Review: The Trick to Landing by Jenny Kaczorowski

When you wipe out in life, who helps you get back up again?

After a gnarly fall in competition, a DUI, and moving in with her mom dashed her hopes for a spot in this year's X Games, 16-year-old skateboarder Summer O'Neill is left with one last shot at redemption. But her fresh start is even harder than getting back on the half pipe: hours of community service, a party girl reputation she can't shake, and life with a mother she hardly knows leave Summer scrambling to keep her world stable.

The very last thing Summer is looking for is a boyfriend, at least until she meets Sebastian Vega. Steady, unassuming, and self-assured, he's everything she's not. Before long, she's sneaking out for midnight sandcastle building excursions and trading in her art class for private photography lessons with Bastian.

But Summer's past won't stay behind her and Bastian has problems of his own – including a bleeding disorder that seeps into every aspect his life. While he pushes against the limitations of his hemophilia, she is bound by the rules of her probation. When the ramifications of her past crimes collide with his frustration, it may be more than their budding relationship can bear. 

With the next X Games qualifier rapidly approaching, Summer has to own up to her mistakes if she wants to soar again. If she can't, she'll lose more than her second chance. She'll lose her future-in skating, and with Bastian.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

Rating: 2 Stars

I thought, from reading the description, that this would be a very interesting books. The characters sounded unique, fun, and like they'd have a good story.

I found both of the main characters, Summer and Bastian, to be one dimensional. They each had one, maybe two, things that defined them and that was it. In Summer's case, it was her X-Game aspirations; for Bastian, his hemophilia and photography. Even the photography, something he loved and started to share with her, fell by the wayside. We heard more about Summer's past, or at least her guilt over it, than any real development of their character.

The narrative was alright, but there was a lot of repetition and I found myself skimming over bits. Some incidents seemed to be thrown in for dramatic flair that felt false and did not end up working out.

I wouldn't highly recommend this, maybe not even at all, but it has some potential with the writing if only it was a bit shorter (cut out the scenes that read the same again and again!) and the characters were fleshed out.

Music Recommendation

This song popped into my head when I was puzzling over what to pair with this book. The beat, the action in the music video, all of it represents, to me, what I should have felt while reading this book.

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