One Night That Changes Everything by Lauren Barnholdt
Rating: Four and half stars
Summary: (taken from Goodreads)
Eliza is in a full-blown panic. Her notebook has been stolen—the one that lists everything she wants but is afraid to go after. And the absolute worst person in the world has it: her ex-boyfriend, Cooper.
Like it’s not enough Cooper was lying to Eliza for their entire relationship, now he and his friends are blackmailing her. They’re giving her just one night to complete the most humiliating tasks on her list or they’ll post her secrets online—including the ones that aren’t just about her.
One Night That Changes Everything is fresh, spunky, and super fun. It was spread out over the course of one night and what a night it was! It had everything from parties, breaking in, the police, and even karaoke. Together we got to witness Eliza face her biggest fears and just hope she can survive.
Eliza is barely recovering from her horrible breakup with Copper. She still can't get over how things ended. One of the only places she can write how she really feels is in her purple notebook. Written along with that are some of her biggest and smallest fears that she wants to conquer, but just can't. She thinks her life is over when the notebook becomes missing. Things get worse when she discovers Cooper and his gang have it and are forcing her to do some of the events in it all in the course of one night. It really is one night that changes everything...
I really loved everything about this book. The characters really topped it all off. Even though I only had one night with Eliza, I felt like I've known her for years. She was extremely relatable and reminded me of myself sometimes and I'm sure plenty of other teenagers out there. Eliza is just a normal girl who secretly has those fears that hold her back. Her two best fiends( Marissa and Clarice) were kind of crazy, but I still loved them. I like how they didn't get along with each other all the time, giving the story a little twist. Cooper was so sweet! Yeah he has faults, but I rooted for him the whole time. Comparing this to Lauren's other book Two Way Street, I can confirm that she was a real talent for creating real, down to earth, and memorable characters.
Along with great characters, One Night That Changes Everything is a very fun and entertaining read. But not only was it fun, but it was pretty inspiring at the same time. It made me want to go out there and accomplish some of the things I'm scared to do. The plot also had some laugh out loud moments built in. And overall there were even some twists and turns keeping it from being predictable.
Lauren Barnholdt officially made on my favorite authors list. With entertainment, life lessons, lovable characters, and even humor, what more could you ask for. It's hard to imagine not really liking this one. I guarantee you'll find yourself smiling by the end of the journey. I'm off to buy myself my own copy, as I suggest you do the same :)
