Review: Ask Again Later (Liz Czukas)

Title: Ask Again Later
Series: standalone
Author: Liz Czukas
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: March 11, 2014
Genre: Young Adult Light Contemporary
Told: First Person (Heart), Past Tense
Content Rating: Older Teen (strong underage drinking, some strong language, badly behaving teens, streaking, kissing)
Format Read: Paperback (won)
Find On: Goodreads
Purchase On: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
Summary:

Despite what her name might suggest, Heart has zero interest in complicated romance. So when her brilliant plan to go to prom with a group of friends is disrupted by two surprise invites, Heart knows there's only one drama-free solution: flip a coin.

Heads: The jock. He might spend all night staring at his ex or throw up in the limo, but how bad can her brother's best friend really be?

Tails: The theater geek...with a secret. What could be better than a guy who shares all Heart's interests--even if he wants to share all his feelings?

Heart's simple coin flip has somehow given her the chance to live out both dates. But where her prom night ends up might be the most surprising thing of all...

*          *          *

In a Sentence: A relatively fun but ultimately dizzying prom story with a somewhat sweet romance but serious teens gone wild issues.

Ask Again Later is one book that tells two parallel stories: Heads (prom date: Troy) and Tails (prom date: Ryan). They start out relatively separate but eventually merge at the conclusion into one fateful end.

If this book had just been the Tails story, I probably would've given it 3.5/4 Scribbles. Despite misunderstandings and misdirected jealousy, it was essentially fun with friends that ended in a sweet romance. But then there was the Heads story. The kind of train-wreck I pointedly avoid, it started off bad and quickly degraded into a series of "what else can go wrong to make this night even worse" events escalated by underage drinking (lots and lots and lots of it), stupid pranks, a disturbingly indifferent brother, and some seriously unstable teens that the limo driver really should've called the cops on.

The book started out innocently enough with a playful voice and short chapters, but after the first Heads chapter I was wary. The Tails chapters quickly became a relief from the Heads storyline, but they just weren't enough to save my quickly plummeting rating as the book progressed. Right from the start I had trouble keeping the parallel prom stories separate (I couldn't even remember who was Heads and who Tails), and when they eventually intertwined to share the same chapters it got so confusing that my head ached trying to mentally keep them straight. Not something one is looking for in a fun, flirty contemporary romance.

On the plus side I did like Heart and her diverse crew (even if I couldn't tell a few of them apart). The writing was engaging and, although the story was seriously confusing, the playful voice kept me reading. The romance was complicated but ended sweet, and despite some frustrating miscommunication I shipped it.

If only it had just been the Tails story. *sigh*

Conclusion: Despite the confusing back and forth parallel stories and bad teen behavior, Ask Again Later was an interesting premise with a shipable romance that I would recommend for more mature readers looking for a decent prom story. Due to the older content and language though, I think I'll be passing on any more Czukas stories.

Scribble Rating: 

2.5 of 5 Scribbles