherishes the friendship that they have developed and finds it very hard to act upon it. Chris admires Amelia. He admires her smartness and her different views on life as a teenager. He even protects her in a sense, until he can't any longer.

Love and Other Perishable Items is told from two point of views. Through the eyes of Amelia and through the pages of Chris's journal. It is through the journal that the reader really learns a lot about Chris's life and his feelings for those closest to him. Ok, so I must say that I got a little teary eyed on this read , near the end. The author Laura Buzo, truly creates realistic characters with real world problems, with not so simplistic answers. But isn't that how life is sometimes. I originally thought that this book would get 3 trees. But then I was quickly reminded by book talk friend that just because a book goes in a direction that you do not want or wasn't expecting, doesn't mean it isn't great writing. She's right.

Laura provides her readers with a novel that allows them to go down memory lane of teenage years (for those of us my age) and for the others it's just the perfect read that lets them know these crushes sometimes happen. In my eyes, Chris's journal represents a symbol of unspoken trust, feelings and respect. Giving this novel a try will not be a disappointment. It will be a road down pages and pages of love, heartache, and closure, though the eyes of a teenage girl.