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Slammed: A Novel (1)

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Description

From 1 New York Times bestselling author of It Starts with Us and It Ends with Us, Colleen Hoover’s romantic, emotion-packed debut novel unforgettably captures all the magic and confusion of first love, as two young people forge an unlikely bond before discovering that fate has other plans for them. Following the unexpected death of her father, eighteen-year-old Layken becomes the rock for both her mother and younger brother. She appears resilient and tenacious, but inside, she's losing hope. Then she meets her new neighbor Will, a handsome twenty-one-year-old whose mere presence leaves her flustered and whose passion for poetry slams thrills her. Not long after a heart- stopping first date during which each recognizes something profound and familiar in the other, they are slammed to the core when a shocking discovery brings their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together and the forces that tear them apart. Only through the poetry they share are they able to speak the truth that is in their hearts and imagine a future where love is cause for celebration, not regret. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atria


Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 18, 2012


Edition ‏ : ‎ Original


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 352 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1476715904


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 02


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.94 x 5.31 x 8.23 inches


Book 1 of 3 ‏ : ‎ Slammed


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Top Amazon Reviews


  • Trust your Head or your Heart?
Originally reviewed at[...] It's hard for me to narrow down all the reasons I fell for Slammed. It's the characters. It's the romance. It's the strong family themes. It's the poetry featured. It's the authentic dialogue. It's the writing itself. It's all of those things rolled into one that make Slammed such a perfect read. It felt like Lake, Will, Kel and Caulder, Eddie and Lake's mom are people I know, or could know. It just felt very real. So as you can gather from the above synopsis, we meet Layken (Lake) and her family (brother, Kel and mom, Julia) as they are leaving Texas to move to Michigan. Lake's dad recently passed away after suffering a heart attack and the family is still recovering from the unexpected loss. Within a few pages we meet Will, and his younger brother Caulder (love that name!) who live in the house across the street from the rental Lake's family is moving into. There is instant chemistry for sure between Lake and Will, and the next day, Will asks Lake on a date. Things are suddenly looking up for Lake and she's starting to believe that maybe this move won't be such a terrible thing after all. The first date turns out to be amazing. Why? Because Will takes Lake to this club that hosts performance poetry (or Slams) one night a week. Ok. I've heard of slam poetry. The first thing I think of is Mike Meyers performing slam poetry in 'So I Married an Axe Murderer.' Remember that? Anyway, that's about the extent of my knowledge on the subject. But you guys, it turns out to be so COOL. It's not getting up in front of an audience and reciting poetry. It's not 'Dead Poets Society' (that one I stole from the book itself,) it's much more personal. It's soul bearing. And the best part? This is Will's passion. When he gets up on stage and performs a piece, essentially letting Lake into his own life and story, she has officially fallen. Hard. There is an undeniable connection made between the two and it would appear that Lake and Will are on the cusp of a major romance. And just when you think it can't get any better, BAM! The bottom drops out. So I can't reveal why this happens because that would be MAJOR spolilery. But something is revealed that completely changes things and Lake and Will can't be together. The entire mood and tone of the book shifts and what remains is how Lake and Will deal with the aftermath. Character wise, I loved both Lake and Will. They are both such good people who truly want to be responsible and do the right thing. The problem is their hearts keep getting in the way of their heads. It's frustrating and heartbreaking to witness and I found it impossible to not root for them and wish they could find a way to work it all out. In addition, both Will, and especially Lake, undergo some great character growth, which is SO important, isn't it? There are some moments where it seems like Lake is obsessing over the break up, and some moments where it seems like she's not taking steps to move forward, but those moments are brief and actually pretty realistic in my opinion. There is one scene where Lake says all she feels like doing is sleeping, because it doesn't hurt as bad when you're asleep. When I read that I was like "Yep. Been there." But Lake does pick herself up, dust herself off, and try to move on. Ok, I can't elaborate any further without giving too much away. Moving on. The secondary characters in Slammed are superb. Each is individual and fully developed and play important roles in the story. There really aren't any people written in that act as filler, each character is important in their own right. Of all them I can't help but gravitate towards Lake's new best friend Eddie (who is a girl) and who has her own set of problems and challenges. But Eddie is also intensely loyal and just a great person. She's quirky and outspoken and I adored her. I want a spin off with Eddie as the MC! The other character that I loved was Julia, Lake's mom. Thank you Colleen Hoover for having a parental figure who is front and center in the MC's life! I for one am sick of reading YA that either sidelines the parents relegating them to the distant background or worse, ignores them altogether. Some of the best YA books I have read lately have parents and guardians playing active roles in the story, and I LOVE that. The importance of family is a strong theme that reverberates throughout the book and it is one of my favorite aspects. The romance is written beautifully. It's the perfect mix of sweet (there are plenty of "a[...]" moments) and steamy (plenty of "Whoa, that's hot..." moments.) The physical attraction is there but the emotional attraction (I don't even know if that's a real term) is just as important, and in the end, that's the MOST important connection between Will and Lake. And there are some issues in this book. But it didn't feel like an "issue" book to me. It didn't feel melodramatic or over the top. It felt authentic and real. Grief, loss and denial, as well as the role of responsibility and priorities are all represented in Slammed. Will and Lake encounter these challenges head on and watching them work to resolve their problems ultimately resulted in a book with a very uplifting message. I LOVE books that do that. I would be remiss if I didn't talk a little about the poetry and the song lyrics mentioned at the start of each chapter of Slammed. Author Colleen Hoover dedicated this book to the indie band the Avett Brothers who inspire her writing. These lyrics tie in beautifully to the book and for a music (especially indie and alternative music) lover like me it is always such a treat to read how music motivates writers. If you want to check out Hoover's Avett Brothers play list for Slammed you can find that here:[...] And I have to leave you with a taste of the poetry found in Slammed. Here is my favorite of Will's poems: I used to love the ocean. Everything about her. Her coral reefs, her white caps, her roaring waves, the rocks they lap, her pirate legends and mermaid tails, Treasures lost and treasures held... And ALL of her fish in the sea. Yes, I used to love the ocean, Everything about her, The way she would sing me to sleep as I lay in my bed then wake me with a force that I soon came to dread. Her fables, her lies, her misleading eyes, I'd drain her dry If I cared enough to. I used to love the ocean, Everything about her. Her coral reefs, her whitecaps, her roaring waves, the rocks they lap, her pirate legends and mermaid tails, Treasures lost and treasures held. And ALL of her fish in the sea. Well if you've ever tried navigating your sailboat through she stormy seas, you would realize that her whitecaps are your enemies. If you've ever tried swimming a shore when your leg gets a cramp and you just had a huge meal of In-N-Out burgers that's weighing you down, and her roaring waves are knocking the wind out of you, filling your lungs with water as you flail your arms, trying to get someone's attention, but your friends just wave back at you? And if you've ever grown up with dreams in your head about life, and how one of these days you would pirate your own ship and have your own crew and that all of the mermaids would love only you? Well, you would realize...as I eventually realized... That all the good things about her? All the beautiful? It's not real. It's fake. So you keep your ocean, I'll take the Lake. Freaking shivers every time I read that, people. Read the book, you'll understand why:) If you love quiet stories that grab hold of you and don't let go, and if you love big romance and characters that you can get behind and support with your heart and soul, I think you'll love Slammed. I hope you give it a try:) ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2012 by Heather R.

  • Performing Slam Poetry is Now on My Theoretical Bucket List
It is always an amazing book that immediately drives me to get up and DO. I don't just finish the book and reflect on the things I have read. I have an overwhelming desire to change something in my life or do something that I have never done before. I find myself wanting to truly experience something, to go out and LIVE life to its fullest. That is what Slammed did to me. No, nothing really life changing occurred with me after reading this book, but I couldn't move on until I immediately loaded the Avett Brothers onto my Pandora playlist so I could hear their amazing music. Then I searched for the beautiful lyrics of their songs so that I could soak them in and interpret them for myself. I have a need to find somewhere, anywhere within driving distance for me to see Slam poetry in action. I found myself sitting in my spare moments and thinking about the Slam poetry that I could perform about the moments in my life that have impacted me the most. I don't just want to sit around and think about the things that I read about in this novel. I want to DO. In short, this is a book about grieving, but ultimately this is a book about living. Lake (a strange name for a main character, but soon it becomes natural and right to me as a name once I got to know her) finds herself transplanted from Texas to Michigan when her mom and she, along with a younger brother, move after the sudden death of her father. Although it has been a few months since her father's death, Lake is still experiencing residual sadness because of the loss of her happy family. Things are different now, and it is even more different when she finds herself in Michigan. She isn't happy to be there, but things begin to look up immediately when she meets the lovely man living next door to her. Will is a few years older than Lake, and they immediately hit it off. I mean they REALLY hit it off. I wouldn't go so far as to call it love at first sight, but they definitely find that there is a solid connection between each other. Within a few days they have gone on the best date ever in Lake's experience, and they are definitely way into each other. SPOILER AHEAD. READ ON AT YOUR OWN RISK. Then their happily ever after world tilts a bit on its axis. Lake shows up for her first day of school on the Monday following her amazing weekend of Will, only to see him in the hall at school as she starts searching for her third hour class. She goes to him, throws her arms around him, and he freaks out. Why? Well, young and lovely Will is actually a very young high school teacher at Lake's high school. He thought she was in college. She thought he was definitely not a teacher. And to add insult to injury . . . he's her third hour teacher. Noooooooo! Now that's trouble. Obviously they can't keep seeing each other. That's all kinds of wrong in almost any playbook in existence. High school teachers do not date their students. Even if the teacher is twenty-one and the student is eighteen. It just can't be done. So what to do now? They try to avoid each other. They try to be "just friends." They occasionally get into snippy fits with each other. But they keep coming back to each other again and again. This becomes increasingly more frustrating as the novel continues. As a reader I am rooting for them to find a way to be together as a couple. No matter what Will may say, it is obvious that he wants to be with Lake. But even as my reading heart is wishing for this couple to make it work, my real life brain is saying that this wouldn't be a happy thing in a real life high school. Google any number of recent news stories on this sort of topic, and it becomes clear that situations like this do not generally have happy endings. And yet I continued to root for these two people who seem to be so meant for each other. In Slammed, Lake's mother gives her some great advise about finding a good man. She says: "Does he treat you with respect at all times? That's the first question. The second question is, if he is the exact same person twenty years from now that he is today, would you still want to marry him? And finally, does he inspire you to want to be a better person? You find someone you can answer yes to all three, then you've found a good man." That is why I can't stop rooting for this couple. Will is a good man. He inspires Lake to be a better person. He treats her with respect. A good man. Somehow this relationship has to succeed. Even with a crazy situation like this dominating her life, the difficulties are only beginning for Lake. She finds out that there is more to this move to Michigan than she originally believed, and this revelation is a doozy of a revelation. It will change Lake's life in a significant way, and it is in the midst of this struggle that I believe that Will truly shows his worth to her. Unfortunately it is mixed up in all the confusion of his being her teacher, so a lot of his awesome behavior is lost to her. But it was further proof of his goodness. I won't say more about the eventual ending or resolution of the various issues of the story. I will just say a few thoughts I had while I read. Most of all . . . I absolutely loved the character of Will. He was amazing in so many ways. The things he does for his younger brother and the consideration he gives to Lake's mother and to Lake as well were wonderful. He behaves in a way that seems very hurtful to Lake at one point in the novel (well, actually it is at several points), but once we discover his motivations for his actions, it makes him even more amazing in my opinion. The ending scene of the book was nice, but for me the most wonderful, incredible, amazing, swoon worthy, awwwwww moment of the book was when Will performed his Slam poetry, reading the "Lake" poem. My heart is still fluttering from that scene. I LOVED that poem and how he used words to so beautifully portray his love for Lake. I can't get them out of my head. That is writing genius in my mind. That is what makes a brilliant poem. Loved it! The poetry of the lyrics of the Avett Brothers played a good part in this novel. They aren't just words to read and then quickly move on to the main plot. They are words that have to simmer in your conscience, percolating until the meaning seeps into your heart, finding residence that resonates with you on a deeper level. I just really loved the inclusion of these lyrics in the novel. It is a richer novel for having them in it. Hoover does an amazing job of really portraying the struggle that Lake goes through as she realizes that she has fallen in love with Will. As a reader I could feel her desire warring with her head as she tried to find a way to make this situation work. I could feel her frustration. I could feel her moving through the stages of grief. The writing was very well done, keeping me turning pages until I could find a resolution that satisfied me. So am I satisfied? Yes! And no. I love the ending of this novel. It was what I wanted to find, even though it occurred in a way I didn't expect. But I was not satisfied to be done with Will and Lake's story. I wanted more. I want to re-enter the world of Slam poetry that displays the emotions of the writers in such a raw and real way. Hurray that there is a second novel in this series! I downloaded it right away so that I can continue their story. This was a wonderful discovery for me as a reader. Five stars! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2012 by Melissa

  • Hiding their love
I thought Layken was so selfish. Once she found out about her and Will's true situation that Monday morning she was just so childish, but then again she had just turned 18. Will could have lost so much. Their relationship just seemed so natural, but so much could send it sideways. I gave it 4 stars because it was good, love Kel and Caulder. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2025 by BookLoverUpAllNight

  • amazing!!!!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was very heartfelt inspirational. The poetry that was involved was amazing. It actually made me want to write a poems myself.lol . I loved the book from the beginning to the end. It just kept me going with laughter crying I resonated with it very deeply.
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2025 by Kindle Customer

  • This book was recommended to me
Slammed is not a title I would have chosen. My neighbor insisted I read it. She said I would love it. She was right. The character and plot development combined to create a vortex I got sucked into and I couldn't put it down. Thanks, Neighbor! I. Off to read #2 of the trilogy!
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2025 by Chris Moss

  • I just can’t
I honestly don’t know where to begin. It’s a Tuesday morning and I have to be up in 3 hours! I couldn’t put down. Can’t force my eyes closed. I am a sucker for love but the poetry took my breath away. I am so glad there are 3 books in this series. Please read. You will not regret it. So many lessons learned. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2025 by bankssb

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