Book Review: The Ex Games by Jennifer Echols

The Ex Games by Jennifer Echols
Genre: Young Adult/Romantic Comedy
Release Date: Available Now
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Pages: 336
Received From: Author

Summary: Brace yourself for the battle of the exes.... Hayden and Nick used to be a hot item, but their brief affair ended with a highly publicized breakup. Now the two are "just friends," excluding the occasional flirtation. When Hayden wins the girls' division of a local snowboarding competition, Nick is unimpressed, claiming that Hayden wouldn't have a chance against a guy. Hayden calls Nick's bluff and challenges him to a head-to-head boarding contest. Their mutual friends quickly take sides, the girls on Hayden's and the boys on Nick's, making for an all-out battle of the sexes. This friendly competition is bound to get heated -- and they might end up igniting some old flames.

My Review: Two words to describe the The Ex Games, cute and funny! I enjoyed the storyline and quickly became involved in Hayden and Nick's dysfunctional relationship. I really liked Hayden and her friends, they all had nice personalities. Their character's can easily be relatable to teens and young adult girls. Hayden's ex, Nick, well...I have mixed feelings about him. In the beginning I hated him because he was such a jerk but as time passed he grew on me. He's one of those characters that you start to like once you get to know them on a deeper level. I also enjoyed all the snowboarding terminology, I really want to snowboard now! Overall, a quick fun read that I'm sure will be enjoyable to romantic comedy lovers.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Author Interview:

Jennifer is the author of The Ex Games and writes teen romantic comedies for Simon Pulse and young adult dramas for MTV Books.

Thank you for doing this interview with me Jennifer!

1) How old were you when you started writing?
I don’t know, but I do remember that my third grade teacher “published” my poems by copying them for the class. When I was a tween and a teen, I wrote a lot of short stories and started a lot of novels!

2) What inspired you to write The Ex Games?
My editor wanted a snowboarding book. I thought of the title, then built the story around that.

3) Are the characters in the books based on someone you know?
I never base characters on people I know, but I draw from my experience with people in general. The heroine of The Ex Games, Hayden, is a character type I’ve met often and I love to be around. She has a hard time keeping her mouth shut. I am ASTOUNDED at what comes out of her mouth. She turns the most mundane situation into something hilarious.

4) What was the hardest part about writing The Ex Games?
The snowboarding scenes. I have snowskied a lot but I have never snowboarded, so I watched the Winter X Games and snowboarding DVDs to try to get that right.

5) I see you have a romantic drama coming out July 2010 called Forget You...can you tell us a little bit about this book?
After her mother’s breakdown, a teen fears she's going crazy herself as she tries to piece together what happened the night of a car wreck she can't remember, and why her darkly handsome arch-enemy has fallen in love with her. I am so excited about this book! I’ve already discussed cover ideas with my editor, and I will start revising it as soon as I finish what I’m doing right now...see #6!

6) Do you have any other projects you're currently working on?
I’m writing the sequel to The Boys Next Door. It’s called Endless Summer and it will be out next June.

7) Are there any new authors that have sparked your interest?
I have to admit that my head is in the sand because I am facing a deadline...see #6!

8) What book are you currently reading?
The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore, a ghost story set in my home state of Alabama, and it is wonderful.

9) Do you have anything to say to all your readers?
Yes--thank you! Thank you for buying my books, blogging about them, and telling your friends about them. It’s really something for an author’s sales to be good in a bad economy, and I feel very, very lucky and grateful. It took me a long time to get a book published in the first place, so I never take any of this for granted.

10) Tell us something about yourself that no one knows about.

I just had a birthday!

*Eleni: Happy belated birthday Jennifer!*