My Summary: Easy follows Jacqueline, a college sophomore who has recently been dumped by her high-school boyfriend. She's coming to terms with her new life, since her old one was built around her boyfriend, his friends, and his life. She is left with her roommate/best friend who is dating one of her ex's frat brothers. Against her wishes, her friend brings her to the frat's Halloween party and promises to stay close. But before long, her friend goes off with her boyfriend and Jacqueline decides to leave early. On her way to her truck alone, she is attacked by another fraternity brother and friend of her ex. She is rescued by a boy named Lucas, someone she has never before noticed. It turns out he is in her Econ class, the one she is failing after cutting for two weeks because her ex is also in the class, works at the campus Starbucks, and shows up in lots of other places in the coming weeks. Jacqueline wants to forget the attack, doesn't let Lucas call the cops, and doesn't tell her roommate. But she can't keep the secret when her attacker just won't give up. She is also struggling with her feelings for Lucas. She feels safe with him, but held at arm's length. And what about her Econ tutor she's developing a crush on even though she's never met him? There are lots of changes coming for Jacqueline and she'll need to learn who she can depend on and to believe in herself.My Likes: The characters. The book is told from Jacqueline's point of view and I liked her right away. Even recovering from a bad break-up and struggling to deal with her attack, she was likeable and relatable. I was also a big fan of her best friend and roommate Erin. She was the kind of friend everyone needs. She was there for Jacqueline when she needed her, never doubted her story, stood beside her throughout the drama, and was happy for her when she succeeded. And Lucas. A perfect romantic male lead who's sweet and protective but mysterious and still dealing with some of his own issues. The message. I'm also a huge fan of the message in this book to young women. Jacqueline is attacked leaving a party by herself by someone she knows. She refuses to call the cops when Lucas stops the attack. But that doesn't stop the attacker for long. He knows Jacqueline and her schedule. And he finds her. The message is clear. Be smart about where you are and who you're with. Don't go out along at night. Stand up against attackers, demand action against them. We need to stand together as a gender and stop demeaning the victims. Women can't feel safe on college campuses, and many other places, but we should at least feel safe enough to stand up for ourselves and each other.My Dislikes: I really don't have much to dislike about this one. One thing that bothered me a little was when Jacqueline goes to Dr. Heller to ask about Lucas. I really wanted the whole thing to come from Lucas himself. Also, it was on the verge of feeling repetitive.Overall Feelings: I absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down! I'd seen Easy everywhere. It's always listed in the top ten Amazon Kindle books and people have recommended it all over the place. I'll freely admit that I didn't expect much from it, but I bought a Kindle copy anyway. I didn't even read it right away. I've had the book for months and it just sat there. I finally started it on a whim and didn't want to stop till it was over! Like with Anna and the French Kiss, I was very happy I gave in to the hype and the book definitely exceeded my expectations. Easy is romantic, sweet, intense and timely with a great message to young women about standing up for yourself. I highly recommend this book, though if you have trouble reading about violence or sexual assault, I would skip it. I gave Easy 5 stars.
