Waiting On: Not Exactly a Love Story

Not Exactly a Love Story by Audrey Couloumbis
To be published: December 11, 2012 by Random House

It's 1977.

Fifteen-year old Vinnie isn't having a good year. He's recovering from the worst case of galloping acne his dermatologist's ever seen. His girl moved to California without even saying good-bye. And the ink on his parents divorce papers is barely dry, when his mom announces that they're moving from Queens to Long Island.

The silver lining in all this is that they move next door to Patsy—everyone's dream girl. Not that she'd ever notice him. But when Vinnie calls Patsy one night, it leads to a chain of anonymous midnight conversations. Under the cover of darkness, Vinnie becomes Vincenzo, Patsy's mystery caller, and the two share a side of themselves they would never reveal in daylight and develop a surprisingly real connection (despite the lies it's built on). As Vinnie gets to know Patsy in real life though, it becomes clear both identifies can't survive and he'll have to find a way to hangup the phone and step into the daylight.

Fraught with complications and crackling with witty dialogue, and all the angst and electricity that comes with always being just a phone wire away from the one you want, acclaimed author Audrey Couloumbis's YA debut is a smooth-talking Cyrano meets Saturday Night Fever and tells a quirky, flirty, and smart story that will appeal to fans of Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Frank Portman's King Dork, Natalie Standiford's How to Say Goodbye in Robot, and John Green's An Abundance of Katherines. It's not exactly a love story . . . but it's pretty close. [goodreads]

I don't think I've read a current book set in the 70's, so that definitely stood out as something different.  As I read through the plot summary, the idea of having a secret phone relationship between two teens peeked my interest even more.  Though it was never a secret, I do remember spending hours into the night talking on the phone with a certain boy in my teenage years.  What we talked about, I have no idea! haha  But man were there butterflies swirling all over the place.  End this plot summary with a reference to Perks of Being a Wallflower AND John Green?! Sold.  Definitely adding this book to my Christmas wish list :)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.