The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour
Release Date: February 16, 2012
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 307
Source: ARC from publisher
Rating:  
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Colby’s post-high school plans have long been that he and his best friend Bev would tour with her band, then spend a year in Europe. When Bev she announces that she will start college just after the tour, Colby struggles to understand why she changed her mind and what losing her means for his future. – Goodreads

Review:
The Disenchantments was a fresh, fun, and very relatable read. Have you ever made big plans that never happened? Or perhaps been let down by a friend? Been unsure of where you were going in life? I think these are all universal things everyone experiences, in one way or another, and Nina LaCour brings them to life in this book with a road trip and some rock ‘n’ roll.

Bev and Colby have graduated from high school and their big plan is to take a year off from the reality that their peers are facing, of going to college, and instead embark on a trip around Europe. It has been their plan for years and all they have left to do is a week long tour with The Disenchantments and, then, purchase their tickets out of the country. Sounds great, right? Except Bev drops a bomb on Colby right before they set out on tour with the band: she’s going to college in the fall and she’s not going to Europe with Colby.

Even though the book was told from Colby’s POV, obviously giving me only his side of the story, I think I would have sided with him anyway. He’s so easy going and likable, especially in comparison to Bev’s moodiness, and it SUCKED MAJOR that Bev kept him completely in the dark. I know it can be difficult to be honest, the awfulness of having to hurt someone and wanting to delay doing that, but it was so easy to feel how lost Colby felt; not only did his plans drastically change — what does he do next?! — but their friendship suffered a blow, too.

With two of the four friends at odds during the final Disenchantments tour, the road trip up Northern California could have been a depressing disaster. There were some tense moments, with Colby trying to find out Bev’s reasoning for her change of plans and her silence in return, but LaCour captured a great energy with her characters. Alexa and Meg, the two other members of the band, were light and humorous, and they were good friends to both Colby and Bev. The small towns and venues that they visited were interesting, full of quirky characters, and the music, both the classics and that from the band itself, only added to the dynamic ambiance. The Disenchantments was a very enjoyable read that was easy to connect with. I encourage you to give it a go!