Spring break arrives, which means a visit to Grandma and Mom's old hometown. Grandma is eccentric, but she's also cool and understands Erin's frustrations. And she can help. By taking Erin on a visit to Mom's old high school. Not Mom's school today. But Mom's school as it was in 1970.
Erin experiences the trip of her lifetime. Back in time, where she struggles to fit in with a bunch of kids who never heard of the Internt or laptops or cell phones. Where she meets some very cool kids. And one not so cool kid named Catherine. Now known as Mom.
Talk turns to tennis, and inevitably the challenge is made and accepted. And they play the tennis match of the century. Erin had repeatedly heard how Mom was undefeated. Now was her time to do something about it. They battle hard until, in unexpected fashion, it's over. But when she returns to the present Erin learns the truth about her Mom. And Mom learns some lessons as well.
Enjoy Erin's thrill ride, her fun, her excitement, her anxiety. And discover how her trip to the past changed her present.
My Thoughts:
Maybe this wasn't just a strange town.
Maybe it was also a strange time.
If thats what was going on, that meant...
I was a time traveller!
Oh-mi-god.
Erin and her Mum are butting heads on pretty much everything. But especially tennis. Erin is quite a good player but her Mum thinks she doesn't apply herself fully to reach her full potential. You see, Erin's Mum was quite the player back in her teenage years. Until injury put an end to her dreams.
Erin came across to me as a normal teenager. She just wants to be like all her other friends, shopping at the mall, going to the movies, hanging out with the guy that she's crushing on. But instead of doing all those things, she's at home doing chores to help out her mum, taking tennis lessons and babysitting the neighbours kids. It's during a trip to her Grandma's house that all the fun begins. Her Grandma decides to take her on a little visit to her Mum's old school. Not in the present day though, but back in the seventies, where she meets her mum as a teenager and actually competes in a game of tennis with her.
For me, the best scenes in the book were when Erin was transported back to the seventies. I loved the dialogue that she had with the other kids in school and the references to the music, TV shows, fashion and events from that era.
Another thing that I enjoyed was the relationship that Erin had with her Grandma. Grandma was cool and quirky. But I loved that Erin had someone on her side. Someone that she could talk to and seemed to understand exactly what she was feeling.
There was a bit of mystery involved as Erin tried to piece together all the pieces from the seventies and her present day life to see how they were connected. I loved the little twist of an ending and I think that brought the biggest smile to my face.
Some days you just need something light, quick and fun and I think Advantage Erin ticks all those boxes. Since it's not too heavy, if you sat yourself down you could read this in a few hours. Since it is such a quick read it doesn't allow a great deal of time to connect with the characters on a greater level. I would probably recommend this to the younger end of the YA audience but there's nothing stopping anyone of any age picking it up for a read.
3/5 Stars
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