Across the Pond by Storyheart

(It's signed, how cool is that? My copy, I mean. Thank you, Storyheart.)

Across the Pond by Storyheart

Summary (from the back of the book): Finding himself packed off to friends in the USA, fifteen-year-old English-born Fred Squire is not happy.

Then he meets Brittany.

Struggling with his feelings for Brit and the language, Fred is further confused when he meets Brit's flirtatious friend, Angel.

Escaping from a confrontation with Steve Harris, the neighborhood bully, Brit tells Fred her dark secret about Harris, and Fred's world is turned upside down.

Life continues to throw Fred a curveball when he catches a baseball worth a small fortune. Further run-ins with Harris, a crazy family barbecue, and a chase through a mall all add to Fred's American adventure.

"Brit and her Brit" know that their young love will be followed by heartache when Fred has to return to England but not before some final twists in the tale.

Review: This one was quite a cute book. I'm a sucker for a love story, and this one is a heartstring tugger, in a sweet way.

The comparison between American words and British words is fun. I rather like doing that myself with people I talk to online, so it was cool to see that in a book. (On a side note, it made me realize Canada's slightly insane. Some of the things that Fred said that were odd to Brit, we say, too, but the States don't.)

There were, however, a couple things I didn't like. Mainly the girls. Angel and Brit both acted a lot alike, and not in a good way. Under emotional duress, they both fell apart and leaned on Fred and that really quite annoyed me. These girls were so NOT strong characters. And honestly, sometimes they over-reacted and that annoyed me slightly.

Conclusion: It's a nice, short read, cute and worth winning. You can enter to win it and you should, because it's good. Three out of five roses.