Lovesick

( 70 )

Overview

Ted’s drunk-driving accident has ruined his life. it cost him his basketball scholarship, ended his plans for college, and forced him into AA. but just when ted has resigned himself to his new life, Michael appears. the wealthy father of a bulimic Manhattan rich girl has a tempting proposition. He has agreed to pay for ted’s college tuition, but there’s one catch. ted has to secretly keep tabs on his benefactor’s daughter, erica. A seemingly simple task, with only one minor problem: ted never expected to fall in ...

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More About This Book

Overview

Ted’s drunk-driving accident has ruined his life. it cost him his basketball scholarship, ended his plans for college, and forced him into AA. but just when ted has resigned himself to his new life, Michael appears. the wealthy father of a bulimic Manhattan rich girl has a tempting proposition. He has agreed to pay for ted’s college tuition, but there’s one catch. ted has to secretly keep tabs on his benefactor’s daughter, erica. A seemingly simple task, with only one minor problem: ted never expected to fall in love.

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Editorial Reviews

From The Critics
In LoveSick, Jake Coburn puts a modern twist on the classic love story. I savored every last morsel.
—Amy Gray, author of Spygirl: True Adventures from My Life as a Private Eye
KLIATT
The author, who also wrote Prep, a novel exposing "the hidden, fiendish world" of prep school gangs (reviewed in KLIATT in Sept. 2003), claims in the preface that Love Sick is a true story, but, of course, disclaimers are also made on the copyright page that the contents are fiction. Erica is 18, wealthy, restrained by an overprotective father, and seriously bulimic. Jake, also 18, is a recovering alcoholic who smashed up his knee and a full-ride sports scholarship in a drunken collision of car and tree. Erica's father hires Jake to spy on his daughter, supposedly 20 minutes work a week, at the enormously over-inflated price of all of Jake's college expenses for four years. Jake is placed in a dorm room near Erica's and sets to work. Wouldn't you know, though, that troubled Jake falls in love with troubled Erica and all of the dictatorial father's plans go awry when Jake finds his spine and decides true love is worth any cost? Erica, conveniently, has a million or so dollars of her own, which allows her to escape her father's clutches, get therapy, and enables both to finish college anywhere their whims take them. The novel's real value lies not so much in its plotting but in its story of recovery for both Erica and Jake. It is certainly an advertisement for the 12-step program. Definitely for older adolescents because of excessive use of profanity; probably there in the interests of "realism," but may not be the limited lexicon of every young reader. KLIATT Codes: S—Recommended for senior high school students. 2005, Penguin, Dutton, 288p., Ages 15 to 18.
—Myrna Marler
Children's Literature
Coburn's second novel tells the tale of two teenagers, Ted and Erica, whose lives hold common threads. They are both freshmen at the same college, recovering from diseases, and are being manipulated by Erica's wealthy father. Set across the span of their first semester, and divided into four sections by month, Coburn recounts their journeys. At the onset, Ted looses his basketball scholarship due to a drunk driving accident. As a result he must attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and can no longer afford college— that is until a stranger offers him a chance if he will agree to spy on Erica, the Park Avenue princess and part-time bulimic. Coburn's plot is a predictable one, as the pair discover their parallels and find themselves their only friends, while falling in love in an environment hostile towards their hopes for recovery. Ted's guilt over his commitment to spy on Erica leaves him longing to tell the truth. Coburn's writing style—descriptive passages infused with vulgar e-mails, imitate VonZeigler's Gossip Girl, however, the plot has holes. While these characters are strikingly realistic many questions arise, such as why would Erica's father hire an amature and not a professional to spy on her? Overall Corburn's work will satisfy the Generation Y audience as it is fast-paced, fresh, and quite contemporary. 2005, Dutton Books, Ages 14 up.
—Elizabeth Sulock
School Library Journal
Gr 10 Up-After driving while drunk, crashing his truck into a tree, and wrecking his knee, Ted York no longer has a basketball scholarship to NYU or much of a future. He attends Alcoholics Anonymous on a judge's orders and has been sober for 90 days. When a stranger offers him full tuition if he'll keep an eye on a bulimic freshman for her billionaire father, the teen accepts the deal, expecting it to require little effort. But he hadn't counted on falling in love with Erica, and he finds himself forced to decide whether his loyalty is to her or the man paying his bills. Coburn skillfully balances the issues of alcoholism and bulimia with the fragile love story of two lost teens. Ted and Erica are surprisingly mature and aware of their faults, and their dialogue, including obscenities, is realistic. Erica's father is sympathetic in his genuine but misdirected concern for his daughter. The fast-paced narrative is helped along by frequent e-mails between characters. Part Ellen Wittlinger's Heart on My Sleeve (S & S, 2004), part Meg Rosoff's How I Live Now (Random, 2004), LoveSick will keep readers rooting for these teens.-Jane Cronkhite, Cuyahoga County Public Library, OH Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Claiming to be a nonfiction novel, this story explores the relationship between two teens struggling with addiction: Ted with alcoholism and Erica with bulimia. Ted is a good kid from a working-class family, formerly a star basketball player who has just lost an excellent scholarship. Erica is an angry little rich girl trying to escape the control of her powerful father. They're brought together by Michael, who hires Ted to spy on Erica for her father, offering to pay for his college education. Coburn tells much of the story through e-mails, as the two teens develop a friendship. Both become appealing to the reader, although Michael stands out, as the most original and interesting character. Coburn keeps the story well balanced and moving along swiftly. Readers will care what happens to these people; as a result, it should appeal to a wide audience. Nicely done. (Fiction. YA)
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780142408025
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
  • Publication date: 6/14/2007
  • Edition description: Reprint
  • Pages: 240
  • Sales rank: 165,919
  • Age range: 14 - 17 Years
  • Product dimensions: 5.40 (w) x 8.20 (h) x 0.70 (d)

Meet the Author

Jake Coburn lives in Los Angeles, California.

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 70 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(31)

4 Star

(15)

3 Star

(18)

2 Star

(1)

1 Star

(5)

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 70 Customer Reviews

  • Posted February 27, 2011

    the title is right on

    the book was rather distrubing in a way?i understand that both main characters struggle with their addiction but i would have like it better if the author didn't go into such detail about how erica (one of the main characters) was bulimic and describing in very gruesome detail how she would binge?over all the book was okay..started off slow?i did like however, the email and IM's thrown into the story and how eventually the ted and erica's story intertwined?the ending was cliche by ending with a cliff hanger?but sadly if this book became a series i dont think i would be interested in reading the second one.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted June 1, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Going Too Far
    Just Listen
    Just One Wish

    Loved it

    Ted thinks his life is over after a drunk driving accident, but then Michael comes to him with an interesting proposition. Erica is struggling to with bulimia and an oppressive father, but at least she gets to be on her own in college. When they meet, they may just save each other. The beginning of this book leads me to believe that this is based on a true story, though I could be wrong about that. It makes the story even more interesting if that's true though. In the beginning the plot moves a little slow, but once you get past the first few pages it picks up and is well worth the read.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted March 2, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    It's Kind of a Funny Story

    Great story!

    I'll admit I was confused out of my mind in in the begining but it got easier as I read and I loved it. It's not your average young adult love story and it doesn't have a 'perfect prince' or anything. Ted is a recovering alcoholic and Erica is bulimic. The emotion, anxiety, hate, anger, nervousness, etc. was written very well, though the love aspect of it was a little sudden. You'll either love it or hate it, depending on what kind of stories you like, but I loved it.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 10, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    This book was ok

    the book was ok i did like it but it just wasn`t realistic and the ending wasn`t as great as hoped it would be but it is a nice love story

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 11, 2008

    Lovesick

    I really liked this book. I liked Teds character in this book. I also like how Erica and Teds relationship is in this book. The only thing I didn't like was that she came back to him in the end of the book so it kind of had me waiting, but overall it was a great read.

    2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 8, 2008

    WONDERFULL

    This book was amazing..the way ted showed his affection for erica! great read. Slow start..but it sucks you in!

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 27, 2008

    great story

    This was a really good book. Sometimes it got kind of confusing because of the words used. But, I would definately recommend this to anyone who likes real-life stories.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 23, 2011

    uhmazingggg

    gorgous! i luvvvvvved it!!!!! ted sounds hawt.....:) bahaha

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 14, 2011

    Amazing!!!!

    Definately worth the buy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  • Posted July 9, 2010

    Not Good.

    This book is not worth the time it takes to read it. I do not recommend it.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 25, 2010

    :(

    I really couldn't get into this book. It wasn't entertaining enough like a great book does. I caught myself thinking about what needed to get done around the house or checking the time. It wasn't as great as I had hoped and I was rather disappointed.

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  • Posted January 15, 2010

    I Also Recommend:

    The Bean Trees

    wasnt really what i expected....

    Honestly this book was alright. I didnt like the end it really wasnt what i expected to happen. I liked how the characters were, the only thing that really caught my eye was the cover. The story really wasnt all that interesting.i would not read this book agian unless its the only book on the planet. it didnt really seem real to me. it didnt challange me at all. this book would be good for who people who have a history of bad things in their life, they could probably find themselves in one or more of the charaters.But i didnt find myself in any of them.

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  • Posted July 10, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Ok

    This book overall was okay. I really like it and enjoyed reading it, but once it was over I was over it. It just kind of ended.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 24, 2009

    Missing

    I truly love the plot of Lovesick. But I constantly found myself thinking about how much the author was missing important parts of the story. I didn't feel like I knew any of the characters or what was going on. It felt like just a bunch of things happening and then throwing them together. This story could have been 5 stars, but Jake Coburn lacked essential story lines.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 27, 2009

    I Also Recommend:

    Going Too Far
    Perfect Chemistry (Perfect Chemistry Series #1)

    i found myself wanting to put it away.

    this is not a normal YA novel. sometimes that is good, sometimes it backfires. i thought it was too slow, and missing a bunch of essentials parts for us to fall in love with the characters. it was basically just like the father's and 'spy's' emails to each other. i liked ted and erica, but they only interacted a couple of times and when they did interact it was hardly anything, a five minute conversation. i dont know how they 'fell in love'. i found myself near the end of the book saying i might as well put this away, its boring me and i dont care enough about the characters to see what happens in the end. if you are interested in bulimia and over protective rich fathers, kids dropping out of college, AA/12 step meetings, and hearing the word 'f*ck' about 300 times, go for this book. but i believe the title is very misleading. there is hardly and love... its mostly just sick. erica being sick from bulimia, and her father being sick for trying to get someone to spy on her. hardly any love at all.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted April 21, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Rosencrans 4th Period

    Love Sick is a book writen by Jake Coburn and is about a guy named Ted, who lost everything life stood for in one moment. The one time he ever drove drunk, was the only time it took to to ruin everything. Ted had to completely rearrange everything he planned for his life. His athletic scholarship was now gone as well as his plans to get far away. As a few months pass, a mysterious man shows up and makes a deal with him. This man gives Ted a free pass to four years of college, with one condition. The condition being to take care of his daughter. Ted never imagined falling in love becoming a problem, but as he meets and gets to know his deal, its hard for him to not. This novel has multiple twists in the story, but a wonderful love story. Although the begining was slow and hard to understand, the book turned out to be a great one. I would give this novel a 8, and encourage anyone wanting a great love story to read this!

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  • Posted April 11, 2009

    intresting

    i have to admit the beginning was very slow and boring but once they meet in the book it gets very intresting

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  • Posted February 24, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    It was okay

    The book wasn't as great as I thought it'd be. It was good, don't get me wrong. But I was left with unanswered questions. The ending wasn't that good.

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  • Posted December 17, 2008

    Lovesick

    Love Sick is a book about a guy named Ted, who lost everything his life stood for in one moment. One time he drove drunk, and that one time was all it took to completely rearrange all of his plans for life. He swerved into a tree, wrapping his car around it, smashing his knee cap in the process. His athletic scholarship to collage: gone. His plans for getting away from where life placed him: gone. His knee: gone. Replaced by an artificial one, metal under skin. All he can do is help out at the hardware store that his parents owned and wait. That is, until a mysterious man shows up one day and makes a deal with him. He gets a fully paid ride to collage for all four years. But in return, he must keep an eye on a girl. Just one girl, that¿s all. Her father wants to have someone watching her, making sure she doesn¿t binge while she¿s away, because, the thing is, she bulimic. Easy, or so he thinks. Falling in love is a problem very far from his mind, but fall in love he does. Now the question is, how can he protect her, and stay in collage at the same time? This is a very good, very original love story, and kept me hanging on till the very end. There are many twists in the story, so the reader never knows what the end will be, or even what is going to happen next. Coburn¿s style is new and original, mixing email and storytelling together to create a fun, new love story. A must-read for anyone who enjoys a good love story.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted July 12, 2008

    loved it

    although the ending isnt very realistic i loved this book... ive read many books about eds and erica was so relatable not just in the fact that she was bulimic but her everyday life and actions

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