I Got Slammed!

Title: Slammed (#1 Slammed)
Author: Colleen Hoover

From GoodReads:
Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she's losing hope. 
Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope.
Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart.

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Before I get to my review, I want to say that I've had this review sitting around on my computer for awhile now. I felt I needed to really spend some time on extolling the greatness of Colleen Hoover. But in the end, I can only tell you how much I loved this book and that you should run right out and get it if you're one of the remaining few who haven't already been Slammed!

And now my review...

Let me start off by saying that Slammed first caught my eye when it started popping up all over GoodReads. It’s actually through Colleen Hoover that I found out about TFEiC. Anyway, I finally caved to the peer pressure =) on GoodReads and read the synopsis of this book. I was immediately hooked. And once I downloaded and began reading it, I was so in love after only reading the dedication...why? Colleen Hoover is a huge fan of The Avett Brothers (whom she dedicated Slammed to and she also quotes their lyrics throughout!) I also happen to love The Avett Brothers...so I felt it was just kismet that brought me and Ms. Hoover together. =) The way Ms. Hoover intertwines the lyrics with the story is brilliant!

And I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book!

I found the idea of a book revolving around/ involving poetry very appealing. The poetry slam was brilliant way to include poetry in this book. Let us not forget, "the point is not the points, the point is poetry". However, when I finished reading Slammed, I realized the word had many connotations when it came to its use in this book. Obviously, Slammed is referencing poetry slams, which play an important role throughout the book. Slammed also refers to how events slammed into Layken and Will’s lives as well as how those events slammed Layken and Will together. Intrigued yet?

The circumstances around Layken and Will’s meeting and subsequent relationship are so very compelling. I can’t imagine going through the things they go through so early in their young lives. And that they each met another who could relate, completely, to the struggles they were living through...well, that’s amazing.

I know y’all are probably noticing a theme in my reviews about supporting characters...they are oh, so important to me! And Slammed didn’t let me down.

I don’t want to go through the plot of the book much more than the blurb and I have already...you MUST read it.