Fans of Sarah Dessen, Stephanie Perkins, and Jenny Han will delight as the fireworks spark and the secrets fly in this delicious summer romance from a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. A fun and relatable summer read for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han.” -School Library JournalWhen Jade decided to spend the summer with her aunt in California, she thought she knew what she was … Jade decided to spend the summer with her aunt in California, she thought she knew what she was getting into. But nothing could have prepared her for Quentin. Jade hasn’t been in suburbia long and even she knows her annoying (and annoyingly cute) next-door neighbor spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E.
And when Quentin learns Jade plans to spend her first American summer hiding out reading books, he refuses to be ignored. Sneaking out, staying up, and even a midnight swim, Quentin is determined to give Jade days–and nights–worth remembering.
But despite their storybook-perfect romance, every time Jade moves closer, Quentin pulls away. And when rumors of a jilted ex-girlfriend come to light, Jade knows Quentin is hiding a secret–and she’s determined to find out what it is.
“Unique, well-plotted summer romance” –Booklist
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Jade is seventeen and spending the summer with her aunt. Her mother, lead singer of a rising band will be on tour and this will be the first time that spend the summer apart. A secret plan to find out more about her past, a job at a small snack bar at the edge of a swimming pool and a handsome lifeguard complete the seasoning of the summer plot.
Quentin is the lifeguard in question. A handsome guy, who saves people from drowning, responsible with work and family, who takes care of younger siblings without complaining. The mature teenager is both fun and cute. Those type you want to keep in a pot.
While Quentin is the wonderful walking cliche, a true prince charming, Jade is far from being the damsel in distress, or the lost princess. But both Quentin and Jade keep secrets. While Jade’s are clear to the reader but not to her family, Quentin’s are familiar to his family and will gradually be discovered by Jade and the reader.
The book is narrated from Jade’s pov, lightly and fluidly. It’s a nice summer little story, with a lot of funny and cute scenes. Jade will learn the importance of communication and family as well as discover that despite of how responsible and intelligent sheis, she does not always take the best decisions. She will live all the experiences she hopes for and those she does not expect, such as the discovery of first love.
When Quentin’s great secret is revealed, a secret I already suspected from the beginning of the book, Jade acts like an immature girl. I only forgave her because the day before she had her emotional state shaken by a situation with her family. What about Quentin? Sweet, affectionate, responsible. A crush. I understood the part that Jade is upset and angry about to have discovered his secret by others, but I found her attitude a lot of noise, a lot of drama, for nothing.
Jade’s mother, Megan Abbott is my heroin. Strong and empowered woman, faithful to her essence, successful professional, loving and wise mother who wears boots and plays a guitar. She shows up at the right times and says the right things, even when Jade does not want to hear. The ending is cute, cliché and a delicious to read. A well written book with great characters, whose reading is worth it.
Do everything. Do anything. Just do. It’s a verb baby, which means action.
I really enjoyed this story! I don’t normally read YA, but I will read anything that Nicole Williams writes! This is a great book to read while on vacation or just lounging around this summer. The story is sweet and flows from page to page. Nicole gives us such a great view of the characters.
Jade Abbott wants to spend the summer before her senior year with her aunt and live like a “normal” American teenager. Jade is anything but normal. She has seen the world with her mom and her band, the Shrinking Violets.
She and her band, the Shrinking Violets, were going to be touring internationally after finally hitting it big……This was the first time we wouldn’t be together. Actually it would be the first time we’d been apart ever.
I loved Jade! She is easy going and responsible but also fun and adventurous too. She is a hippie and has had many little adventures. Traveling around the world with her mom has brought Jade a unique perspective on life. But nothing will prepare Jade for the American teen experience, complete with cattiness and drama.
Quentin Ford is not your average teen. He has a lot of family responsibilities and obligations. He meets Jade at the community pool where they are both working for the summer. They have a rough start but then ease into a friendship with a lot of back and forth bantering. Their relationship is a slow burn. Jade holds back a bit of herself, but Quentin holds back even more. For me, Quentin was a great book boyfriend! Kind, smart, giving, responsible and really hot! His emotions run deep which we discover by books end.
The ending was left open which worked well for Jade & Quentin’s story.
I would love to see a book about Jade’s mom, Megan. A teen mom with a love of music to international lead singer of her band Shrinking Violets. I think there is a lot of story there!
She loved music – writing it, listening to it, playing it – and was a true musician.
#Sweet #NicoleWilliams #YA #Romance #SummerRead #HighSchool #FirstLove #love
4 stars
Jade, as the daughter of a rock star, has grown up on the road. Her mother’s career skyrockets and Jade wants to take a step back and spend the summer as a normal teenager. She goes to California to live with her aunt and uncle. Her aunt, her mom’s sister, is the complete opposite of Jade’s mom. They live in middle class suburbia and her aunt is solidly normal. Jade gets a job at the local pool, has a curfew, and kisses a boy for the first time. Ahh summer!
The set-up to this book is so YA, but when you get into the meat of it, there is a ton of depth to this story. Jade is living a normal teenage life for the first time, but the situations she finds herself in land her in the deep end of the pool for the first time. She meets and crushes on the head lifeguard, but doesn’t understand why this charming guy is so reserved. Quentin ends up being her neighbor and as the two of them develop a friendship she see’s that this fun guy has a very strong sense of responsibility that actually matches her own, but in a different way.
There was one story line which added to Jade’s story, but didn’t seem as pivotal as it probably should have. It did provide a mirror to Quinton’s, which was probably the purpose to it being included. Without going into details I’ll just say that it did make Quinton’s big reveal more impactful. Almost Impossible was a sweet story about a girl who was looking for a change in scenery and actually found direction and a place for herself in this world. Something we can all aspire to find in our own life.
Told from the perspective of main character Jade Abbot, Almost Impossible follows the teen on her journey of normal American life discovery. Raised on the road with her famous rock star mom, Jade is desperate to experience a summer of stability, to get a glimpse at what is to come in college. What she doesn’t plan on is losing the freedom she is accustomed to and discovering that maybe living in one place isn’t as simple as she though, not with a boy like Quinten around. Life isn’t quite like the classics she gets lost in, but it is an adventure and one she must decide if she is ready for.
“Do everything. Do anything. Just do. It’s a verb, baby, which means action. I promise the books will be waiting for you at then end of summer.”
I love Nicole Williams as a Young Adult and New Adult author, she captures the essence of youth so perfectly. Jade’s life on the road isn’t relatable, but her summer with her aunt and uncle certainly is. That first big crush, sneaking out, discovering what responsibility truly means, now those parts were relatable and so reminiscent of high school for me. Jade is so independent, but she’s naive and innocent and I love that about her. Quintin, on the other hand, is difficult to become attached to. He’s handsome, but closed off, and presented as more rude than secretive. How they come to be close is definitely a cute story though, even if I feel like there could’ve been more to it. If I hadn’t of guessed the storyline so early on I think this would have easily been a 5 star read for me. It’s a perfect coming of age story and great for summer reading, but just a bit too predictable for me in the end.
“Some people have to live with what life throws at them.”
Nicole Williams has become a staple in my young adult author list, her writing promising romance that makes me smile and takes me back. That first big summer crush is one of those butterfly feelings I’ll forever think fondly of and Nicole Williams captures that perfectly. Almost Impossible was a great read and I highly recommend it to YA fans.
I won a copy of Almost Impossible from a giveaway.
Jade Abbott is finally going to have a “normal” summer when she decides to spend her summer with her Aunt Julie and her family while her mom goes on an international tour with her rock band. She gets a job at the local pool as a concession worker and is surprised to meet a very handsome guy sleeping in his truck. But Jade also has another reason for wanting to go to California and that is to meet her dad whom she has never met before.
Quentin Ford’s family recently moved to town and he is the head lifeguard at the pool and also ends up being the next door neighbor to Aunt Julie. He spends most of his time at the pool or being at home with his siblings and taking care of them for his parents.
As Jade tries to live a “normal” teen life she finds herself at odds with Julie over what she can and can’t do. When she gets caught sneaking out with Quentin things change all of a sudden and now Julie isn’t sure anymore if this is the kind of life she is after as everyone around her seems to have secrets.
This was a great book and I really enjoyed it.
Jade was such a great character and I really understood why she had difficulty understanding the guidelines that Julie had in place when she was so used to being on tour with her mom and having so much freedom.
Quentin was interesting and I liked the mystery surrounding him although I had it figure it out by 30%. He had swagger and I loved that he was a good kid but I knew there was more than what met the eye.
I was totally shocked at the blow up over getting caught sneaking out but more by Quentin than anyone else. I loved that Jade still had his back and was able to help him through his next emergency after that.
I was completely shocked with everything that happened with Anarchy Artists and Jade is so better off without anything regarding that! That being said I loved at how her mom always seemed to know when she needed her, even though they were a world away.
I was not shocked at all when everything went sideways again with everything being out in the open but I loved what both Quentin and Jade’s mom did. The end was great and I look forward to more from the author!
I am not a huge young adult reader. I do find some from time to time that peek my interest. Nicole’s young adult novels have been on my must read list as of late.
I really enjoyed this real to life story. Well, the situations in this book are real to life. Jade’s life itself isn’t completely real to life, but that is what gives this book a more real feel to it. I was immersed from start to finish.
The little twist in this story wasn’t hard to figure out. However, I don’t think it was supposed to be. I think the journey to the revealing of the twist was the point of this book. It is definitely an enjoyable and a little heart breaking journey.
If you are looking for a more lighter young adult read without the consistent drama of annoying teenagers, this should be right up your alley. Although, there are a few catty moments, but they aren’t the premise of this book. I, for one, was very thankful for that.
I consider myself a lover of YA books, but I’ve found this category so hit or miss for me lately, that I was beginning to wonder if I’d actually finally aged out of them. With Almost Impossible it became clear to me that I just haven’t been lucky enough to pick up the right ones lately. Because this book? It was almost everything I love about YA.
I was completely charmed by the smart writing and the sharp, snappy banter between Quentin and Jade. I became frustrated sometimes, particularly with Jade who sometimes behaved like the self centered, immature seventeen year old she actually is (so, while frustrating to me, totally appropriate for her character). I loved their easy relationship though, and the sweetness of it all. There is nothing like reading about first love, and I’d like to think it won’t ever get old.
I completely, 100%, no-holds-barred adored Quentin. And I loved the (not-so-surprising) twist to their story. Important issues are touched on here, but not in a way that felt preachy. However, from a YA reader standpoint, I might have liked a little more depth into the background of those issues, a little more explanation, and a little less dancing around them.
I might have also liked a bit more from the ending, which felt a little abrupt. That said, I am overall happy with the story, which was super easy to read and completely satisfied my sappy little innocent romance lovers heart. I would definitely not hesitate to read more from this author!
This was a beatiful love story. It had all the great elements of young love. I definitely recommend this book, and this author. A wonderful book.
Narrated in first person by Jade, Almost Impossible presents what she experienced during her summer vacation. Jade was created with her mother’s band taking care of the components as if they were her daughters, which forced her to mature before the time and ends up generating in the girl the desire to break the rules and to live a summer proper for her age.
Finding the mysterious Quentin, a young man who works as a lifeguard and ends up introducing her to some of the experiences that she wanted so much to live.
I liked the plot too much despite having predictable points because it showed how well each age has its share of responsibility and that when you skip a few steps of this process then you can pay a high price.
I loved the relationship of the protagonists with family and I loved even more the end, even wanting a little more romance.
A very appealing YA novel. I could see the writting on the wall when it came to Quentin’s secret and I kept wondering how everything was going to work out. No spoilers, but it all fell into place beautifully for Jade.
Quentin was mature and fantastic and I hope my daughters find someone just like him!
Honest review made possible by NetGalley
Nicole Williams has been a favorite author of mine for some time now. I am not a big fan of YA novels but I figured since she is one of my favs I could read it and see how it goes. I did enjoy the story and would give it a 3.5 stars. It was missing that spark for me that I guess the more sexy books I read give, but in all it was good read and did have some angst in it.
Jade is used to the life on the road with her mom but has decided she wants one summer to be a normal teenager before she is an adult and has to go off to college. So she decides to spend it with her aunt and uncle. She is determined to get the whole experience so she gets a part-time job at the local pool, but she doesn’t expect to meet the cute boy Quentin…
Quentin has more responsibility to then most boys his age and is all about family. He doesn’t let anyone to close to him because of said responsibilities, but he can’t help himself around the beautiful girl Jade who happens to work with him and live next door to him..
What will happen when secrets are revealed will it send Jade running for the hills? Get to one clicking to find out!