The Lighter Side of Life and Death by C.K. Kelley Martin
Rating: Four stars
Summary: (taken from Goodreads)
Sixteen-year-old Mason Rice is having the night of his life. He's just delivered an incredible performance in the school play, basked in celebratory afterglow vibes at the party of the year, and lost his virginity to one of his best friends—the gorgeous but previously unobtainable Kat Medina. His dreams are coming true, and the future looks golden.
Unfortunately, Kat sees things very differently. Crossing the friendship line was a big mistake, and all she wants is to forget it and move on, even if that means forgetting Mason altogether. What's a guy to do? Well, if you're Mason, you hang your hopes on the first attractive twenty-three-year-old you cross paths with. At first Mason wonders if he's imagining the chemistry . . . until Colette invites him over to her apartment. Suddenly Mason's living in a whole new world.
Picking this one up, I expected an average read about a teenager romance with an older woman. And that's basically what I got, but so much more. I can't pinpoint exactly what it was that really made this one different. Maybe it was the honest, raw plot or how scary real the characters were.
Mason is having an OK life at the moment. His highs include his two best friends, Kat and Jamie and starring in the school play. On the side he has to deal with his dad re-marrying, adding three more people to the household. But after the day Mason loses his virginity to Kat, everything changes. Kat can't look at him the same way anymore and things have changed with Jaime too. The day 23 year old Collete steps into his life, his life changes yet again. Say hello to the brand new Mason...
Mason really made the book. C.K. Kelley Martin did an amazing job in really getting into an average teenage guy's head. It's always nice to read about a male's point of view. Mason is an easy-going, likable guy, but deep down he has those insecurities that sometimes aren't shown in the typical YA novel. Kat and Jamie were good best friends, but kind of confusing at times. Aside from them, I loved the whole cast of characters from t Mason's stepbrother to Y & X from the school play. Each one added a certain spice to the book. And then of course there's Collette. She was going through a hard point in her life when she meet Mason. It was hard to figure out what exactly she wanted. Although I can say that their relationship was very sincere and a definite highlight of the book.
The Lighter Side of Life and Death definitely exceeded my exceptions. It wasn't even that exciting, but I found myself having a hard time to put it down. The ending was just wonderful, it left me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. I do have to warn younger readers that there were some mature content in it. Overall, a light, realistic, and not so average book is exactly what your going to get. C.K. Kelley Martin is a very talented author, that I'll definitely have to look out for. Go ahead and give this one a try :)
