Title: A Little Something Different Author: Sandy Hall
Published: August 26, 2014
Genre(s): Romance: Contemporary
Page Count: 272
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship.
Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together....
This is obviously a book that’s been making rounds in the reading community, and not without reason. A Little Something Different is a unique, cutesy debut that’s highly enjoyable. This is the bookish equivalent to potato chips: not the best for you, but you still can’t help wanting more.
Though this is definitely a romance novel, I think it’s also worth noting that this doesn’t follow the cut and dry romance layout. Rather, Hall is mostly concerned with how her characters begin a romance, rather than how they sustain one. I wouldn’t necessarily call A Little Something Different a “romance”, but rather a “lead in to romance”. Which is totally okay with me and certainly something that strays from the norm.
Aside from the non-romancey romance, the other big aspect that differentiates this book from others in the genre is the narration, i.e., Hall tells this romance from the perspectives of 14 outside parties, never once getting into the heads of the couple themselves. It was a bold, risky move, but it paid off I think, because it added another huge element that I think will appeal to a lot of readers: shipping. Because not going to lie, A Little Something Different is a book narrated by shippers, and it’s sure to bring out the inner shipper in everyone. So from that perspective, I think the outside viewpoints were really smart, and helped to bring the reader into things, even though they weren’t directly involved with the main characters’ emotions or thoughts.
On the technical side of the multiple viewpoints, there is also the unfortunate fact that they got confusing. If you have so many characters in the book who narrated first person as “I”, it’s bound to get confusing. Especially since the main character of the scene isn’t actually the “I”, but the “he” or “she”. I would often find myself straying into the assumption that it was Gabe or Lea who was narrating, since they had the spotlight. In the end, I had several moments of confusion, though nothing too detrimental to my enjoyment.
In terms of the main characters, Gabe and Lea themselves, I wasn’t their biggest fan, particularly Gabe’s. Both of them are very shy, reserved college students who spend a lot of time mooning over each other but are both too chicken to say anything. Not only is this frustrating for their friends and random onlookers, it’s frustrating for the reader.
But the most frustrating thing about A Little Something Different was Gabe’s constant self-flagellation. He was such an angsty, self-pitying dude, and I really began to get sick of hearing about how pathetic he found himself. And I’m not saying that he necessarily had not reason to have that attitude, but it wasn’t the best thing to be constantly reading. And, also, this is very much a case where you can tell by reading the male perspective chapters that the author is a woman. I never bought the interactions between Gabe and his guy friends; they sounded very much like what women like to think men are like when we’re not around, but I doubt they were very realistic at all. But, since I am a woman, it was hardly a huge issue.
I had a lot less problems with Lea. She’s shy and uncertain of herself, but she doesn’t needlessly hate on herself like Gabe. Her biggest issue was that she and her friends slut-shamed another character in a very hypocritical way. Throughout A Little Something Different, Lea’s friends are pushing her to approach Gabe and make the first move with him. But when Hillary, another girl, develops a crush on Gabe and sees that he’s single, she does make a move. What do Lea and her friends do? Dub Hillary the “skank queen”. WOW. First of all, pursuing a single man isn’t “skanky”. Secondly, isn’t Lea pursuing the same man as well? Is she a skank? No. Well then, why is Hillary? Idiots.
Tha slut-shaming was very frustrating for me, and it did affect my enjoyment of Lea’s character a bit, as did Gabe’s annoying self-pity. But overall, the two of them were a pretty cute, mushy couple, and I enjoyed watching their awkwardness finally turn into an actual conversation by the end of the book. At times it seemed like those two would never get anywhere with their relationship, but they did, and I think it was mostly worth the wait.
So, in spite of some issues and technical difficulties, I do think A Little Something Different is a worthwhile read. Sandy Hall’s debut is fluffy and quirky and memorable, and I loved that the author tried something new with her storytelling. I enjoyed myself with this book, and I’m glad I picked it up.
