The Give Away Girl by MrsSpaceCowboy
Review by Dragonfly336
Rating: M
Genre: Romance/Angst
Characters: Edward & Bella
Summary: Honor student Bella Swan has mastered the arts...of manipulating her divorced parents, rolling the perfect joint, and faking an orgasm. Who wouldn't want to keep a girl like her? An unconventional coming of age tale for Gen Xer Bella. Rated M.
Do you ever read a story and are shocked that it doesn’t have ten times the reviews it does? Well, that is one of the reasons I started this blog. And this story that I started recently, it has just over 400 reviews at twenty-two posted chapters... and I kept reading and thinking why? It is an excellent story. It pulled me in immediately. It had me wanting to savor and read slowly, but hurry up to see what happens next. When I got to the last posted chapter, I got depressed that I wouldn’t get to read more and now I am sitting here wishing she would just update already!!!
The story I’m talking about is The Give Away Girl by MrsSpaceCowboy. One of the best things about this story is that it takes place in the ‘90s. It is a high school fic, where Bella is a sophomore in 1991. Not to date myself, but I graduated in 1994 and this story is just all kinds of nostalgic to me. Bella and her friends totally remind me of me and my friends. And trust me when I say, there are probably no other stories that remind me of me in high school. But I digress... let me tell you about this story!
So, I really love the little differences that MrsSpaceCowboy throws into this fic, but also keeps some canon characteristics. Bella grew up in Forks, but when Renee left, she didn’t go far. After getting her teaching degree in Seattle, she moves to Port Angeles. Bella ends up going to live with her and becoming the new girl at Port Angeles in eighth grade. She spends summers with her dad in Forks and is still best friends with her girls, who are dubbed The Pack, Alice, Leah, and Carmen. They are still thick as thieves and have each others backs, always.
Her best friend in Port Angeles is Emmett and at the beginning of the story we are introduced to Edward, Emmett’s cousin who has just moved to Port Angeles from Seattle. Bella and Edward become friends first over the phone. He gets her number from Emmett and uses the excuse of wanting to know more than one person once school starts. They actually meet in person at a show at a local bar. The night of the show, we also get to meet Jasper, who is Alice’s interest, and I absolutely love his characterization.
We exit the car, locking the passenger side at Leah's request. Jasper spies us as he exits the bar. He smiles, causing Alice to make a weird little squealing noise beside me. She has her tongue down his throat before any of us can even say hello.
I don't get it. Jasper isn't ugly by any means, but I just can't see the draw. His hair is a darker shade of blond than Peter's. It's also longer and naturally wavy. He looks like a freaking hair band singer. Brett Michaels or Jani Lane…take your pick. I've never seen the guy wear shorts, and I think he may own every single Metallica shirt ever pressed. Bangers just don't do anything for me.
And then we meet Edward in person for the first time.
I pay first before scrambling outside. I have no idea why I am freaking out. I look out across the parking lot and see Emmett closing the door of a silver Volvo 480. My heart is thundering in my chest as I let my eyes move left towards the driver's side of the car. There is a tall guy dressed in jeans, a black t-shirt, and black Vans. His hands are tucked into his front pockets. The back of his head is shaved close, but his bangs are long and unruly. I let out a breath. I am secretly relieved he isn't some kind of freak. Not that I ever thought he was. Or at least I never thought about it until The Pack made such a big deal about the fact that I've never even seen him. I am so caught up in my inner ramblings, I miss the fact that the others are now standing with me.
"What are we looking at?" Leah whispers from my left.
"Aaaaggh!" I startle and yell.
Emmett's head whips around. He smiles hugely when he spots us. Edward turns to face us fully. His face is decent too, it seems. His cheeks carry the slightest hint of leftover baby fat. He has thin wire rim glasses. They're a little geeky, but mostly they just make him look smart.
Leah links her pinky with mine pulling me forward. I start to freak out a little inside, because I'm not sure if Edward and I will "click" in person the way we do over the phone.
Emmett introduces him to the other girls. He smiles shyly, mumbles a greeting, and then his eyes are on me. "Hey, Bella." His voice, if possible, is even better in person. The sound of it eases my worry.
"Hey," I say, stepping into his personal space. I feel like we've passed the awkward handshake stage. He knows things about me that make him hug worthy. He must sense my intent, because he steps forward and we embrace.
His t-shirt is soft cotton, and I've never smelled anything in the world like this boy. "Nice to meet you," he whispers. Cinnamon breath near my ear mingles with the scent of soap and after shave on his skin.
And so we begin on a journey of first love while dealing with high school issues. There is a lot of great music and movie references from the ‘90s, as well as other mentions, such as pudding pops and Clearly Canadian! There are drug references too, our little clan really likes their weed. There are ups and downs, budding romances and falling outs. It is such a realistic high school story. I am just so excited about this story and I hope that you too, will give it a much deserved chance!
Banner by JaimeArkin
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