When I read Nina LaCour's debut novel, Hold Still, I immediately fell in love with her writing and her ability to capture the complex emotions that make up humanity. After hearing about the fact that her second novel was due out soon, I kept my eyes peeled and finally spotted The Disenchantments at my library.
The Disenchantments is told from the perspective of Colby, a newly graduated teenager in love with his best friend and overwhelmingly excited about the opportunity to go traveling around Europe with her in only a few weeks.
You see, Colby and Bev have had a plan prepared for years now. They made a pact that when they graduated, they would take that first year off and go traveling together in Europe. Graduation finally rolls around and now they're going to go on a quick tour with Bev's band, then set off for Paris.
But when Bev throws a wrench in Colby's plans on the first day of the tour by telling him she's changed her mind, he feels like everything has shattered. Apparently, Bev has been accepted to an art school on the east coast, which means she has been intending to bail on him for months now, but just now decided to tell him.
Because the band is on such a tight schedule and because one part of the trip is taking Meg (the bassist) to college, Colby can't back out of it, though he is incredibly angry and hurt by his best friend keeping this secret from him. Instead, he joins them on the tour through small towns where their gigs are set, the types of places that will book a band that's really not very good but has incredible stage presence and passion in spite of it.
The Disenchantments is, in its essence, a book about growing up and dealing with the heartbreaks and disappointments that come with that. It's about being disenchanted with life and realizing that sometimes it's okay if everything doesn't go as planned. And sometimes the hurt is worth the lesson you learn from it.
Written just as beautifully as her first book, LaCour does a fabulous job at creating memorable characters as well as a book that makes you feel like you can accomplish anything when you finish it. It's one of those stories that, when you walk away from it, you can still feel its encouragement and it brings back that excitement about life and what's in store for you in the future.
I would definitely suggest this one to any and all. It's a wonderful book and definitely a new favorite of mine. I will be shoving this into the hands of every one of my friends as soon as I have the funds to purchase it.
Rating: ~ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ~
"It's incredible," she says, "how much damage everyone does to everybody else."
I don't really know where she's going with this, but then she says, "I didn't ever want to break anyone's heart."
I look away from her hands. I focus on keeping my own still.
"I don't ever want to be accountable to anyone for anything again," she says. "I will never make another pact and I will never get married and I will never let anyone think that I am theirs forever."
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