Review: The Disenchantments

The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour

Publisher: Dutton
Publication Date: February 16th 2012
Pages: 307
Source: Library
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Goodreads 

Colby and Bev have a long-standing pact: graduate, hit the road with Bev's band, and then spend the year wandering around Europe. But moments after the tour kicks off, Bev makes a shocking announcement: she's abandoning their plans - and Colby - to start college in the fall.

But the show must go on and The Disenchantments weave through the Pacific Northwest, playing in small towns and dingy venues, while roadie- Colby struggles to deal with Bev's already-growing distance and the most important question of all: what's next?

Morris Award–finalist Nina LaCour draws together the beauty and influences of music and art to brilliantly capture a group of friends on the brink of the rest of their lives.

I picked up The Disenchantments on impulse at the library, remembering a few bloggers says some pretty good things about it when the book first came out. It looked like a fun summer read, just what I need right now when it's still acting just a little too much like winter for me. I quite enjoyed this book. It was the perfect read during this almost spring weather!

It's a road trip book- must I say more? I don't think I have opened a road trip book that I disliked before. (haha, that rhymed!) This book follows a group of friends that are part of a (not so good) band and they go on a short tour  before college starts in the fall. In each stop they preform and meet new people, and it's  very fun story.

The people this book are really great. Each of the main characters are all really artsy and open-minded people who just want to be who they are. I love how each character has a little trait about them that shines through in a different way, and they all accept one another despite their differences.

The main character in this story, Colby comes to terms with his love for his best friend, Bev as they travel. Though it's not all smooth sailing, there is some best friend love in this story. I like how it's not really the biggest part of the book, but it's more subtle in the background.

At the beginning, I really didn't like Bev very much, and I still wasn't sure of my feeling for her by the end. At the very start she totally throws the story in a loop, and I really wasn't sure I like how she handled what she did, she was kind of mean to Colby and everyone else on the trip. In the ends she kind of explains herself a little more but I'm still  not sure I really understood.

And finally, this book has a strong self-discovery theme as Colby and the band members start to discover what they might want to do with their lives now that they are about to start college and other adventures in their lives that have been thrown at them. This theme was  very well done, and I liked how everything ended up.