Review: The Joke's on YOU!

Title:  The Joke's on YOU!
Author:  Ashleigh Neame
Genre: New Adult
Publisher:  n/a
Release Date:  February 24, 2012
File Size/Pages:  589KB/281 pgs
Source:  Bought

Challenge:  A-Z Challenge; eBook Challenge

My Rating:  3/5

Summary:  Rebellious Layla's life is turned upside down when she lets her jealousy get the better of her. Her boyfriend soon leaves, and her mum throws her out. She ends up in Hamilton, where her boyfriend soon returns. They quickly strike up an affair, which eventually leaves her trapped. But will she finally grow up? Or will she keep on running?

Review:  Before I read this novel, I just knew I was going to love it, but by the end of it I just felt let down! The main character, Layla Baxter, is a rebellious, moody teen whose mother eventually ships her off to live with her grandparents in Hamilton. Layla has a boyfriend named Regan, but their relationship isn't always peachy. I don't want to give too much of the novel away, so I won't go into a lot of detail about it. There are so many things I could say about Layla; I couldn't relate to her character at all. She was way too moody and emotional for me to even like. It felt as if her character was sort of all over the place; she was with Regan, then someone (who shall remain nameless) in Hamilton, and when she gets back from Hamilton she was with someone else. It was just way too much! Also, I didn't like the way Regan treated Layla, and I felt like she would just let him walk all over her and then take him back! What was up with that? Tyler, someone Layla meets when she gets back into town, was a bit of a shock for me. Tyler's character could've been presented in so many different ways, but I felt like the author wanted people like him in the beginning, but hate him in the end. I wasn't a big fan of the ending, and I even said that if the book ended that way I'd be just done with it, but after giving it some thought, I might not have liked it, but I had to respect it. Overall, this novel had really good potential, but I just felt like the characters could be toned down a bit, and also the cursing. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind reading a novel with explicit words, but when the f-bomb seems to come up on almost every page and ever sentence, it's almost overkill.