Title: Something Like Fate
Author: Susane Colasanti [website] [twitter] [facebook]
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Viking
Format: Paperback
Source: Book Club Swap
Parental Advisory: none
Teachable Moments: being true to one’s self, honesty and responsibility, bullying, peer pressure

“In a school as small as ours, you know the names of everyone in your class.  There are seventy-three people in our junior class.  Most of us have gone to school together since first grade.  But that doesn’t mean we actually know one another.  I know people by their reputations and who they hang out with and how they act in class.  These judgments aren’t based on truth.  You can’t ever know the real anybody, unless you’re friends with them.  And sometimes not even then.”

Summary (from the publisher):
Lani and Erin are lifelong best friends — and total opposites.  Lani’s a down-to-earth Taurus; Erin’s a fiery Leo.  Lani likes to do her own thing’ Erin prefers an entourage.  They’ve always had wildly different tastes, from pizza toppings to guys.

That is, until Erin starts dating Jason.

From the minute Lani meets Jason, she can’t deny the amazing connection she feels with him.  It’s like they’ve known each other their whole lives.  She’s not sure if he feels it, too — but even if he does, he’s off-limits.  Lani’s determined to ignore her feelings for Jason, no matter how powerful they are, rather than hurt her best friend.

Then Erin goes away for the summer — and Jason seems to appear everywhere Lani turns.  How long can she keep running from the guy who just might be the love of her life?

Opinion:
Something Like Fate is a swiftly moving book with a realistic and relatable plot featuring accessible characters.

Colasanti has created a complex lead character for a girl Lani’s age.  Wise beyond her years, she is emotional and genuinely caring of the feelings of those around her.  It is for this reason that she fights her own feelings for Jason (her best friend’s boyfriend) so much; feelings, pre-dating Erin’s,  that she endeavors to tamp down and push away with very little success.  It isn’t until Jason appears to be reciprocating that Lani gives in and no longer ignores it all.

Admittedly I did struggle some with Lani’s desire to make everyone else happy.  She was so worried about how her own relationship with Jason was building that she takes on the brunt of the abuse her classmates dish out as a result of the ultimate betrayal.  She accepts the ridicule and even reaches out to the people who in turn betrayed her without cause. Even though it showed great strength and endurance I don’t know how believable it is that a girl that age would actually do so.

Jason, too, was a decent enough guy.  He didn’t go into his relationship with Erin looking to fall for her best friend and certainly didn’t look to hurt her.  Having said that, he made some serious miscalculations and missteps in how he handled the end of their relationship.  In this way I thought it made him less swoon-worthy and just a regular guy. He was definitely flawed and his actions portrayed his boyishness. I liked that a great deal.

I can’t say I felt amazing amounts of chemistry between any of the characters in a romantic way.  In fact, the two characters with the most chemistry were Lani and Erin.  But even that didn’t make the story. What made the story was the way the events of Jason and Lani’s betrayal fell out.  The way everyone in school reacted and how the main characters themselves reacted.  That is the most intriguing and interesting element of this story.  That being said, I felt as though the book missed the opportunity to speak more about the aspect of bullying in high school.  I know, not every book needs to focus on a social issue, but Colasanti did an excellent job writing the actual acts of bullying.  Lani’s descent into outcast status as a result of gossip and innuendo (among other things) was as realistic as it gets for a teen.  This focus had the opportunity to be a much bigger teachable moment than it ended up being.

**spoiler alert**

Further, I felt like the end was a bit convenient.  I like the moral it teaches — that long time friends can encounter relationship altering difficulties and still find their way back to each other — but don’t know how true to life that is.  In fact that might be the one element of this book that stepped outside of the reality and more into the “wouldn’t it be nice if” territory for me.  Situations like this tend to be deal breakers for friendships at this age so the fact that it was a happy ending for all felt off.

**end spoiler**

All in all I found Something Like Fate to be an enjoyable read. but admit there was a definite level of predictability.  I can’t say, though, that this predictability doesn’t come as a direct result of reading this book through the lens of my age and life experience.  So for that reason it may not be the best young adult book for an adult to pick up.  It is certainly good for pre-teens and teens who have little to no experience in platonic relationships progressing into the romantic or navigating tenuous friendships amongst different social circles.  These readers will likely have far more ability to work through the story with more anticipation for what comes next.