The Big Crunch by Pete Hautman

The Big Crunch by Pete Hautman (Scholastic, 2011)


Summary from publisher:
Jen and Wes do not "meet cute."  They do not fall in love at first sight.  They do not swoon with scorching desire.  They do not believe that they are instant soul mates destined to be together forever.
This is not that kind of love story.
Instead, Jen and Wes hang around in each other's orbits.... until eventually they collide.  And even after that happens, they're still not sure where it will go.  Especially when Jen starts to pity-date one of Wes's friends, and Wes makes some choices that he immediately regrets.

Let me put this out there:  I REALLY enjoyed reading The Big Crunch by Pete Hautman.  It was a different kind of teen romance.  Divided first into seasons, beginning with fall, then alternating between Wes's and Jen's stories, Hautman did a great job of building a believable story peopled with believable characters.

One of the things I liked most about this story is that both main characters are kind of quirky, and they embrace their quirkiness.  We don't have the old one-is-popular-and-one-is-not conundrum that seems to pop up quite a bit in romances for younger readers.  I also appreciate that Wes and June get to know each other before they realize they like each other.  It wasn't love at first sight, which is much more elusive than books would have you believe.

I hate to categorize this book as a "girl" book, because with the male protagonist, I really do think there are boys out there who would enjoy this story.  It's not, though, an action book like those most of my boy readers tend to gravitate to.  I wonder how I could talk about this book in a way that would get a boy or two to pick it up.

Hopefully, I've convinced you to pick it up, too!