You, Maybe: The Profound Asymmetry of Love in High School

by Rachel Vail

Book Overview

Josie is independent and fierce. She may flirt with boys or kiss them, but it doesn't mean anything, not even with Michael, who's more like a friend-with-benefits. So how can she explain what happens when Carson Gold goes after her? Carson Gold, the hottest senior, the one everyone secretly watches. . . . Maybe it's the same thing that causes all the girls to stare as he walks by. Or maybe it's something between them, something just he and Josie share...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060569190
• ISBN13: 9780060569198
• Release Date: June 2007
• Publisher: Harperteen
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.9" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Awesome!

I bought the book for my daughter and she could not put it down. i would recommend this book to others. This is the second book she has read by this author and wants them all.

Man, do I love books like this...

At first, when you begin to read this book, it reminds you a lot like Twilight. Unrealistic, mismatched romance. Read on, and you will find i's not. In fact, it's quite the opposite. And that is what makes it perfect--it is the ideal antidote for this Edward-obsessed generation of developing young women.. At the beginning, Josie is an independent, philosophical, free sophomore in high school. At the end, she is a boring, trying-to fit in, tight pink sweater kind of girl. How did this happen? Carson -- the ideal senior, right? This story is amazing because it really portrays how much young girls fantasize in high school. She fantasizes that Carson loves her because they have the same spirit in ways, that he is vulnerable and tough at the same time, and that he loves her unconditionally. In truth, it's all a facade so he doesn't look like a loser while his ex (that he hasn't gotten over--and Josie knows this as a fact before she falls before Carson at the beginning on the book) is going out wih a sophomore in College. Anyway, in the end, all of Josie's fantasies fall apart. But she keeps rebuilding them in the hopes that she won't look like the fool she abhores at the beginning of the book. (At the beginning, Carson has just broken up with another girl who screams and cries that she loves him in the middle of a party). But she finds herself in a tense scene acting exactly as the girl she pitied so much. In the end, she regains her poise and her cleverness and her common sense in a very (cute?) (clever?) way. Which is a much, much better ending than what I was expecting...I was expecing Josie to get together with her old love, Michael. I don't know what this negative feedback is about. I think, like all books, you should hear it out to the end and make the judgement. Yes, you may be turned off at the beginning--this is a cheesy, drooly book but at the end you will be proved most pleasantly wrong. I LOVE this book because it is precisely how a Twilight would end up in real life--that book is fantasy on all levels. The message is "You will lose yourself if you give in to your fantasies--if it's too good to be true, it probably is." Read this book--it deglamorizes the silly and immature legacy the Twilight series has impressed on teenagers.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

YOU, MAYBE is a great book about high school romance. This book really captures how romance in high school can be confusing and heartbreaking, but can also be fun. This book is a page-turner; it keeps you wondering what could possibly happen next. Josie is a fifteen-year-old girl who is very independent and has never wanted to be anybody's girlfriend. She believes that when you become a couple, you yourself are only half of something and not whole. She's just a regular kid who never understood why they say that these are the best years of your life. Josie is living her regular life; going to school, trying to make some extra money, hanging out with her friends, and everything else a regular teenager would do. Josie loved hanging out with her best guy friend, Michael. Everything was fine between Josie and her friends. But what happens when she starts to think that she might be falling in love with Carson, a BP (beautiful person), the kind of person she had always hated? What happens when Carson starts to notice her? Carson had previously had a hard time when his first love, Emelina, got accepted to college early and fell in love with an older college boy. Will Carson learn to love Josie and give up on Emelina? And what will happen when a tragic event happens? Will Carson love Josie or break her heart? To answer all these questions, read this great book. Reviewed by: Cayla Carhart

A story any young woman can relate to

"Love is a brat," Josie's new crush, Carson, tells her. "Whatever you don't love, loves you. But whatever you love kicks your butt." Carson Gold isn't just any crush. He's a hot senior who had a very public breakup with his longtime girlfriend, Emelina. He then ran through several girls who Josie scorns as she sees them begging him to take them back at the parties she and her friends crash on weekends. Josie doesn't believe in love. She's happy hanging out with her two best gal pals, Zandra and Tru, and her longtime best friend Michael. She even enjoys running little kids' birthday parties, doing magic tricks dressed as Tallulah the Clown. Her life is full and uncomplicated. It is true that she and Michael make out frequently, but they're still just friends, she believes. Things get complicated though when Carson starts noticing Josie. She discovers that even she is not immune to his many charms. Things start out with secret makeout sessions during their free seventh periods. She continues to write songs and make out with Michael, which begins to feel weird. Carson doesn't call her and they don't really go out. But then he starts getting serious, asking her to be his girlfriend and to stop being with Michael. After some convincing, Josie agrees. She scraps plans for Michael's birthday and starts hanging out with Carson and his popular crowd, which includes his ex-girlfriend. Soon Josie is changing how she dresses, how she acts, and canceling birthday party gigs to go spend a weekend with Carson at his ex's cabin. Josie tells him about how much she loves him and is even thinking about having sex with Carson, who is pushing her farther than she has ever gone during makeout sessions. It is during this cabin adventure that Josie is forced to see that these changes are not good and that Carson has not changed from the fickle person she thought she knew. A near tragedy in her family brings Michael back, and she sees him for the valuable friend he is as well. YOU, MAYBE is for everyone who has had their head turned by the wrong guy. --- Reviewed by Amy Alessio

the best book ever about falling in love

I absolutely loved this book. It is deep but also funny and so intense. It is about Josie, who has always been strong and smart and comfortable with herself, and how she falls in love with gorgeous, charming Carson -- and throws away everything important to her, trying to keep him. ACK!!!! I know exactly how she feels! Rachel Vail absolutely captures the feelings (fantastic AND devastating) you have when the most important thing in your life is this one special relationship, and even when you KNOW you shouldn't do stuff (call him constantly, IM him, ask him what's wrong, cry in front of him) you just can't help it, you are nuts and obsessed and lost all track of who you used to be. I love Josie. I love this book. It just came out yesterday and my mom got it for me and I read it last night without looking up from it once! I couldn't stop! I just had to find out what happened... and now I can't wait to read it again.