Jamie McGuire

An alternate title for this book could be: A Study in Unhealthy and Abusive Relationships. I read this to find out why some people love this, and some loathe it. The book wasn't bad, per se. The characters have serious problems with impulse control and long term planning. In the real world, Travis would have been arrested for assault and battery numerous times. Abby is far too forgiving of his behavior. I was in shock at how Abby could forgive Travis over and over for the stunts he pulls. show more Travis proclaims that all of his erratic behavior is because he loves her, etc. Stupidest excuse ever. He always tells her that he will never be violent towards her. Yeah, that's what every abuser says before it actually happens. I hope nobody reads this and thinks that Travis is someone to be desired and this book represents a healthy relationship. show less

booknook — Young Adult book reviews

Guys. I feel like I have read every amazing book on the planet this year. But this one.. this one tops the list.

I was terrified going into Beautiful Disaster. I don't know why I got so worked up over it, but I did. I was scared because Beautiful Disaster seems to be a "love it" or "hate it" kind of book.. and I so badly wanted to love it. All my worries ended on the very first page. I was totally hooked. I was in love.

I barely even know how to describe my show more reading experience. The physical experience was every bit as valuable as the story. I spent one entire day reading this book in extremely awkward positions (including laying on the floor with my feet up in the air on a chair..wtf?), I took this book with me to the bathroom because I couldn't possibly part with it, and I quoted every other line to my amazingly tolerant boyfriend. I laughed, I giggled insanely, and most importantly, I cried like a little girl. I think my eyes were in tears the entire last quarter of the book. I went from sad, to desperate, to happy, to insanely happy, and back to sad when the book ended and I had no more amazingness to read.

Jamie McGuire is a freakin' genius. I'm usually very picky about my bad boys, but Jamie set up Beautiful Disaster perfectly so that I would fall head over heels for Travis. Normally in stories like this there's the asshole bad boy and then there's the nice guy, and I always fall for the nice guy. Not this time! Travis had a great mix of bad boy jerk and sweet, sensitive, affectionate man. That way, when compared to Parker, Parker just looked like the boring, "safe" option, and Travis looked like the passionate, head over heels, to die for option.

I think a lot of people don't like this book because they look at Travis and they see a troubled guy who's a bit of an asshole and objectifies women. That's why I was scared going into this book, because I normally hate that kind of thing. But when I looked at Travis, I saw so much more than that. In the first scene he has a bimbo on his lap, but as soon as she insults his friend, he's like "Get the fuck out. Now." I knew right then and there that I would like Travis. He may have flaws but he is loyal. He's not a jackass. He loves his friends, he sticks up for them, and he'll go the lengths of the world for them. His relationship with Abby isn't perfect, but my god, it is passionate. I honestly think the title for this book is so perfect, because their relationship was absolutely beautiful.. but it was also a disaster. It was a little dysfunctional, and a little crazy, and there were definitely highs and lows. But that's what made this book an absolute delight of a roller coaster. When things were going badly, I was desperately clinging onto every page, waiting for things to get better again. I rarely get that invested in books, but I literally felt like my life would end if Travis and Abby couldn't make their relationship work.

Even the side characters were amazing and so full of life! America.. how I LOVED LOVED LOOOVED America! She is like the best friend I never had and always wanted. She's so fiercely loyal and always siding with Abby and always supporting her no matter what. I love how they always run to each others' sides when things get tough.

My only 'problems' with the book are two small things:

The blurb isn't exactly accurate. It says, "The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear.." Abby isn't as much of a "good girl" as the blurb implies. It clearly says, "She doesn't drink or swear," but Abby actually does drink and she has a fake ID. So if Abby is a "good girl" who has a fake ID and goes to clubs and drinks, what the heck am I? :P I don't drink, I never had a fake ID, and I don't go clubbing. I must be the virgin mary! I know that there is a big back story behind this, but I felt like there was never a point in the book where Abby was a good girl. Yes she was trying to start over with a new slate, but she was never ever innocent and never turned down a drink.

The other thing isn't really a problem with the book, it's just something that kept making me laugh. Travis always calls Abby "Pigeon" or "Pidge," and I could never keep a straight face. Lady and the Tramp, anyone? The Tramps calls Lady "Pidge" ALL THE TIME! I just couldn't help but think of those cartoon characters every time Travis said it!

I feel like I've barely scratched the surface with this review. This book really shook me to my very core. Do you ever feel silly when you yell at characters in a movie for making a mistake? Because obviously they can't "hear" you and nothing you say will change the movie. But when I was reading this book I was yelling at the characters and wishing like crazy that things would work out.. despite the fact that obviously my yelling and wishing wouldn't do any good. But that's how much I fell in love with this book and that's how much it affected me. I know my boyfriend will vouch for all the times I pasted him quotes from the book over Skype, and my mom laughed at me for shrieking in delight over the exciting parts and for screaming, "I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!"

There is no doubt in my mind.. this is the best book I have read this year. Period. This is one of my all time favourite books. Danny: I first heard about Beautiful Disaster when I read your Bewitched Bookworms review. THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I'm so incredibly thrilled that I discovered this book and I have you to thank!

I can't think of a single guy I know that's good enough for you.

Your skin was three inches from my face, and you're beautiful, and you smell fucking awesome when you sweat. I kissed you! I'm sorry!

You're all I think about. You're all I dream about. You're all I want.

I was his exception, and as much as I had tried to fight my feelings, he was mine.

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Have you ever seen an accident, or some other tragedy, where every decent cell in your body knows that you need to turn away, and yet you just can't? Well, Beautiful Disaster was like that in book form, at least for me. I sat in front of my computer for a good fifteen minutes, trying to decide how to rate this book and what to say in my review of it, and I still don't know the answer.

Travis Maddox is a mess. I enjoy a fucked up main character, but he's just too much. He has issues, and I show more love characters with issues, but...no. I can't get behind this relationship. He's jealous and possessive as hell, seriously injuring guys who dare flirt with Abby or make a crack about their relationship - where in the hell are the police or campus security? Travis tells Abby that he's never been arrested, but I can't see how he's managed to evade the court system this long, because he participates in underground fights AND publicly beats the shit out of people in the college cafeteria, and controlling as all get out, so I can't really see the attraction here. Sorry, but it's not okay to tell your girlfriend what to wear, to stalk her, to completely trash your apartment because you're angry at her, etc.

Really, none of this makes much sense. Abby makes a bet with Travis and loses, so she has to spend a month in his apartment (she originally ends up in his apartment because the hot water boiler breaks in her dorm room, and her best friend, America, is dating Travis' cousin and roommate, Shepley). Which apparently translates into Abby spending her nights in Travis' bed. Uhh, but they're just friends. Sure. And I can never decide if America and Shepley want Abby to be with Travis, and I don't think those characters know for certain themselves, because they keep changing their minds.

And I don't know why Abby really would WANT to be with Travis. He's paranoid and irrationally insecure about their relationship. But hey, he's hot, so I guess all of that is okay? Sigh. I feel bad for not rating this book one star, to be honest.

And yet I found it hard to put this book down, because everything was just so fucked up that I couldn't look away. I am unable to advocate this type of relationship in real life, but hey, they are both two messed up people, and sometimes two messed up people fall in love. It usually ends badly, but...it happens. And I don't know if the author was gunning for showcasing a seriously messed up and rather frightening codependent relationship, but she actually did that fairly well. Although I think it was supposed to be portrayed as romantic, and that is the really scary part. Because this book is not romantic, at least to me, in any sense of the imagination. show less

Fans of Beautiful Disaster know that Travis is volatile. Quick to anger and even quicker to react, he appears to be the type of boy about whom one would warn one’s daughter to steer clear. He is dangerous, playing fast and loose with his life as well as with the affections of the women he takes home. While fans already know how Abby changes all that for him, they do not know the path Travis takes to change or the fact that Travis is not necessarily the bad boy he appears to be.

In Walking show more Disaster, readers get to see Travis at his most vulnerable – at the side of his dying mother. It is a scene so poignant and beautifully simple that it underscores just how much of an impact it had on his life. Her final words to him change everything for him, which has direct consequences for relationships with women and especially with Abby. While readers may have questioned his actions towards Abby, or at least his motives, in the first novel, in the sequel, from the moment he meets her, no reader doubts the depths of his feelings for her. What follows is a crystal-clear picture of the cruel joke of poor timing and even poorer communication that besets them.

Surprisingly, Abby does not come across as completely innocent in Walking Disaster. In fact, one could make a compelling argument that Travis becomes so unhinged specifically because of her behavior towards him. Even with knowing how the story ends, some readers will still become upset at what she essentially puts him through while she tries to make up her mind about him even though they know the reasons why she does so. It’s a fantastic twist that explains so much about the first book and Travis’ crazy behavior.

One of the best explanations to come out of Walking Disaster is a better understanding of Travis’ behavior towards violence, gambling, woman, and alcohol. One sees his relationships with his brothers and father and realizes where those tendencies originate. One can neither approve or disapprove of behavior he learned from his family and may be the only way he knows. As for his rather uncouth behavior towards women, Ms. McGuire puts forth one of the most fascinating arguments supporting it. No longer is Travis the bad boy poster child but rather someone who verifies every lesson about self-respect and appearance that parents can ever teach their daughters.

Dan Bittner does a fantastic job channeling Travis and his intensity. Travis’ emotions are raw and passionate and could easily come across as melodramatic if performed incorrectly. Rather, Mr. Bittner uses that forcefulness to create a performance that is just as powerful and gut-wrenching than Abby’s version, if not more so. Travis’ devastation, his terror, his awe and overwhelming love for Abby are visceral in Mr. Bittner’s hands, something that makes certain scenes so difficult to experience. Still, it is an audiobook worth experiencing for the amazing nuances Mr. Bittner adds to Travis’ already complex voice.

Fans of Abby and Travis will absolutely adore the chance to watch their relationship unfold all over again. However, Walking Disaster is more than a rehash of their courtship but rather a touching story of growth as Travis learns that for which it is truly worth fighting. Ms. McGuire deftly balances key scenes and dialogue with fresh scenes, some of which come as a complete surprise to readers. There is never the sense of repetitiveness because the tone of the novel is completely different. The adorably charming epilogue ends his story with the perfect sense of closure, and the contentment readers feel upon finishing the story is proof positive that Walking Disaster is a damn good story, one that makes bad boy Travis Maddox just about ideal. show less