Review : How to Love by Katie Cotugno

Summary (from Goodreads)
 
Title : How to Love
Author : Katie Cotugno
Publication Date : October 1st 2013
Publisher : Balzer + Bray
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Before: Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he’s never seemed to notice that Reena even exists…until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated—and pregnant—Reena behind.

After: Almost three years have passed, and there’s a new love in Reena’s life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena’s gotten used to being without Sawyer, and she’s finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn’t want anything to do with him, though she’d be lying if she said Sawyer’s being back wasn’t stirring something in her. After everything that’s happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?

In this breathtaking debut, Katie Cotugno weaves together the story of one couple falling in love—twice.

Personal Thoughts

Teenage pregnancy is a delicate topic that needs to be handled with care in YA books. I haven't read a lot that were poignant and emotional enough to have me invested in the story. With How to Love by Katie Cotugno, I found a simple yet beautiful story that made me really feel for the characters.

The highlight of How To Love were the fascinating characters. I loved  how Katie Cotugno portrayed the characters in such a realistic manner. When you read about them, you get the impression you know these people. These characters were also extremely well developed, so while reading, you get to know them on a personal level and they end up touching your heart. Reena, the protagonist, was the quiet but witty girl who'd rather watch a movie with her friend than go to a party, before her pregnancy. She had this innocence to her that made her an authentic teenager, in my eyes. In the "After" scenes, after she has given birth, Reena was a lot more mature. She was independent, raising her daughter by herself and a very different version of the Reena we met in the "Before". Her pregnancy had changed her and had forced her to grow faster than a girl her age should have. Despite everything, Reena had a vulnerability to her that made you just want to wrap her in your arms and console her.

Sawyer was the kind of person I wouldn't want to hang out with in the "Before" chapters. You could see that he had a screwed up life. He wasn't very likeable but he had that charm to him that also seemed to have worked on Reena. There were times I wondered what exactly Reena saw in him because he kept forcing her to do things she clearly didn't enjoy, like going to parties. Although I was disappointed in him for abandoning Reena, I got where he was coming from. Not only was he battling with addiction, but he was also facing the guilt over his ex-girlfriend and Reena's best friend's death. Plus, I couldn't hold the fact that he left Reena when she needed him the most against him because he wasn't aware of Reena's pregnancy. In the "After", when Sawyer finds out that he left Reena while she was pregnant with his child, he clearly tries to make an effort. He had cleaned up and was trying to be a better person for Reena and his daughter. What I loved about Sawyer and Reena was the fact that neither of these two were perfect. They were heavily flawed. There were times when I disliked them and at other times, I loved them.

How to Love tackled teenage pregnancy masterfully. This is a topic that is so sensitive that if not done well fails to speak to the readers. This wasn't the case with this book. In fact, Katie Cotugno wrote this story in such a way that you really feel for all the characters involved. Not only does she depict the obstacles that a teenage mother goes through, but she also illustrated the impact of teenage pregnancy on other family members. The emotional dilemma that Reena went through were so palpable that I felt like I was right there with her, watching her go through it. There was also a romance in the book, but let me tell you up front, not everyone will enjoy it, especially in the "Before" parts. Reena and Sawyer had a rather convoluted relationship. Both of them had their issues, but those issues were why I thought they fit so well together. In the "After" scenes,Reena was undoubtedly hurt by what Sawyer did to her, but she still felt this attraction to him that she couldn't let go. It might not have appeared healthy, but I understood Reena. Sawyer understood her and her behavior unlike others. She felt comfortable with him. I personally thought Sawyer redeemed himself by fighting for Reena in the "After" scenes so he ended up growing on me.  This was not the sort of romance that was filled with kisses and sweet moments. It was heavy, deep, fractured and realistic considering their situation.

The secondary characters in this book were also highly complex. I loved how each and everyone of them actually had a monumental role in Reena's life. Reena's step-mother and her friend, Shelby were my favorites with their wisdom and kindness. Katie Cotugno's prose was what made this book a winner for me. It's told in this simple and melodious voice that hooked me in from the first page. I started this book at 9 p.m one night and couldn't stop reading until 2 a.m, despite knowing that I had to wake up at 6 a.m that morning. There were "Before" and "After" chapters to help you really see the growth in the characters. I usually dislike when books are told that way, but here it flowed nicely. I've mentioned this multiple times, but the simplicity of How to Love was what made it such a successful book for me. If I had one complaint it would be the lack of development when it came to the issues that Sawyer was facing. I would have liked to know more about the problems he was going through with his father, especially. However, that wasn't such a big deal for me because everything else made up for it.

How to Love might be Katie Cotugno's debut novel, but it was so gorgeously well-written that it makes me very excited for future works by her. She has taken a seemingly simple idea and molded into a remarkable story about first love, family and friendship with her complex characters and her brilliant writing style. How to Love is one of my favorite reads this year and you should prepare to fall in love with it too.

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 5/5
Characters : 5/5
Writing : 5/5

Thank you to Edelweiss and Balzer+Bray for the e-ARC of How to Love.