Book Review: Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill

Being Sloane Jacobs

By Lauren Morrill

Release Date: January 7, 2014

Source: Publisher

Summary: Meet Sloane Emily Jacobs: a seriously stressed-out figure-skater from Washington, D.C., who choked during junior nationals and isn’t sure she’s ready for a comeback. What she does know is that she’d give anything to escape the mass of misery that is her life.

Now meet Sloane Devon Jacobs, a spunky ice hockey player from Philly who’s been suspended from her team for too many aggressive hip checks. Her punishment? Hockey camp, now, when she’s playing the worst she’s ever played. If she messes up? Her life will be over.

When the two Sloanes meet by chance in Montreal and decide to trade places for the summer, each girl thinks she’s the lucky one: no strangers to judge or laugh at Sloane Emily, no scouts expecting Sloane Devon to be a hero. But it didn’t occur to Sloane E. that while avoiding sequins and axels she might meet a hockey hottie—and Sloane D. never expected to run into a familiar (and very good-looking) face from home. It’s not long before the Sloanes discover that convincing people you’re someone else might be more difficult than being yourself.

Review: I have been absolutely dying to read this book ever since I saw the summary on Goodreads. Not only was it by an author I adored (Meant to Be is SUCH a good read), but also the whole Parent Trap with a sport twist storyline seemed too good to pass up. 

Two girls. Two extremely stressful lives. One identical name. Sloane Emily Jacobs has been posing as the perfect senator's daughter all of her life. But when her mom wants her to get back into figure skating after choking at nationals three years ago, Sloane Emily isn't sure she can really handle it. Sloane Devon Jacobs is on the complete opposite spectrum. With her mom in rehab and her dad struggling to pay the bills, Sloane Devon needs hockey if she wants a chance at going to college. But she can't help but choking every time she goes for a shot, and when her flaring temper gets the best of her yet again, her coach orders her to go to hockey camp or else she's benched next season. On their way to their respective camps, the two Sloanes meet and decide to switch places. Little do they know, switching lives may be just what they need to fix what they set out to solve in the first place. 

Oh my gosh, this book was just so fun. I loved the idea that these two girls share the same name, yet come from completely different backgrounds. When they decide to switch, their stubborn personalities start to soften and they find themselves changing for the better, which is exactly what they needed in their stressful lives at the moment. You really get inside of the head of each girl and want them both to succeed in trying out a life that is so different from their own. 

And let's not forget about the sport aspect! It's no secret I love books with sports in them, so it was really cool how Sloane Devon was a hockey player and Sloane Emily was a figure skater. And where there's hockey, there's boys! I absolutely loved the two guys that find their way into each Sloane's life and how they learn so much about themselves as they attempt to have relationships so outside of what they're used to. 

In the end, this was a fantastic YA read that's a breath of fresh air. I haven't read anything like Being Sloane Jacobs, and it was absolutely perfect. Alternating between the girls kept things interesting and the romance was definitely exciting. Lauren Morrill hits the nail on the head yet again with the perfect YA contemporary. Any fan of YA needs to check out Lauren's latest release as soon as they can. You're in for some lovable characters in a fantastic novel.