Review: Wild Cards by Simone Elkeles

Publish Date: October 1, 2013
Kindle {p. 288}
Genre: Young Adult
Series: Wild Cards #1
Source: Publisher
Ashtyn Parker, Derek Fitzpatrick

After getting kicked out of boarding school, bad boy Derek Fitzpatrick has no choice but to live with his ditzy stepmother while his military dad is deployed. Things quickly go from bad to worse when he finds out she plans to move them back to her childhood home in Illinois. Derek’s counting the days before he can be on his own, and the last thing he needs is to get involved with someone else’s family drama.

Ashtyn Parker knows one thing for certain--people you care about leave without a backward glance. A football scholarship would finally give her the chance to leave. So she pours everything into winning a state championship, until her boyfriend and star quarterback betrays them all by joining their rival team. Ashtyn needs a new game plan, but it requires trusting Derek—someone she barely knows, someone born to break the rules. Is she willing to put her heart on the line to try and win it all?

I truly enjoyed the dynamic between Ashtyn and Derek. As always, the tone the author sets seems to be right on point with the youthful voice. It's just something about her books that suck you in. After reading the advanced copy, I can honestly say I don't regret pre-ordering this book back in June.

The story starts off very quickly, but not so quickly that you get lost. The two meet within the first couple of chapters and sparks immediately start to fly. As with every teenaged boy, Derek has his jerk moments, but they're not enough to make him off putting. I however cannot say the same about Ashtyn's boyfriend Landon. He, on the other hand, I hated on first sight.

The premise of the girl football player reminded me of Catching Jordan, but the only thing these two books had in common was a girl football player. Since this book takes place over the summer, Ashtyn's interaction with her teammates was all off the field. There was very little actual football playing.

Ashtyn family was a whole other story in and of itself. I never really ever understood what her dad's problem was. Yes, the author addresses it, but I still found her dad lacking. Her sister's story I don't recall being explained at all, but she wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. The other secondary characters weren't all that interesting either beyond Derek's grandmother and his little brother Julian.

All in all I'm anxiously awaiting the release of the next book in this series, and I'm hoping it's just as great.