Plot Summary
Ashton
is the good girl in town. She always
does everything she is supposed to. Her boyfriend,
Sawyer, is the golden boy and they make the perfect perfect couple. But Ashton
is growing tired of always having to live up to the expectations put on
her. She longs to return to the
mischievous ways of her childhood. This
is when her eyes start to wander to Sawyer’s cousin, Beau. The three have been friends since childhood,
and Beau has loved Ashton for that long, but has never made a move because of
the respect he has for Sawyer.
But
Sawyer is away for the summer on a camping trip. And Ashton is bored and looking to get into
some trouble. She sets her sights on
Beau and before they know what’s happening, feelings start to form that will
not go away. This is a funny, heartbreaking
story of self-discovery, betrayal and friendship.
Critical Evaluation
The Vincent Boys is about a love triangle
that doesn’t involve any kind of supernatural creature. Finally!
Ashton has had to act perfectly for most of her life and she is starting
to grow wary of the responsibility. No
reader can blame her for wanting to blow off a little steam. But we can blame her for blatantly cheating
on her very loyal, amazing boyfriend.
Sure, he has unrealistic expectations of her and they may not really
belong together, but there were better ways for both Ashton and Beau to handle
the situation. Beau should have insisted
on Ashton breaking up with Sawyer before they didn’t anything at all. Ashton shouldn’t have used Beau to live out
her wild girl fantasies only to drop him once Sawyer gets back into town.
Even
though the characters are flawed, these are realistic flaws. People cheat all the time for a million
different reasons. Some people just don’t
understand it, but it happens. Even
though the reader is annoyed at the way they go about it, Beau and Ashton do
seem a better fit than Ashton and Sawyer and the reader roots for them. Sawyer is a great guy but he obviously doesn’t
know who Ashton really is. This is a
story not only about the love triangle between the main characters, it is also
the story about Ashton discovering who she really is inside and figuring out a
way to be that person without letting everyone down.
Reader’s Annotation
Will Ashton be able to figure out which Vincent brother is
right for her before her entire world is shattered?
Author’s Information
Genre
Realistic Fiction / Sexuality and Gender
Book Talking Ideas
I’d lead with the idea of a love triangle that involves only
humans. So basically a story that could
actually happen is what The Vincent Boys
is all about. Ashton is the typical good
girl who wants to let her hair down – but in a major way. Teens might be interested in why she would
throw away her perfect boyfriend for the town bad boy.
Reading
Level/Interest
16/16
Challenge Issues
There is some sexual content in this book, but the majority
of the book deals more with the self-discovery aspects Ashton faces along with
the conflicting feelings she has towards the Vincent boys.
Why Include This
Title?
I felt like a realistic version of the love triangle was a welcome change from all of the paranormal romances out there. While this book does seem on the lighter side, some good messages and lessons for teens are included in the book, most of which are discussed above.
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