REVIEW: The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram

Bookish Details:
Pages: 278, eBook
Publisher: Bluefields
Release Date: May 4th 2013
Buy It From: Amazon - Amazon UK

Synopsis:

When Avery Shaw’s heart is shattered by her life-long best friend, she chooses to deal with it the only way she knows how—scientifically.

The state science fair is coming up and Avery decides to use her broken heart as the topic of her experiment. She’s going to find the cure. By forcing herself to experience the seven stages of grief through a series of social tests, she believes she will be able to get over Aiden Kennedy and make herself ready to love again. But she can’t do this experiment alone, and her partner (ex partner!) is the one who broke her heart.

Avery finds the solution to her troubles in the form of Aiden’s older brother Grayson. The gorgeous womanizer is about to be kicked off the school basketball team for failing physics. He’s in need of a good tutor and some serious extra credit. But when Avery recruits the lovable Grayson to be her “objective outside observer,” she gets a whole lot more than she bargained for, because Grayson has a theory of his own: Avery doesn’t need to grieve. She needs to live. And if there’s one thing Grayson Kennedy is good at, it’s living life to the fullest. 

My Review:

Avery has had her heart broken by her best friend, Aiden. She's been in love with him for years, but when he decides that the two of them need some space, she confesses her love to him, only to have him tell her that he doesn't feel the same way.

Aiden and Avery have been partners in the science fair each year, so this time around, Avery has to go it alone in coming up with a project and finding a parter. Unknowingly to him, Aiden's actions give Avery an idea. In order to get over her broken heart, she recruits Aiden's brother, Grayson, to help her with an experiment in which she aims to prove that the seven stages of grief can cure a broken heart.

Whilst Avery thinks that everything Grayson is doing is in the name of science, much to his own surprise, he's actually starting to fall for her. Throughout the course of the book, he tries to help Avery get her life back on track after Aiden's dismissal, both learning a lot about themselves and each other in the process.

This book was an incredibly fun read. From the moment Avery accidentally ended up in the shower with Grayson, I knew it was going to be a wild tale, and I wasn't wrong. With a fantastic bunch of characters and a plot that never stops delivering, this made for an entertaining and heart-warming read.

As someone who generally doesn't favour split-narrative stories, this book wouldn't have worked without Grayson's hilarious perspective on the events that occur. The stark contrast between him and Avery was brilliant and I utterly enjoyed the huge difference in narration from each of them. I found myself laughing so much during Grayson's chapters that I was glad I wasn't reading it on public transport at the time!

Avery's innocence and constant blushing could have ended up slightly annoying if it wasn't so well written, but because Grayson finds it so adorable, and the way it endears her to him, makes the reader see it through his eyes and appreciate the way he sees her.

Avery herself is a great character and I adored her development throughout the story. At first, I almost wanted to shake her by the shoulders and tell her to get over Aiden myself, but I love how she learns and grows stronger as the book goes on.

The supporting characters are all wildly entertaining. I dare you not to love Avery's friend Libby, the cats-on-clothes wearing science geek who tells it like it is. I was thrilled to find out that Kelly Oram's next book is a follow on from this story, but about Libby. I cannot wait to see more of her.

Also, I can't tell you enough how much I loved the breaking of stereotypes when it came to the popular characters in the story. Usually, the queen bees of the school are bitchy and generally not nice, but Pam and Chloe welcome Avery, a member of the science club, into their world with open arms, offering to help her. That's not something you see very much in contemporary YA!

I completely enjoyed this book and all it's fun-filled stages. Avery and Grayson's relationship was sweet and believable, as was her journey to accepting Aiden as a best friend rather than the love of her life. This is a book that definitely left me smiling, and I can't wait for the follow-up story, The Libby Garrett Intervention!

Royal Rating: