Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have)

The summary:

2 girls + 3 guys + 1 house – parents = 10 things April and her friends did that they (definitely, maybe, probably) shouldn't have.

If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn't jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe "opportunity" isn't the right word, since April had to tell her dad a tiny little untruth to make it happen (see #1: "Lied to Our Parents"). But she and her housemate Vi are totally responsible and able to take care of themselves. How they ended up "Skipping School" (#3), "Throwing a Crazy Party" (#8), "Buying a Hot Tub" (#4), and, um, "Harboring a Fugitive" (#7) at all is kind of a mystery to them.

In this hilarious and bittersweet tale, Sarah Mlynowski mines the heart and mind of a girl on her own for the first time. To get through the year, April will have to juggle a love triangle, learn to do her own laundry, and accept that her carefully constructed world just might be falling apart . . . one thing-she-shouldn't-have-done at a time.

The title of this book really does say it all. It's all about the shenanigans April and her friends get up to while living sans parents. But, honestly, as crazy as some of the things they get up to are, I can't say that I wouldn't have gotten up to some of them myself if I had been parent-free when I was sixteen.

And although this book is lighthearted and rollicking (I think this is the first time I've ever used that word), it does have some weightier elements to keep things from getting too ridiculous, like April's struggle with abandonment issues--yes, her parents let her essentially live by herself, but April can't help wondering should they have? The last 50 pages were surprisingly serious, but not completely in the way I was expecting. I knew there would have to be consequences for April's actions at some point, but one particular consequence totally took me by surprise--which I appreciated, because up to that point I had been cockily thinking I had the ending all figured out. I love it when books prove me wrong.

Oh, and can I just say that I fell in love with Hudson (the swoonier boy in the love triangle)? For one thing, he's smokin' hot. But he's also sooo sweet (you'll see what I mean in a certain scene involving a trip to the vet). And to top things off, he's got the most adorable job ever (I won't ruin it, because it's supposed to be a mystery, but can I just say, Awwww).

This book does have teen drinking and sex, so if that's not your cup of tea, this might not be the book for you. But I thoroughly enjoyed it.