I Know It's Over, C.K. Kelly Martin

I Know It's Over
Author: C.K. Kelly Martin

Official Summary:
Pure. Unplanned. Perfect. Those were Nick's summer plans before Sasha stepped into the picture. With the collateral damage from his parent's divorce still settling and Dani (his girl of the moment) up for nearly anything, complications are the last thing he needs.

All that changes, though, when Nick runs into Sasha at the beach in July. Suddenly he's neck-deep in a relationship and surprised to find he doesn't mind in the least. But Nick's world shifts again when Sasha breaks up with him. Then weeks later, while Nick's still reeling from the breakup, she turns up at his doorstep and tells him she's pregnant, and with his emotions and hopes crashing in around him, Nick finds himself struggling once more to understand the girl he can't stop caring for, the girl who insists that it's still over.

What the Pros Say:

Publisher's Weekly: "Debut novelist Martin displays uncanny insight, replacing the issue-driven engine common to most pregnant-teen stories with an emotionally complex and disarmingly frank coming-of-age tale."
Kirkus: "Authentic and sophisticated."

What I Say:

I have read books about teen pregnancy before. I've read about teen mothers and teen fathers and the struggles and decisions. I've watched Juno. I've read the articles about teen pregnancy rates and sex education and condoms and nonsense. But of all those takes on the story, C.K. Kelly Martin's I Know It's Over comes the closest to the actual situations I've seen play out in real life.

Nick is fabulous. He is accidentally careless but so full of love, awkward but trying to be a good friend, lover, brother, and son. He is confused and trying to make sense of the world and of love: his and everyone else's. He is lovable without being a romantic ideal. Nick is not perfect: he says and does the wrong things, he fools around with girls he doesn't really care about, he smokes and drinks. Nick is one of the most real teenage boys I've read about in a long time.

This book will take your heart and simply demolish it. You will feel all of Nick and Sasha's pain and confusion and overwhelming love for each other and it will take you down at the knees and leave you gasping. I can't think of a single negative thing to say about this book: the plot was multilayered and fascinating, the characters were fully fleshed out and relatable, and Nick's first love, loss, and his lingering feelings will stay with you for a long time.

Intrigued? (and you should be, because this one's amazing)
Check out the first chapter on C.K.'s website and then read an interview with her over at Reading Keeps You Sane.

More?
C.K.'s second book, One Lonely Degree, will be out in May 09, but you can pre-order it now! Or check out more interviews at Cynsations and with Courtney Summers.