Book Review: Ditched, A Love Story by Robin Mellom

Couldn't find an image without the ARC thing

At First Sight: Justina Griffith wasn't the kind of girl who dreamed about prom night, until her best friend Ian Clark asked her to their senior prom.

So, she left behind her black clothes and decked herself out in a royal blue dress - with matching shoes, watch and bag - and hoped the night would be magical. The night when she and Ian would finally cross the friend barrier.

Instead, she ends up in a ditch, miles from home, without her phone, her purse or even her dignity; she has a big bump on her head - she might have rolled out of a moving car - a tattoo on her arm - Tinkerbell, and she's hoping is just temporary - and her dress has many stains of indeterminate origin.

With effort, she manages to get herself to the to a 7/11, where - after her mom fails to answer the phone, and she's left stranded  - she starts to tell the story of her night to a clerk named Gilda.

Second Glance: Ditched was a surprisingly funny story. I wasn't expecting much of it, other than a few laughs. But It was very nice. 

Justina was both funny and likable, and her stories had me cracking up - by the way, all the chapters have really funny names. She starts telling the story from the moment she was getting ready for the prom, and follows with how everything went wrong. 

As her narration progresses, we get to know more about Justina and Ian, as she weaves in little details of their life before he asked her to prom, and I really felt like I was getting to known the two of them. And the mystery of why Ian did what he did kept me engaged.

Bottom Line: For me, Ditched at a little bit of a Forrest Gump feel - as in Justina is sitting around telling her story to a stranger, sharing her night and how she got to be there. It was funny and sweet, and original.

Oh, and btw, Ditched comes out in January 2012!

Favorite Quote: "Food, a cellphone and my dignity... all things I do not have."  - The Prologue.