SNEAK PEEK REVIEW: Althea and Oliver by Cristina Moracho

Title: Althea and Oliver
Author: Cristina Moracho
Publication: October 9th 2014, Viking Juvenile
Format: Digital Copy, SNEAK PEEK
Source: Netgalley
Buy it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Kobo |

SYNOPSIS:

What if you live for the moment when life goes off the rails—and then one day there’s no one left to help you get it back on track?

Althea Carter and Oliver McKinley have been best friends since they were six; she’s the fist-fighting instigator to his peacemaker, the artist whose vision balances his scientific bent. Now, as their junior year of high school comes to a close, Althea has begun to want something more than just best-friendship. Oliver, for his part, simply wants life to go back to normal, but when he wakes up one morning with no memory of the past three weeks, he can’t deny any longer that something is seriously wrong with him. And then Althea makes the worst bad decision ever, and her relationship with Oliver is shattered. He leaves town for a clinical study in New York, resolving to repair whatever is broken in his brain, while she gets into her battered Camry and drives up the coast after him, determined to make up for what she’s done.

Their journey will take them from the rooftops, keg parties, and all-ages shows of their North Carolina hometown to the pool halls, punk houses, and hospitals of New York City before they once more stand together and face their chances. Set in the DIY, mix tape, and zine culture of the mid-1990s, Cristina Moracho’s whip-smart debut is an achingly real story about identity, illness, and love—and why bad decisions sometimes feel so good.

Misfit Review:

Out of sheer whim and also through a very convincing recommendation from Dianne of Oops I Read A Book Again, saying that my feels will be shattered because of it's amazingness, I decided to go through with the sadistic path and read the first few pages off of Netgalley! Thanks!

Althea and Oliver is promising. From the position of each of the characters in the friendship circle to the thoughts that Althea has for her best friend Oliver. In the sneak peek, I was able to get a better view of what goes on in Althea's mind and a more vague yet subtle representation of Oliver as a sleepy head which we will find out the reason for when reading through more of the chapters.

I was heavily invested on finding out what was wrong with Oliver and what caused it, which the sneak peek never brought up, however, I did enjoy reading through the lines of how Althea and Oliver's friendship is spanning out to a more romantic level, particularly towards Althea.

I see something growing potentially different and poignant in Althea and Oliver and from the first pages, I say, read on! I can't wait to get my hands on one!

About The Author:

Twitter | Goodreads

Cristina Moracho is a novelist and freelance writer/editor. Her debut novel, Althea & Oliver (Viking), will be published this October. She lives in Red Hook, Brooklyn, where she makes all the bad decisions.