Vintage Veronica by Erica S. Perl

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

Veronica Walsh is 15, fashion-minded, fat, and friendless. Her summer job in the Consignment Corner section (Employees Only!) of a vintage clothing store is a dream come true. There Veronica can spend her days separating the one-of-a-kind gem garments from the Dollar-a-Pound duds, without having to deal with people. But when two outrageous yet charismatic salesgirls befriend her and urge her to spy on and follow the mysterious and awkward stock boy Veronica has nicknamed the Nail, Veronica’s summer takes a turn for the weird. Suddenly, what began as a prank turns into something else entirely. Which means Veronica may have to come out of hiding and follow something even riskier for the first time: her heart.

Review:

Don't you just love it when a book surprises you in such a way that it blows you away? I know I do, so I was so glad when I discovered this was the case for Vintage Veronica, Erica S. Perl's debut novel.

Vintage Veronica has a lot going for it, in my opinion, since it contains funny, adorable, and relatable main characters, a setting that's catchy, leaving it to be a place that not only Erica brought to life with her writing but one I would love to visit if was real, and a plot that ended up surprising me in more than one aspect, a trait I wasn't expecting to find in this.

I've read in other reviews that some found Veronica  hard to relate to, but I found it to be the opposite case between me and her, since I felt that her issues were universal. Because who hasn't felt a lack of trust towards others? Or have been hurt badly with past friendships? Or felt they can never live up to the mold their parent(s) want them to fit? I know I can relate to a least one of those, and I have feeling many others can as well. Further more, her relationship with Len, called Dead Boy Walking or The Nail, was something I really enjoyed about Vintage Veronica. Since not only was it another one of those cutesy type romances but he, along with Bill (a character who surprised me), taught her some valuable life lessons, one's that she truly needed to hear. Lastily, I liked how her friendships with the floorines, Ginger and Zoe, explored (somewhat)  toxic friendships and how even while you may think someone may be perfect, in all truth, they probably aren't, far from it actually.

The plot of this was fun as well. I always adored seeing the bits and bolts of how a vintage clothing store runs and the crazy world that ensues inside of it all, along with Veronica's friendship/romantic relationship with the infamous Len. Also, as I've mentioned before, the setting of this one was nearly my favorite part of the book, and I have to say I'm majorly impressed of Erica for being able to describe and pull it off so efficiently.

Though I did have a couple problem with Vintage Veronica. One was the constant use of the f world, among other words in that genre. For the most part, I have no problem with swearing in YA books if it's done tastefully and doesn't feel awkward, but for this one it felt out of place to the point were I always winced when the f-bomb was dropped. Also, I felt the ending of this book was a wrapped up a little too quickly and nicely. But overall? Not the biggest of problems.

In all, Vintage Veronica proves to be a load of fun with some substance mixed in as well. So my suggestion to all of my readers out there? Read it because I'm sure you'll love it as much as I did!

Grade: A-

Vintage Veronica is now out! To find out more about it, head over to Erica's website.

Source: Publicist at Random House. Thanks Elizabeth!