Title : The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl
Author : Melissa Keil
Demographic : Young Adult
Genre : Romance, Contemporary
What's a girl to do when the world is supposed to end?
From Goodreads :
Alba wants to stop time so she can stay in her small town forever - but the end of the world might just force her to confront her future.
Alba loves her life just as it is. She loves living behind the bakery and waking up in a cloud of sugar and cinnamon. She loves drawing comics and watching bad TV with her friends. The only problem is she's overlooked a few teeny details. Like, the guy she thought long gone has unexpectedly reappeared. And the boy who has been her best friend since forever has suddenly gone off the rails. Even her latest comic book creation is misbehaving. On top of all that, the world might be ending - which is proving to be awkward.
As doomsday enthusiasts flock to idyllic Eden Valley, Alba's life is thrown into chaos. Whatever happens next, it's the end of the world as she knows it. But when it comes to figuring out her heart, Armageddon might turn out to be the least of her problems.
Sara Albany or Alba as everyone calls her, with her ragtag of school friends have just finished their high school life. They are all deciding what to do for there upcoming future, when an online viral video posts that the end of days is coming, and the only safe location will be in their own small town of Eden Valley, Australia. As the days are closing in, Alba doesn't know what to do with the crowd of people encroaching her town and her own life after the apocalypse, if there even is one?
This is a very odd book, I've got to say. There was nothing particularly wrong with it, but the whole apocalypse thing seemed a bit far fetched. The overall story with the end of days bit seemed a little too out there, which in turn made me not that interested in that aspect of the story. Although there are some things the people who crowded around the town did that entertained me, but again seemed too much. I probably would've liked the story more if that was taken out and just focus on Alba's life without the end of the world about to supposedly happen.
Alba is a spunky girl who loves to bake at her mother's bakery shop, Albany's, and most of her free time consists of drawing her favorite fictional character, Cinnamon girl, and spending time with all her friends. I like Alba, she's a confident girl who likes to wear dresses and makeup without judgement (she's not the typical skinny girl that's in every YA book), and just inherently cares for herself and her friends very much. I just wish there was more into her story with Cinnamon girl, which is essentially a more superhero version of herself. Every chapter has a cute drawing of her and what she wants to achieve. While she does struggle with considering have a career in being an artist, she's also content to stay in her town with her mom and just bake her life away. She's a bit oblivious when it comes to her love life and that part of the book doesn't really start rolling until halfway in, although you do have an idea of who she would be with.
One of her bestest friends would be Dominic. They've known each other since they were kids and pretty much have sleepovers all the time. He wants the best for Alba but doesn't want to make her leave their town, even though he desperately wants to. They have a nice, comfortable relationship, but he hints at something more. He's a would be lawyer and wants to go in search of life outside their norm. Another of their oldest friend would be hot shot, Daniel, who's left town when they were children and recently returned for their Amergaddon. He's an actor, not necessarily a good one, but he does what he wants, and tries to get a rile out of Alba and her friends staying in their old town. There is no love triangle, Alba has only one set guy, so never fear.
I don't want to forget her group of friends which include: Tia, a nice girl who's just started dating their other friend Pete, and isn't really sure of where their relationship will go after leaving for college. Their other friend Caroline is kind of a boy chaser, and has something planned for her future. There's the geeky Pete, who wants his relationship with Tia to last but doesn't know what to do. Then there's Eddie, a big hulk of a guy that wants stay at his farm and help his Dad. I like all of Alba's friends and they have their own paths even though they been together all of high school. Some were more interesting than others but they make up for who Alba is, and they give a little more umph to her story.
The slang isn't hard to understand, but maybe I wasn't just into some of the situations Alba got herself into, which wasn't a lot, but maybe she was a bit spunky for my taste as a protagonist. Her story wasn't boring but I kind wanted more than her love for comics. There's a lot of reference to comics and her fascination with Wonder Woman, but it kind got a bit tiring? Some of the references I didn't know so maybe it's cause I'm not aware so I wasn't really invested to the story. Overall, it is still a good book and I'm sure many will like Alba's story more than me.
Rating : 4 Stars
While the book was entertaining at the odd scenerio, it's still a decent read and I think people will enjoy how different it is. I liked how it is based in Australia, and it is by an Australian author. Keil has some nice details, and decent story that certainly grip people who are artist themselves. Alba is a likable and quirky lead who's sure to relate to many audiences.
Romance : 4
There is no love triangle. as I've said before. While readers kind of try to figure out who Alba likes, it's not hard to figure out and I thought it was a bit too slow. Alba is somewhat oblivious and it took her awhile to even know if she liked the guy. They do have a happy ending type of romance, it annoyed me sometimes about how long it took Alba, but I liked it all the same.
Recommend : Yes.
Nice protagonist, nice story. There's nothing to hate on, and I would still give it a good recommendation just because it's different and unique. It makes the characters think differently in this odd event of the end of days, to choose what could've happened if you're given a limited time.
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