Neurotic Thoughts on Ditched

Ditched: A Love Story
Author: Robin Mellom
Release Date: January 10, 2012
Genre: YA Contemporary
Published by: Disney-Hyperion
Source: Disney-Hyperion and NetGalley
Summary from Goodreads:


High school senior Justina Griffith was never the girl who dreamed of going to prom. Designer dresses and strappy heels? Not her thing. So she never expected her best friend, Ian Clark, to ask her. 
Ian, who always passed her the baseball bat, handle first. 
Ian, who knew exactly when she needed red licorice. 
Ian, who promised her the most amazing night at prom. 
And then ditched her. 
Now, as the sun rises over her small town, and with only the help of some opinionated ladies at the 7-Eleven, Justina must piece together -- stain by stain on her thrift-store dress -- exactly how she ended up dateless. A three-legged Chihuahua was involved. Along with a demolition derby-ready Cadillac. And there was that incident at the tattoo parlor. Plus the flying leap from Brian Sontag's moving car... 
But to get the whole story, Justina will have to face the boy who ditched her. And discover if losing out at prom can ultimately lead to true love. 
Filled with humor, charm, and romance, "Ditched: A Love Story" by debut novelist Robin Mellom will have readers dreaming of love on their own prom nights.

Ditched is such a fun and endearing book. Justina finds herself on the side of the road the morning after prom and stumbles to the nearest 7-11 looking for a pay phone. Instead of using the phone she encounters Gilda the 7-11 clerk and Donna the bubbly customer. They all sit around the 7-11 munching on snacks and trying to figure out what went wrong with Justina's fail proof prom plan.


Gilda and Donna are such great additions to the cast of characters in this book. It's not too often that you find eclectic, understanding adults in young adult books. Usually the parents are missing for some reason, and the teens are just out there on their own. Even though Ian is missing for a lot of Ditched you still get to know him really well during Justina's flashbacks of their history together. In fact I was really impressed that for a book that involves a girl sitting in a 7-11 telling a story to two women that you get to know so many people so well. The Mikes that call everyone by their essence and their girlfriends Serenity and Bliss added so much to the adventure of Justina's prom experience. They really made the book have that certain something in my opinion. 


From the first page I was laughing and dying to know how Justina had ended up in a ditch on the side of the road. If you are looking for a light, fun, romantic comedy then look no further you have found it.