Katie's Book Blog!!

The Best Night Of Your (Pathetic) Life was not quite what I expected. From the cover, title, and summary I expected a light, fun read. It definitely was a fun read but not quite as light as I expected. I was pleasantly surprised to find a mix of light and fun, and serious and contemplative between these pages. Mary was the best thing about this book and the worst thing. She was such an easy character to relate to because she was far from perfect. She was not confident about herself or her dreams, crushing on a guy who was unattainable, and part of a fun buy flawed group of friends. Not a day goes by where I don't doubt whether or not my dreams are realistic, I always wanted guys I couldn't have in high school, and my friends are idiots but I love them. I mean, who doesn't share those things with Mary? Sadly she did get on my nerves at times. She was kind of mean at times (even if she didn't mean to be) and a lot of the time she complained about the things she didn't have and wasn't thankful for the things she did. She does eventually see the error of her ways but there were times where I couldn't stand her.Winter, Dez, Patrick, Carson, and Barbone were quite the mixed cast of characters. Winter could have been the most popular girl but she had no self-confidence. However that worked out great for Mary because even though Winter made mistakes she was a good friend. Dez really made the book awesome though. He was funny, kind, a little flamboyant, and totally honest. He helped show everyone both their flaws and their good qualities. Patrick was a little hard to like because he was a lot like Mary; set in his ways. He couldn't see what he was doing wrong. Carson was a player but he was a surprisingly nice guy. Barbone seemed like a total jerk for most of the book but there was definitely more to him. I would have liked to know more about him. Really though The Best Night Of Your (Pathetic) Life had a great, varied cast of characters.Now like I said earlier, this book was a little heavier than I expected (in a good way.) The book touches on lost chances, possibly crazy dreams, and growing up. All the characters kind of realize that they missed out on a lot in high school because they were afraid to take chances. The scavenger was their first and last big event in high school and it showed them what they missed out on and how they should take advantage of every opportunity in life. Now the actual scavenger hunt part was awesome. The lists of things to do and get were crazy! Also, the clues were super confusing but fun to try and work out with the characters. There were some crazy stunts pulled in this book and it was pretty much a non-stop laugh fest. Now I'm dying to participate in a scavenger hunt!Overall, The Best Night Of Your (Pathetic) Life is another fabulous book from Tara Altebrando. It's the perfect mix of fun and serious. Readers will devour this one and it will definitely leave you thinking.