Book Review: Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire

When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she's Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she's the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.

In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilirating . . . and illegal. Here she's got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she's ever seen.

But on the insde, Ayla is still Annie.

So when she's offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?

The choice isn't as simple as you think.

My thoughts:

Don't You Wish is young adult chick lit at it's very best! It is fun, cute and has an adorable romance, and is the perfect book to bring along for a day at the beach, in the park or anywhere else you hang out to read during summer.

I really liked Annie, both as Invisible Annie and popular Ayla. As Annie her life is incredibly boring, as Ayla her days are filled with the drama of the rich and popular, and the only thing the two have in common is Annie's personality. As she starts living life as Ayla she has to make some important decisions about who she wants to be - is it worth being hot and popular if it means your friends expect you to shoplift even when you have your own black AmEx card? Is it worth giving up your virginity to a guy you hardly know just because he's hot and he expects you to?

There is much I loved about Don't You Wish, like the fantastic Miami setting and the sweet romance, but what really got to me was Annie's relationship with her mom (both as Annie and Ayla). I haven't seen my own mom in almost two years, and there was just something so heartbreaking about some of the mother/daughter scenes and Annie's homesickness. I have to admit, I cried more than once.

If you like fun, easy reads about friendship, family and finding yourself, pick up Don't You Wish when it is released next month (or better yet, pre-order it), and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did!

Cover:

I love the heart-shaped glasses, and the dreamy feel of it. Very fitting!

My rating of this book:

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Full disclosure:
ARC received from NetGalley

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and online book stores like Amazon and The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store has free shipping to about 100 countries.