--- Too cool for school. ---Ethan is a levelheaded, some might say ‘antisocial’, young artist-entrepreneur with a love for quirky taxidermy. He is close to graduating high school and at a crossroads. All he wants is to develop his business further, yet all his parents want is for him to go to law school. That is more than enough problems for Ethan, so any kind of love life is off his agenda. That is until Robert Hunter, the quarterback of the football team, comes crashing into him. Literally.
Robert drifts along in high school. He has good grades, he’s getting ready for med school, he’s even leaving potentially problematic dating until college. He’s gay, not ashamed of it, but he doesn’t want to stir up any trouble. His carefully laid plans might just go completely off the rails though, when he drinks too much at a party and causes irreversible damage to Ethan, the school’s weirdo.
Robert has to face the fact that maybe he isn’t the good guy he always considered himself to be. And maybe he doesn’t want to go to med school. And maybe, just maybe, he doesn’t actually want to wait with dating until college.
Young love. Irrational, all consuming, young love.
I'm all about sweet and adorable and cute. Those are pretty much my favorite adjectives and if I use them to describe a YA story then it's a fair bet that I loved it. So here I go...
THIS WAS SO SWEET AND ADORABLE AND CUTE!
Loved it.
Ethan. He was described by Rob as "Strange but hot. Like a male, grownup version of Wednesday Addams." <- totally Ethan. But so much more. He had this attitude. An attitude that got him into all kinds of trouble, but also got him what he wanted. He wouldn't take no for an answer in anything. Determination and stubbornness, this kids got it.
Robert was his opposite in almost every way and was matched with Ethan puuurrrfectly. He's patient and kind-hearted. Really, the only person to put up with the likes of Ethan. Don't get me wrong, he only puts up with so much attitude and will set him straight if need be. But he mostly just adored Ethan, and he showed it at every opportunity. Oh, he was so thoughtful.
The circumstances that brought them together were quite unfortunate. I mean, it was funny, but that's only because Merikan wanted humor to be found in the situation. This could have easily been a sad and depressing tale, but instead it was light-hearted and quirky. The style was fun and made the story unputdownable.
I found myself falling more and more in love as the story continued. Through their conversations, thoughtful gestures, fumbling first times and complete faith that they were in it forever, I couldn't help but just love Ethan and Rob. This was a story about teenagers and the writing was spot on. They were irrational and completely consumed in themselves and their relationship.
The taxidermy! Oh, the taxidermy. I really couldn't get enough of the scenes that featured Ethan's art. It's a different kind of art than people normally see, but it didn't make Ethan any less passionate about what he did. I thought it was so fun to read about.
Just a heads up, the story is in no way a diary. I really like the title, it signals an unusual storyline, but don't read too much into it, as this is not written like a diary and there's dual POV.
Diary of a Teenage Taxidermist had the perfect mix of teenage angst, sexiness, sweet YA and quirkiness. It's my favorite K.A. Merikan I've read so far.
Well... those clowns were pretty damn sexy.
No. I'm sticking with Ethan and Rob in my top Merikan spot.
A copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review.
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