Not as entertaining as I expected judging by the inside flap, but still engaging. I do wonder whether today's teenagers find the characters easy to identify with, though: I don't think anyone I knew growing up was so completely muddled all the time as June and Wes. Not anyone functional, anyway.... ( )

When Wes saw June for the first time, he did not think too much about her. In fact she reminded him of a fish with “thick lips, a wide mouth, greenish-blue eyes that were a little too far apart” and he referred to her as “fish girl.” Wes had just broken up with Izzy, and June had just moved to Minnesota and was beginning her sixth school in four years. Neither was really looking for love but they eventually found each other and fell hard. Hautman tells their story in the third person alternating between June and Wes. June deals with her parents and their lame advice on all the moving they do with platitudes like “move on Junie, the past is the past” and There Is No Reverse Gear in Time Machine, a book her dad once read. They fail to see the toll all the moving is having on June, especially when she meets Wes and begins falling for him. As their relationship grows stronger June gets the awful news that they are moving again. Will June and Wes be able to keep their relationship going between Minnesota and Omaha, Nebraska? Do they want to keep it going? These questions and other issues of families and friends fill out the book with good character development and a quiet plot. Not your typical Hautman book which will probably appeal more to girls. ( )

The jacket of this book describes it as “a love story for people not particularly biased towards romance.” The novel follows two teenagers — June, the daughter of a consultant who is always on the move, and has learned to keep herself disconnected in each new place; and Wes, a “semi-cool semi-geek” who lives in the little Minnesota town to which June’s family has recently relocated. On the first few days of school, June goes through the usual motions of trying to find a couple of decent girls and guys to hang out with, and meets Jerry, a nice guy who aspires to be class president and has already started campaigning for the election in the spring. Wes, recently broken up with his girlfriend of a year-and-a-half, spends his time hanging out with the guys and occasionally attempting to tidy his parents’ messy garage. June manages to worm her way into a friendship with three girls, while Wes is recruited by Jerry to be his campaign manager. Eventually June and Wes start talking since their walk home from school partially follows the same roads, and begin to build a friendship, which is only propelled into something more after Wes and Jerry have a fight at school.

The cover art is attractive, if a little misleading, since it is a four-panel of the seasons which looks very much like a graphic novel’s layout. Although the book is easy to read, I found myself feeling disconnected from the main characters. Wes seems a little flat and unengaged with the world around him, although his concern over his parents’ messy garage is one of his more endearing qualities. June is somewhat more dynamic, since much of the novel is slanted towards her perspective. As I neared the end of the book, I kept waiting for something to happen — some sort of clashing tension, dramatic incident — something! Instead, it closes on a quiet, reflective note, with a good dose of reality regarding young love. ( )

A year in the life of a teenage romance, beginning in the fall of junior year for Wes and June and ending in August before senior year when June gets ready to move. With a father who is constantly moving them around the country, June learns to fit in fast and not get too involved, but that slowly changes when she and Wes eventually get together despite a number of false starts. ( )

The Big Crunch is a sweet and entirely relatable story of teenage love. June and Wes don't expect to fall in love, let alone the forever-type while they're so young. With so many unknowns, true love seems doomed. But is it ever really doomed when it's for real (as we all want to believe as teenagers?).

The characters are neither exceptional nor social outcasts, which was a refreshing change from many other teen books. June is a plain-Jane; not ugly, not pretty. She's emotional and silly. She's an average girl, and while Wes is far more attractive, he's not without common flaws. He's not always a good friend and he doesn't think before he acts. He's OCD and can be overly sensitive.

Hautman is a master at realistic characterization. I loved June's voice— I saw myself in her, even the petty parts that I wish I didn't relate to. I experienced everything she did, from being aware that I'm picking a stupid fight with my boyfriend, to allowing my emotions to cloud my judgment, to obsessing over a relationship and not being able to let go, even when logic dictates that I should. Any teen who's ever been in love will see themselves in this story.

The cover is GORGEOUS. And although the cover reveals the direction of the story before you even start reading, it spoils nothing for the reader. The point of this love story isn't knowing how it ends; it's the journey of how they got there.

The Big Crunch is targeted at teen female readers, although I sincerely enjoyed it as an adult. The book is so relatable that it was almost cathartic for me. It was like reading my journals, but without the shame and embarrassment of seeing how dramatic my teenage years were. The Big Crunch is an amazing backlist book for Scholastic, and I'm sad that it has not done as well as similar books such as Eleanor & Park.

If you're looking for the perfect book for an on-the-mend heartbroken teen, or a teen reader who loves a light, yet page-turning modern love story, this is it.

4 Stars. ( )