Hail Caesar by Thu-Huong Ha

John Miller, better known as "Caesar" with his God-like attribute to play basketball and get any girl he looks at, got a wake up call when he was almost run over by the new girl.

It's John's senior year in high school - the best year where he doesn't have to do anything and can have fun before going off to college to have more fun. That was before the first day of school came.

Senior year didn't go very well. John's 13-year-old sister, Kelly starts to act rebelliously. It might be because she's going into high school next year, or she feels abandoned since John will be leaving after the school year. All John knows is that he has no idea what to do or how to fix the mistakes she making.

Partying and random acts aren't cutting it for John anymore, which is making him lose the friends he's had for years.

And there's Eva. The new girl. The girl who will change John's life forever. He can't use his "Caesar" charm on her - it doesn't work. She talks non-stop about absolutely nothing and, after awhile, gets John to open up about topics he's never even dreamed of.

So when John labels Eva as "The Girl" - and many firsts for him - their relationship is strained and he's unsure what to do. He's never been in this situation.

One thing is for sure - things will not be the same after senior year.

My Thoughts/Reflections
Ah Caesar. There is always the one guy who is like Caesar in high school. It's just, this time, we get to read what goes through those types of guys.

This book was written through John's perspective, showing the reader what 1) guys think like and 2) what popular, cocky guys think about.

I was not expecting the ending that Thu-Huong Ha created. I'm not going to tell you what it is, but it definitely wasn't what I saw coming. Which is refreshing, cause it got me thinking - normally that doesn't happen because I never have to think about an ending that I predicted.

I liked both John and Eva's character, but I was unsatisfied with the dialogue throughout the novel. It was very choppy and strained - which is how John and Eva conversed, I know, but it was a little hard to follow sometimes.

I would recommend this book to any teenager - especially guys. I think guys would relate to this story even if they aren't popular or in a sport because John is forced to deal with a girl that he has never encountered before and doesn't know how to talk to her - which I think is very ideal for any teenage boy wanting to talk to a girl.

Also, I love how the author was 16-years-old when she wrote this!! She is very attuned for her young age and I think she did well for such a young author to write about boys her own age. Makes me wonder what I was doing at that age... certainly not writing a novel!