Book Review: One Night That Changes Everything by Lauren Barnholdt

Title: One Night That Changes Everything
Author: Lauren Barnholdt
Series: none
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: July 6 2010
My Source: Read online at Pulse It

My Rating: 4/5

Eliza is in a full-blown panic. Her notebook has been stolen—the one that lists everything she wants but is afraid to go after. And the absolute worst person in the world has it: her ex-boyfriend, Cooper.
Like it’s not enough Cooper was lying to Eliza for their entire relationship, now he and his friends are blackmailing her. They’re giving her just one night to complete the most humiliating tasks on her list or they’ll post her secrets online—including the ones that aren’t just about her.
Eliza’s sure of only one thing: she isn’t going down without a fight. Cooper may have what’s left of her dignity, but she’s not the only one with something to hide …

I read it online in one sitting this morning (by the way, Pulse It is an awesome site for teens where you can read books online for free- they have up to 4 at a time). It pulled me in from the first page and the story just kept going. Eliza is like most teenage girls-self concious and absolutely does not want her secrets posted all over the internet! Her ex-boyfriend Cooper and his friends have stolen her notebook where she wrote all her secrets and they blackmail her into doing all the things she's listed that she's way too afraid to do. The whole book took place in one night (hence the title), which was different but I really liked it. Eliza's adventures were hilarious and I could totally relate to her fears. In the end, it was predictable but cute, and I loved it.

This is a great quick read, if you can ignore the fact that 90% of the book is completely unrealistic. The 318's (Cooper's group of friends which was more like a secret society) was a pretty unrealistic group, as was Tyler, their leader. I never really could figure out why Tyler was blackmailing and stalking Eliza, I guess it was just for fun, and because she posted some nasty stuff about Cooper online. I'm pretty sure no guy or group of guy friends would ever do something like that to a girl they hardly knew. Anyway, that wasn't really the point of this book. It was just a one night adventure that taught both Eliza and Cooper a lot of great lessons and ended with a great feeling.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes quick reads with a good heart! Sounds cheesy, but it's true. I enjoyed reading this and my complaints are few! It wasn't the kind of book that made me go "wow" or anything, so it's not 5 stars, but it was still really good.
*content warning: some strong language