Review: Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines

Author: Abbi Glines

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Number of Pages: 352

Synopsis:

"To everyone who knows him, West Ashby has always been that guy: the cocky, popular, way-too-handsome-for-his-own-good football god who led Lawton High to the state championships. But while West may be Big Man on Campus on the outside, on the inside he’s battling the grief that comes with watching his father slowly die of cancer.
Two years ago, Maggie Carleton’s life fell apart when her father murdered her mother. And after she told the police what happened, she stopped speaking and hasn’t spoken since. Even the move to Lawton, Alabama, couldn’t draw Maggie back out. So she stayed quiet, keeping her sorrow and her fractured heart hidden away.
As West’s pain becomes too much to handle, he knows he needs to talk to someone about his father—so in the dark shadows of a post-game party, he opens up to the one girl who he knows won’t tell anyone else.
West expected that talking about his dad would bring some relief, or at least a flood of emotions he couldn’t control. But he never expected the quiet new girl to reply, to reveal a pain even deeper than his own—or for them to form a connection so strong that he couldn’t ever let her go…"

Abbi Glines is one of my favorite authors. I've read almost all of her books (i've still got the last two books in the Vincent Brothers series :/) multiple times. There isn't a book that hasn't torn me apart, made my chest go tight, and clutch the book to my chest in love. Her writing is just so beautiful and creative, it makes everyone fall in love with her characters.

This is her first YA book that she has written after Breathe, and you can really see that. The majority of the book was amazingly written and I did fall in love with the characters, especially Maggie. While I did feel very connected with them, I can't really say the same for the rest of the book. This book takes place in a high school for the most part and I felt very disconnected from the school. There were so many things that happened in this school that would never fly in a high school nowadays. Also, can I just express my distaste for the girls in this book? I don't think there was a high school female character in this book besides Maggie that was portrayed in a positive light. Even the one girl who expressed her annoyance with Maggie's nerdy friend came off in a very petty way. That just really disappointed me. I think that was my biggest reason for not liking the book as much as her other books, but I only noticed that after I read the book a second time. I did notice that a lot of other people noticed the same thing when I was reading their reviews right after I read the book a second time. 

The only other reason I was disappointed was minor issue that arose towards the end of the book. The way Maggie acted was so different from all the other characters that Abbi has written. Then the issue was solved in just another page or two--it felt rushed. Other than that the book was perfect.

The most perfect part of the story was definitely not the characters as much as the relationship that they had. I don't think I would have enjoyed West or Maggie as individual as much as I do when they are together. They are just the type of people that seem like they have to be together or the world will implode. I've never seen a connection between two characters like the one that Maggie and West have. 

She had become my lifeline. I wanted to be hers. I wanted her to feel this way about me, too.

These types of lines just tugged at my heart strings. All of Abbi's characters would go to hell and back for their woman but knowing what Maggie and West went through and how much they would do for each other, even as young as 17 or 18, is what really pulled me in. 

There was no question in my mind that West Ashby had become the most important person in my life.

I read a lot of New Adult books that involve these incredibly heartbreaking romances and not once has touched me the way this one did. I think it was because this story took place in high school. As much as their relationship defies all rules of high school relationships that I have witnessed, they are very much high schoolers. Abbi Glines doesn't attempt to make them seem any more mature or wordly than any other high schooler and I loved that. As much as they had this very mature relationship, they were still very immature in their actual lives. They did stupid things just like other teens.

I'm definitely going to be reading the next book, but I'm hoping that Abbi Glines will take all this and make the next book the best it can be. The only real fault in this book was that I found all the girls to be very superficial and portrayed in a very negative light. Otherwise the general plot was amazing and the two protagonists were phenomenal. 

I do have to leave you all with my favorite quote from the book. This scene was the entire reason I read the book a second time. This scene made me giggle like a little girl and made me so envious at the same time. Maggie...you are one lucky girl. :)

He grinned. "My girl. My fucking jersey."

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars