Review: Hair in All The Wrong Places by Andrew Buckley

Publication Date: June 7, 2016

Synopsis:
What has he done? What's happening to him? And what on Earth is that smell?

For Colin Strauss, puberty stinks. Blackouts, hallucinations, and lapses in memory are the perils of growing up werewolf.

Worse than that, Colin worries he might have had something to do with the recent attacks on the townspeople. He may have eaten a person. It doesn’t matter that it’s someone he doesn’t particularly like. What kind of boy goes around eating people?

Thoughts:
Before I get into this, I just wanted to say that the author of this book, Andrew Buckley, contacted me and asked if I would like to read and review this. However, this is NOT sponsored in any way at all. I simply promised a honest review of his book, which I am giving you right now.
This is probably one of the funniest books I've read in a really long time. I absolutely loved the main character and his sense of humor, mostly because it felt a lot like my own. The way he would phrase things or respond to a question was constantly sassy in the best kind of way. It was also really great to find a main character who has such a sarcastic sense of humor without really intending to be sarcastic all the time, because I relate to that on an almost unhealthy level.

I had a really fun time reading the book and got into the story quite quickly. It was written in a really simple way that told the story without unnecessary drama or angst, all while reminding you of the awkwardness you experienced during puberty (don't lie, we were all awkward). I read most of this in one sitting and found myself wanting to finish it quickly before my iPad died and I had to leave the house for dinner. It was that good.

The one complaint I have is that the beginning was a little slower than I would've liked, since the synopsis already gives it away that he becomes a werewolf. I think I would have preferred if the first few chapters went by a little faster, but I still can't complain too much because I loved the sense of humor.

If you ever want to re-live your pubescent (or current) awkwardness about romance, then please pick this up because the awkwardness is so real. I would find myself cringing at certain points because the things Colin said actually sounded like things I probably would have said. It's also really cute because who doesn't like a dose of barely-a-teenager romance and sass?

I enjoyed the ending and really wished that there was another book after this. I'm not entirely sure if this is going to be a standalone or part of a series as the book hasn't even been published yet (unless you're reading this after June 7), but I would really enjoy another book in this town and with these characters. The way things wrapped up was perfect, but I think I'd miss these characters too much if I didn't get to see them again.

Character(s):
Colin's sass level is something I kind of aspire to reach, which would probably confuse my friends because I already contain more sass than most people would think. But seriously, this kid's sense of humor makes me want to be his friend, despite our nearly 6 year age gap. He's a great protagonist to read about because of how light he keeps things and how humorous almost everything becomes when he's around, all while managing to keep serious when the time calls for it.

Overall:
3.5 stars. It's kind of low for a book I enjoyed so much, but that's just because it's a Middle Grade and I'm almost 6 years older than Colin, which made it a little harder to relate to. That said, I think this is a really great book and I would recommend picking it up if you have a relative or friend who is around the Middle Grade age or simply likes reading in that age group. The humor is sure to hook the reader.

Acknowledgements:
Thank you to Andrew Buckley who contacted me and offered to send me an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.