One Lonely Degree by C.K. Kelly Martin

Release Date: May 26, 2009
Publisher: Random House
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 256
From: publisher
Interest: n/a

Finn has always felt out of place, but suddenly her world is unraveling. It started with The Party. And Adam Porter. And the night in September that changed everything. The only person who knows about that night is Audrey—Finn’s best friend, her witness to everything, and the one person Finn trusts implicitly. So when Finn’s childhood friend Jersy moves back to town—reckless, beautiful Jersy, all lips and eyes and hair so soft you’d want to dip your fingers into it if you weren’t careful—Finn gives her blessing for Audrey to date him. How could she possibly say no to Audrey? With Audrey gone for the summer, though, Finn finds herself spending more and more time with Jersy, and for the first time in her life, something feels right. But Finn can’t be the girl who does this to her best friend...can she?

I’m not really sure what to say about this book. I liked it, but I didn’t. I liked Finn, but I didn’t. The only thing that I really liked was Martin’s writing.

There were some aspects of the novel that I really thought played well, the dysfunctional family, the forbidden relationship, and Finn’s growth, but everything else was just meh. It kept me entertained, but I didn’t particularly enjoy reading it. The ending is another big issue for me. I like how Martin kept it “open” but I would have liked to seen some issues resolved, at least had some sort of closure. I just felt like the book ended, not necessarily had an ending.

I’m actually really disappointed that I didn’t like it more. I’ve heard great things about I Know It’s Over, which I still haven’t read, but I own, so I was expecting something spectacular from One Lonely Degree as well. Too bad that didn’t happen. I am however interested in reading more novels from Martin, she’s an excellent writer, but this story just fell short of her talent.