Released: December 11, 2012
Pages: 243 [Goodreads]
I have conflicting feelings toward Love and Other Perishable Items. On one hand, this story is incredibly raw and honest. Buzo’s writing style really captures the spirit of adolescence. On the other hand, this book’s execution had my mind spinning. Because of the nonlinear narration and dual POVs, everything just seemed so discombobulated. For a 240-page book, it sure took me a heck of a long time to finish this one. If I hadn’t become so enamored with Chris’s POV, I might have marked it DNF.
Amelia, Amelia, Amelia… What can I say about Amelia? Well for starters, I spent the first quarter of the book disliking her. Her whiny and at times snobbish behavior drove me berserk. I couldn’t connect to her at all. For me, Love and Other Perishable Item’s saving grace was the introduction of Chris’s POV. The premise didn’t really indicate this change-up in narration, so when it first came I was hesitant. Not only do I normally dislike multiple POVs, I also tend to dislike male perspectives. (I guess there’s a first for everything.) I ended up adoring Chris’s POV even more than Amelia’s. (Go figure.) While reading, I’d actually get depressed whenever it would revert back to Amelia. Luckily though, through Chris’s perspective I began to see a different side to Amelia. I started understanding and respecting her character more because of Chris. He saw a different side to her, one that was masked because Amelia herself felt so self-conscious and small.
I liked Love and Other Perishable Items because it was realistic. Bruzo does a great job of portraying a young girl navigating her way through high school (and life) by experiencing a multitude of “firsts.” I also thoroughly enjoyed following Chris along his own path of self-discovery.
I give this book 3 out of 5 bolts. The story was great, leaving off on a bittersweet ending, but I couldn’t get over the timeline confusion. I also found this book very repetitive because every time the POV would switch, we would get a replay of what had already occurred. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of this style.
Regardless, if you like cute and quirky contemporaries that are leaning toward the New Adult genre, you’ll enjoy Love and Other Perishable Items.
