Review: The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour

Title: The Disenchantments
Author: Nina LaCour
Pages: 308 (ARC copy)
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Release Date: February 16, 2012

Colby and Bev have a long-standing pact: graduate, hit the road with Bev's band, and then spend the year wandering around Europe. But moments after the tour kicks off, Bev makes a shocking announcement: she's abandoning their plans - and Colby - to start college in the fall.

But the show must go on and The Disenchantments weave through the Pacific Northwest, playing in small towns and dingy venues, while roadie- Colby struggles to deal with Bev's already-growing distance and the most important question of all: what's next?

Morris Award—finalist Nina LaCour draws together the beauty and influences of music and art to brilliantly capture a group of friends on the brink of the rest of their lives.

My Thoughts: I felt pretty disconnected at times with The Disenchantments. I love reading from the male POV, and even though I rooted for Colby, he didn't do much for me. Colby's in love with his best friend Bev, and for most of the book, I had a hard time understanding why. Bev was distant and didn't seem to care about Colby's feelings. I just couldn't get myself to like her. Eventually, Bev explained why she had been acting that way. And I got it. I understood where she was coming from. However, unlike Colby, and probably because I'm not in love with her and I don't know her like he does, I didn't completely forgive Bev right away.

This book also made me feel a little dazed while reading. It was a weird feeling. I usually feel that way when I visit unfamiliar areas, and the places Colby and his friends went to on their road trip tour to perform music seemed to mostly be in the middle of nowhere. Colby's other friends and Bev's fellow bandmates were sisters Meg and Alexa. They were unique and quirky and were definitely part of the reason I ended up having a daze-like feeling. I liked them though. They were good friends to Colby and Bev. Another thing I liked was that even though their band The Disenchantments pretty much sucked, they didn't care at all. It could have been awkward, but it never happened. They just did it because it's fun and they love music.

In the end, the weeklong journey might not have been as enchanting as I had hoped, but it was an interesting one to experience. There was enough closure, and I'm happy with the way things turned out for everyone, especially Colby.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Thanks to Penguin & LibraryThing for the ARC!