Being Sloane Jacobs

A photo posted by Martina Sugondo (@martinasugondo) on May 2, 2016 at 5:55pm PDT

Author: Lauren Morrill

Publisher: Ember (randomhouseteens.com)

Year published: 2014

Pages: 330

Meet Sloane Emily Jacobs: a seriously stressed-out figure-skater from Washington, D.C., who choked during junior nationals and isn’t sure she’s ready for a comeback. What she does know is that she’d give anything to escape the mass of misery that is her life.

Now meet Sloane Devon Jacobs, a spunky ice hockey player from Philly who’s been suspended from her team for too many aggressive hip checks. Her punishment? Hockey camp, now, when she’s playing the worst she’s ever played. If she messes up? Her life will be over.

When the two Sloanes meet by chance in Montreal and decide to trade places for the summer, each girl thinks she’s the lucky one: no strangers to judge or laugh at Sloane Emily, no scouts expecting Sloane Devon to be a hero. But it didn’t occur to Sloane E. that while avoiding sequins and axels she might meet a hockey hottie—and Sloane D. never expected to run into a familiar (and very good-looking) face from home. It’s not long before the Sloanes discover that convincing people you’re someone else might be more difficult than being yourself.

My thoughts:

Being Sloane Jacobs is kinda cute and light contemporary young adult read that you can pick to read when you're looking for a fun teenage story. In fact, I honestly think that if someone thought of adapting it to a movie, it would be as fun as Freaky Friday, What a Girl Wants, She's the Man and other popular teenage movies back then. The theme is so close to teenagers such as finding who you really are, friendship, plus a slice of romance. Of course there are some parts that I found ridiculous and I believe it's not as simple as what the story told in real life, but who cares.

I like both Sloanes, but love Sloane Emily more. Other people often think her as a spoiled rich girl, with a senator father. But her life issues are beyond all that. Her family secret she had to keep and her  anxiety in figure skating made her finally decided to ask Sloane Devon to trade place. But Sloane E in the hockey camp was not the Sloane E in figure skating. She was strong, she was a fast-learner, and also she was very friendly. I really, really like her. Sloane Devon, on the other hand, was short-tempered. She was also judgmental. But I really like her change throughout the story and her friendship with Andy, her skating partner, made her sweeter. My love for her grew more and more the more I read the story.

Speaking of Andy... Yes, he's definitely my favorite supporting character here. A friend who didn't think Sloane D (or E) as a rival but a true friend whom you can grow with. Sadly, he's not a love interest of one of the Sloanes. The love interests... hmm.. should I say the name? I think you should  find their names yourself. But... I really like how Lauren Morrill put enough portion of the romance so that the story still focused on both Sloanes' life issues but also didn't lose the sweetness.

All in all, you can try reading this book if, like I said before, you are looking for a fun teenage story. Is there any Indonesian publisher who wants to translate this book? Please?