Colleen Hoover did it again !

This book made me feel so many emotions

There Comes a Time

There comes a time in life when you read, feel, or hear something and words
Cannot not describe the emotions, thoughts or actions it brings out of you.
There comes a time in life when you feel inspired to do something that it is you've never done
before,
Experience things you never thought you could do.
There comes a time in your life when against all odds you know there is a light at the end of the
tunnel,
And that you will make it out okay.
Breathing, living, crying, screaming, yelling, smiling.
There comes a time in life when you know that no matter what happens, you can still look back,
And say you gave it your all.
In today's world, it seems like nothing will turn around for the better as we sit and wait and
become bitter.
There comes a time in life when you say no matter what, at the end of the day I gave it my all.
Knowing that there is peace within you and with all that surrounds you.
There comes a time in life when you smile because you know, at that time life is everything you
wanted it to be but never thought that it could.
Shouting from the rooftops the joy that you have inside and wanting to share it with the world.
There comes a time in life when all is at it should be and you turn around, look at yourself and
know that this is what you were meant for.....

It's hard for me to narrow down all the reasons I fell for Slammed. It's the characters. It's the
romance. It's the strong family themes. It's the poetry featured. It's the authentic dialogue. It's the
writing itself. It's all of those things rolled into one that make Slammed such a perfect read. It felt
like Lake, Will, Kel and Caulder, Eddie and Lake's mom are people I know, or could know. It just
felt very real. The slam poetry was utterly brilliant and the story to go along with it was damn near
perfection.

It is always an amazing book that immediately drives me to get up and DO. I just finish the book
and reflect on the things I have read. I have an overwhelming desire to change something in my
life or do something that I have never done before. I find myself wanting to truly experience
something, to go out and LIVE life to its fullest. That is what Slammed did to me. I have a need to
find somewhere, anywhere within driving distance for me to see Slam poetry in action. I found
myself sitting in my spare moments and thinking about the Slam poetry that I could perform
about the moments in my life that have impacted me the most. I don't just want to sit around and
think about the things that I read about in this novel. I want to DO.

In short, this is a book about grieving, but ultimately this is a book about living. Lake finds herself
transplanted from Texas to Michigan when her mom and she, along with a younger brother, move
after the sudden death of her father after suffering a heart attack. Although it has been a few
months since her father's death, Lake is still experiencing residual sadness because of the loss
of her happy family who’s still recovering from the unexpected loss. Things are different now,
and it is even more different when she finds herself in Michigan. She isn't happy to be there, but
things begin to look up immediately when she meets the lovely man living next door to her. Will is
a few years older than Lake, and they immediately hit it off. I mean they REALLY hit it off. I
wouldn't go so far as to call it love at first sight, but they definitely find that there is a solid
connection between each other (an instant chemistry between them). Within a few days they have
gone on the best date ever in Lake's experience, and they are definitely way into each other.

Things are suddenly looking up for Lake and she's starting to believe that maybe this move won't
be such a terrible thing after all. Will takes Lake to this club that hosts performance poetry (or
Slams) one night a week.
it turns out to be so COOL. It's not getting up in front of an audience and reciting poetry.

it's much more personal. It's soul bearing. And the best part? This is Will's passion.

There is an undeniable connection made between the two and it would appear that Lake and Will
are on the cusp of a major romance.
And just when you think it can't get any better, BAM ! The bottom drops out. Something is
revealed that completely changes things and Lake and Will can't be together. The entire mood
and tone of the book shifts and what remains is how Lake and Will deal with the aftermath.

...Then a devastating revelation happens…and then another, and you think to yourself, WHY ???
Why can't everything just be okay ?!...Then their happily ever after world tilts a bit on its axis.
Lake shows up for her first day of school following her amazing weekend of Will, only to see him
in the hall at school, and he freaks out. Why ? Well, young and lovely Will is actually a very young
high school teacher at Lake's high school. He thought she was in college. She thought he was
definitely not a teacher. And to add insult to injury . . . he's her teacher. Now that's trouble.

Obviously they can't keep seeing each other. That's all kinds of wrong in almost any playbook in
existence. High school teachers do not date their students. Even if the teacher is twenty-one and
the student is eighteen. It just can't be done.

So They try to avoid each other. They try to be "just friends." They occasionally get into snippy
fits with each other. But they keep coming back to each other again and again. And yet I
continued to root for these two people who seem to be so meant for each other. Somehow this
relationship has to succeed. Throughout the course of the book, Lake and Will had to face some
of the toughest obstacles any two people could ever or should ever have to face.

Most of all . . . I absolutely loved the character of Will. He was amazing in so many ways. The
things he does for his younger brother and the consideration he gives to Lake's mother and to
Lake as well were wonderful. The ending scene of the book was nice, but for me the most
wonderful, incredible, amazing, swoon worthy, awwwwww moment of the book was when Will
performed his Slam poetry, reading the "Lake" poem. I LOVED that poem and how he used words
to so beautifully portray his love for Lake

Character wise, I loved both Lake and Will. They are both such good people who truly want to be
responsible and do the right thing. The problem is their hearts keep getting in the way of their
heads.

Hoover does an amazing job of really portraying the struggle that Lake goes through as she
realizes that she has fallen in love with Will. As a reader I could feel her desire warring with her
head as she tried to find a way to make this situation work. I could feel her frustration. I could feel
her moving through the stages of grief. The writing was very well done, keeping me turning pages
until I could find a resolution that satisfied me.
The ending tied things up nicely while still leaving me wanting more.
“Question everything. Your love, your religion, your passion. If you don't have questions, you'll
never find answers.”

“Push your boundaries, that's what they're there for.”

Don’t take life too seriously. Punch it in the face when it needs a good hit. Laugh at it. And laugh a lot.
Never go a day without laughing at least once.

“If I live the life I'm given, I won't be scared to die.”