Review: Love and other perishable items by Laura Buzo

Love and other perishable items

Author: Laura Buzo
Publisher: Knopf
Release Date: December 11, 2012
Hardcover: 243 pages
Summary:
Love is awkward, Amelia should know.

From the moment she sets eyes on Chris, she is a goner. Lost. Sunk. Head over heels infatuated with him. It's problematic, since Chris, 21, is a sophisticated university student, while Amelia, 15, is 15.

Amelia isn't stupid. She knows it's not gonna happen. So she plays it cool around Chris—at least, as cool as she can. Working checkout together at the local supermarket, they strike up a friendship: swapping life stories, bantering about everything from classic books to B movies, and cataloging the many injustices of growing up. As time goes on, Amelia's crush doesn't seem so one-sided anymore. But if Chris likes her back, what then? Can two people in such different places in life really be together?

Through a year of befuddling firsts—first love, first job, first party, and first hangover—debut author Laura Buzo shows how the things that break your heart can still crack you up.


Review:
This book was amazing. It made me laugh, and squeal at the sudden cuteness and it also made me want to go and leap into the book to punch some characters--sadly, it never happened.

Love and other perishable items follows a young girl named Amelia who is the average fifteen-year old: she has a best friend, goes to work, and has some bad family situations. But, she has a crush on her co-worker, twenty-one  year old Chris.

Now, before anyone says anything, this story takes place in Austrailia (right?), so of course, things are different there than they are here in America.

What the summary says in the book, really does live up to it's expectations (moreso for me it does).

What I liked about this book is the relationship between Amelia and Chris, even though the are six years apart, and they both know that things can't work out for them. But that doesn't stop Amelia from crushing on Chris. She wants him, but it seem as if there are a few obstacles that stands in her way:
* She's-big-and-she's-blond Georgia
*Kathy aka The Kathy Virus
* Jeremy
* Michaela
*Donna
* And others..

But finally, FINALLY, Amelia gets to have her "alone time" with Chris during this party that ends up going bonkers and Amelia flees to the bathroom, and Chris after her.
No, they didn't get it on. But they did KISS. Well, they KISSED drunkily to be more precise. And Amelia says it. She says she--
I'm not going to spoil it for you readers.


What I also like about this book how it switches POVs from Amelia's and Chris (which is more of in a notebook/diary/journal kind of way) so we can get both of an idea of what they are going through, which is a very smart way.


What I didn't like about this story is how Chris and other characters treat Amelia. Sure, she has some social issues (her words, not mine), and she doesn't have many friends (but only 1), she's a good girl. Every since that party, people have been treating her differently (and by other people, i mean her co-workers. Especially Chris).  They will ignore her, smirk and whisper things about her, trying to belitte her. But, she does find the courage to get over it.

The ending.
I both liked and hated it. I liked it because it shows that both characters know that they will never be together because of their age difference, and also they (mostly Amelia) will try to be willing to wait for Chris.
What I didn't like about the ending is that, instead of going their seperate ways, they will try to find alteratives. They can still hang out, be friends, call, go to the movies, do all that fun stuff. Chris still could've tried to wait for Amelia till she turned 16 and older-but, sadly, it is what it is.  But, at least Amelia has her best friend, Penny.


Conclusion:
Love and other perishable items is just like any other YA contemporary love book out there. It has drama, romance, angst, more drama, and a bit of forbidden love, oh, and comedy.
I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend other readers who are into the forbidden love contemporary novels like this one. For her first novel, Laura Buzo did an amazing job and I will look toward more of her books in the future.