Going Vintage is a perfect example of a funny, quick YA contemporary. I read this book after a string of fantasy and science-fiction books and it was the perfect palate cleanser that also helped to bring me out of my slight slump. For some reason this March has been hard for me to get through books. But I read Going Vintage in about a day and a half, the fastest I've read a book in a long time. And that was simply because I enjoyed it, fell in love with the characters, and wanted to know how the story ended. Sometimes, things don't have to be so complicated. And this book proved exactly that, in more ways than one.In Going Vintage, our main character is Mallory. She has had the same boyfriend, Jeremy, for thirteen months. She's crazy about him, she thinks, and spends most of her time with him, helping him, and making out with him. But one day while working on his computer she finds that his online game that he loves appears to be more than just a game to him. He's been emailing with a girl about real life stuff for months and Mallory dumps him. She's been burned by the internet and can see only one way through this. While cleaning out her grandmother's old house, she finds a list that her grandmother wrote in 1962 when she was sixteen. It was simple. A list of things she wanted to accomplish by the time her junior year of high school was over. Mallory decides she wants her life to be simple like her grandmother's was. So she goes vintage. She dumps technology. Anything invented after 1962 was a no-go. No cell phones, no computers, no internet, no FriendSpace (Facebook), no texting, no cordless phone, no GPS, etc. She will get past her pain, and the internet rumors and reputation killers, by getting back to a simpler life.Of course, as Mallory will learn, nothing is ever simple. Just because the internet didn't exist in 1962, it doesn't mean that teenagers had an easy life back then. There were still bullies, reputations to think about, bad boyfriends who cheated, and homework. And Mallory begins to realize these things as her time away from modern technology goes on. She also realizes that the friends she thought she had and the relationships they had might not be quite real. People are different online than they are in real life and teenagers today are interacting more and more online and on their phones rather than face-to-face. It's an interesting development, that one can have 500 friends on Facebook (or Friendspace in this book) but when they need to talk to some in person can't find anyone who will be there for them. I like how this book dealt with those issues.One of my favorite things about this book was the characters. My absolute favorite was Ginnie, Mallory's younger sister. She was completely different from Mallory but also her biggest supporter. When Mallory told her about her crazy plan, she jumped right on board. The sisters had a bond that I will never fully understand, but I was so happy that they had each other, especially since their parents were a little out of the loop. I also really liked Mallory as an MC, although she did get a little self-centered and mopey around the middle. Oliver, the boy, was of course great. I liked that while he seemed perfect, he wasn't.My one dislike of the book was the ending. It felt abrupt. There was so much build-up with completing the list and then it was just over. I kind of liked the way it ended, the words were perfect, I just wish there had been a little bit more. It wrapped everything up in just a couple of pages. I'm not sure if it's fair to dock a point when really all I'm saying is that I wanted more, but I'm going to anyway.Final Thoughts: This book was absolutely adorable. There isn't any kind of ground-breaking solution to the problems teenagers face with the internet, but it does pose some interesting questions regarding it. Plus, the writing is funny, the book is a very quick read, the characters are enjoyable, it is thoroughly adorable, and also full of lists! If you like fun YA contemporaries, check out Going Vintage.
