Ditched: A Love Story by Robin Mellom

Justina Griffith is not the type of girl to get excited about prom. She could care less about fancy dresses and heels. In fact, she’d have to admit that she doesn’t even know the first thing about formal attire. But when her best friend Ian Clark asks her to prom, Justina realizes that she’ll have to put all her fears and doubts about prom aside because, well, Ian’s kind of amazing. But that doesn’t explain why Justina finds herself on the side of the road on the morning after prom with bruises, a Tinker Bell tattoo, and a very ruined prom dress—alone. At the nearby 7-Eleven, Justina takes inventory of each dress stain, bruise, and bite mark from the night where she got ditched by what was supposed to be her perfect date. She thinks the last thing she wants is to see Ian again, but there’s another side to the story of prom night that she hasn’t heard yet. After all the damage and miscommunication, Justina will see that maybe missing out on prom doesn’t mean she’s missed out on love.

Ditched is a very cute story of high school romance. The cast of characters isn’t necessarily the most original, but they still remain quirky and pretty realistic. I’d say that plot and character development were satisfactory overall, if not stellar, but what really made this novel stand out for me was the way in which protagonist Justina told her story. Justina’s narrations alternate between her present conversation with two colorful women in a 7-Eleven and flashbacks which correspond with some physical mark on her unruly physical appearance. It’s kind of hilarious to read along as Justina recounts the story behind each stain and bruise; this more unusual way of storytelling certainly made Ditched very entertaining to read. Though the story overall is rather predicable, Ditched is still an adorable, fun, and heartwarming story perfect for all those high school prom cynics.

Ditched is sure to be enjoyed by fans of Prom Kings and Drama Queens by Dorian Cirrone, The Espressologist by Kristina Springer, and Rose Sees Red by Cecil Castellucci.

Rating: 3.5

Review copy from NetGalley