Review: The Problem with Crazy by Lauren K. McKellar

The Problem with Crazy by Lauren K. McKellar
Series: Crazy in Love #1
Category: Young/New Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: February 13, 2014
Format: ebook
Page Count: 282
Source: ebook via blog tour

Goodreads Synopsis:  
The problem with crazy is that crazy, by itself, has no context. It can be good crazy, bad crazy ... or "crazy" crazy--like it was when my ex-boyfriend sung about me on the radio." Eighteen-year-old Kate couldn't be more excited about finishing high school and spending the summer on tour with her boyfriend's band. Her dad showing up drunk at graduation, however, is not exactly kicking things off on the right foot--and that's before she finds out about his mystery illness, certain to end in death. A mystery illness that she could inherit. Kate has to convince everyone around her that her father is sick, not crazy. But who will be harder to convince? Her friends? Or herself? The Problem With Crazy "is a story about love and life; about overcoming obstacles, choosing to trust, and learning how to make the choices that will change your life forever.

GOODREADS . AMAZON . B&N



Review: A couple of weeks ago I decided to sign up for a blog tour for a book I thought sounded pretty good. It was obviously a contemporary, and the synopsis made me think it was something that I would enjoy a lot. I didn't realize when I signed up for the blog tour that it was the second book in a companion series, so I was sent the first book to read as well. Obviously, I wanted to read the first book in the series before I read the one for the tour, so I picked it up this week. I didn't know what to expect since I didn't read the synopsis, but just started reading. Sometimes I like to go into books without reading the synopsis, though. As I kept reading, I really wanted to love this book, but it didn't completely happen for me. I didn't dislike it or anything, but it was just an okay read for me. I was pretty surprised by that because I usually love most contemporaries that I read.

The story definitely had its positives. I really did like the premise with everything, and it was interesting to see a mental illness take pretty center stage in a book, especially one that is hereditary and could end up affecting the main character. It was interesting to see Kate's mindset as she tried to come to terms with her father's illness, and the possibility that she might eventually be dealing with the same things. That is one of the main reasons why I enjoy reading contemporary, we get to see the issues that people often really have to face in life, and often we see some glimpse at how to deal and overcome such difficult situations. I certainly had sympathy for the main character the majority of the time.

While I felt for Kate, there was a more minor character who I really loved in the book; Lachlan. He is a guy that Kate runs into the first time she goes to see her counselor, and they run into each other again at the cafe that Lachlan co-owns/runs with his older brother. Lachlan had such an amazing personality, and I really enjoyed his views on how to take things in life, and look at how great the little things can be. Especially once he dropped a pretty big bombshell of his own. Despite everything, losing both of his parents, he was able to remain positive and I think that was just what the book, and Kate, needed.

Unfortunately, a lot of the story seemed a bit cliche and over-dramatic for my liking. Sure, I know what Kate was going through was difficult, but sometimes she acted like a pretty big brat when it was not necessary at all. While I felt sorry for her, there were also quite a few times when I did not like her at all because of the way she was acting. I tried really hard to look past these things, but sometimes it was really difficult as she reacted poorly to situations. I know that she was still a teen girl, but I really wanted to shake her a couple of times.

Another thing that I had trouble getting over was that a few of the characters seemed pretty stereotypical based on the role they played in the book. For instance, her ex-boyfriend who is in a band that's trying to make it big. He suddenly becomes a huge ass when it's time to go on tour and treats her horribly, just to come back into the story a couple of times with a blonde on his hip and a horrible attitude. (That blonde being a complete ditz in short dresses, of course). I don't know, I guess sometimes it's hard to avoid stereotypes in storylines like these, but some of them rubbed me the wrong way.

Despite some of the things listed above, I definitely would not say that this was a bad book. I still really enjoyed reading it, and I did not want to put it down once I was into the storyline. It did get pretty sad at a few parts, and I do love when that kind of emotion is thrown in. While it is certainly not one of my favorite contemporaries, I did not mind it, and I am interested to see what happens in the next book. Look forward to the blog tour and review in early February.

Rating: 3.0 / 5.0