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Unmaking Hunter Kennedy

by Anne Eliot (Goodreads Author)

3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 · rating details · 2,679 ratings · 356 reviews

After a car accident--an event he considers a prank gone bad--pop star, Hunter Kennedy is forced to hide out with his aunt in small-town Colorado. He’s supposed to rest, heal his scars and attend high school in disguise until the press dies down. But he only wants to get back to work.

Worse, the girl who’s been assigned to make him over into a geek is a major geek herself....more

Kindle Edition, First Edition, 422 pages

Published October 17th 2012 by Butterfly Books, LLC

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Nov 30, 2012 ♥Rachel♥ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Visit The Readers Den for a chance to win a SIGNED copy of Unmaking Hunter Kennedy.

Aww…just so FLIPPING CUTE and beyond adorable! When a gorgeous god-of-a-rock-star falls for a spazzy adorkable girl, you have all the makings for an utterly sweet romance!

Hunter Kennedy has just finished a six-week stay at a mental health facility after a night of vandalism, drinking, and pill popping. He also cut himself but according to Hunter, he was never serious about taking his own life. Things just spirale...more Visit The Readers Den for a chance to win a SIGNED copy of Unmaking Hunter Kennedy.

Aww…just so FLIPPING CUTE and beyond adorable! When a gorgeous god-of-a-rock-star falls for a spazzy adorkable girl, you have all the makings for an utterly sweet romance!

Hunter Kennedy has just finished a six-week stay at a mental health facility after a night of vandalism, drinking, and pill popping. He also cut himself but according to Hunter, he was never serious about taking his own life. Things just spiraled out of control during a desperate bid to piss his mother off and get her attention. Well, he has her attention now, and it’s bought him all kinds of down time in the little Podunk town of Monument, Colorado. He’s to stay with his aunt under disguise, and attend high school with the Roth children, Charlie and Vere the only ones in on the deception. Hunter is horrified at the thought but plays along, thinking the sooner he makes his mom happy, the sooner she’ll let him get back to his real life. So he plays along, even embracing the uber dork disguise. What he doesn’t count on is the total relief of anonymity or his fascination with ultra-spaz-extraordinaire: Vere.

Hunter’s dork get-up may be a disguise, but Vere’s is the real-deal. Add to that is the fact that she goes completely mental when faced with any male, especially Curtis, her long-time crush. Surprisingly, Vere is not that intimidated by Hunter and soon they strike up a friendship. Vere makes the success of Hunter’s disguise her personal mission, schooling him in all things awkward to complete and perfect the image. In exchange, Hunter agrees to help Vere get over her extreme shyness around the opposite sex, and come up with a plan to win Curtis, once and for all.

You see where this is going, right? So beyond cute! At first I found Vere to be very naïve, and sort of over the top with her crazy reactions to Curtis, but that quickly changed as I read on and totally fell for her. This girl was Queen Spaz, but in an entirely endearing way. She was a breath of fresh air and the perfect friend for Hunter. Hunter was ultra hot and famous, but he wasn’t impressed with his persona. I liked that he was so over the mindless adoration he received from fan-girls. The idea of him falling for a normal girl was completely believable when you got to know him, because of that. Most people believe it would be amazing to be idolized and desired like that, but this story really showed how unappealing the reality would be.

I love it when opposites of the social spectrum are forced together and the sparks fly! The magnetic pull between these two was obvious throughout the story, and made for a heck of a build-up! Here’s a tempting quote:

He laughed low and ran a finger along the top of her mouth. His touch sent shivers of sparkles down the back of her neck. “You have heart shaped lips in a heart shaped face. Has anyone ever told you? This one—this top lip alone—could drive a guy out of his mind?”

Swoon!!

Such a cute love story that the “vanilla queen” in me was completely satisfied when I came to the final page! On a side note, isn’t that cover just to die for?!! Perfect for the story.

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Nov 17, 2012 YaReads Kikamack rated it 5 of 5 stars

BEST FIRST KISS EVER.
Unmaking Hunter Kennedy is no doubt an amazing story!!! I was swept off my feet by the perfect, ideal, wish-would-appear-at-your-doorstep rockstar Hunter- he was a-double dorable, sweet , and had some dark secrets. Vere was so perfectly cute with her sloppy bun and blushing cheeks, andI couldn't help but laugh every time Hunter was parading around in his dorky disguise. THE KISS- dont even get me started... it makes my heart go all fluttery!! You wait a while for it, but aw...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Lex rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Lex by: JPR™

Shelves: contemporary, stand-alone, recommended

4.5 Stars and rounding up!!! Woot!

UPDATE: 12.10.12: Got the book today!!! Anne Eliot sent me one! :) Up in my blog: Ramblings of a YA Reader...

I really love this one. It made me smile and a bit teary eyed. Although the music bit is less than what I wanted... It still rock. I have read Anne Eliot's first book, Almost. And I could say I really like this better than that. Almost took me 2 weeks to finished it but Unmaking Hunter Kennedy took me just what? 2 days?

I'm not really the type to read bo...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Camila rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is amazing! I was looking really forward to read it, and it didn't disapoint. The plot is amazing ( I just love the whole idea of "un-making" someone, and first loves of course), and Anne's writting is simply addictive. I could't put it down fot a second.

The first chapters are confusing- it took me a long while to understand exacly what was happening, but after I did the story flew natually.

Vere is great-I loved her bubbly personality and how sweet she is, with her big bun amd hippie c...more This book is amazing! I was looking really forward to read it, and it didn't disapoint. The plot is amazing ( I just love the whole idea of "un-making" someone, and first loves of course), and Anne's writting is simply addictive. I could't put it down fot a second.

The first chapters are confusing- it took me a long while to understand exacly what was happening, but after I did the story flew natually.

Vere is great-I loved her bubbly personality and how sweet she is, with her big bun amd hippie clothes. I wished I could see her in real life!
Hunter is also an incredible character- he is so friendly and funny! The author managed to capture his feelings very well, I got very touched by his story.

The secondary characters were mostly good too - Jenna is the typical best -friend, but also remained unique. She reminded me a lot of Victoria from Audrey,Wait! and Cara from V is for Virgin, two characters I like very much.
But Charlie, Vere's brother... I just didn't get him. I feel like the author did not manage to achieve what she was looking for- his personality was mixed and confuse.

Something I adored in this book is that, although it is told on the third person, each chapter was from a different POV. It was great to always read the thoughts and feelings of each of the main characters!

But, unfortunately, there are some negative points too. Such as the fact that Vere and Hunter apologize way too much. One always felt like he had done something wrong, and apologized, and then a few chapters later did the same thing again and more apologies came. It annoyed me a lot.
They were sometimes also too nice- everyone was so easily forgiven, it just didn't feel real... I hate it when characters are way too nice.

Other thing that I disliked was the end. I don't like when books end up the way UHK did, but that's my personal taste. I think the author should have written at least one more chapter, just to wrap things up.

Little negative points apart, I really liked the book! It is a great read, and I completely recomend it (especially for those who enjoys Love Storys, you'll swoon through the whole book!)

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May 12, 2013 Jackie(No Bent Spines) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contermperary-ya-a, covers-worth-remembering, discovering-yourself, favorites, kindle, reccomended-to-me, gifted-arc

Posted (or soon to be) on : http://www.nobentspines.blogspot.com/
*Author Gifted*
This was all kinds of heart clenching adorkable-ness. I laughed out loud so many times in the middle of class, I'm sure my peers question my sanity even more than they already did. Totally worth it.
Vere: First of all love the name. I understand the buns. The baggy clothes, girl, those gotta go. She is super shy and all too sweet. The Incident shaped her life. Her entire life. She is obsessed with the boy that The In...more Posted (or soon to be) on : http://www.nobentspines.blogspot.com/
*Author Gifted*
This was all kinds of heart clenching adorkable-ness. I laughed out loud so many times in the middle of class, I'm sure my peers question my sanity even more than they already did. Totally worth it.
Vere: First of all love the name. I understand the buns. The baggy clothes, girl, those gotta go. She is super shy and all too sweet. The Incident shaped her life. Her entire life. She is obsessed with the boy that The Incident occurred with, Curtis. She cannot confront the male aspect of our community in any way, shape, form or fashion. She goes red. Like redder than a tomato red and stutters like crazy. Especially in front of Curtis. (By the way, Curtis is an ass and his soul deserves to be stomped on by small dinosaurs, other-wise known as chickens.) She thinks (THINKS) she's in love with Curtis. Oh, and she has the best friend in the entire world. She's small but feisty and fiercely protective of Vere.
Hunter Kennedy (Dustin): *fans self, swoons* (hey, I'm a romantic and I love the word swoon) I just wanted to hug him. He seems so sad and then with Vere, he feels important, loved and happy. For the first time in a really long time, he's happy. Hunter is a rock star who has adoring fans, girls who throw themselves at him and a mother who just wants him to disappear. (or does she?) He came to Vere's town to live with his aunt because she was involved in some....dangerous....activities. BUT HE'S SWEET AND AMAZING AND (well not perfect) BUT THAT'S WHY I LOVE HIM! He came expecting to be bored to death, attacked by wolves but, he never expected to fall in love.
I love that this wasn't insta-love. This was the swoon worth "oh-crap-this-can't-be-happening-but-it-is-and-I-think-I-like-it" Falling In Love. Did I mention I'm a romantic. And this book was all about the good stuff.
Charlie: I cannot decide if I like him. He was protective of his sister, but in a slightly destructive way. Okay-REALLY DESTRUCTIVE WAY.
Curtis: I hate him

___

Okay, Ms. Eliot, you had me really, really, really, really worried near the end of the book. And oh damn, that KISS. I was like 0.0 then I was like O.o then I was like *.* and then I wanted Hunter (not Dustin) to kiss me. This book was all about figuring out who you are and what impact you want to make on the world. It was all about the importance of friends, family and love. It had sad scenes, happy scenes and scenes where I wanted to make sure some guys couldn't have kids. This book, is seriously one of a kind. It's official rating from me is 4.8. Why? I know this is a stupid reason, but I hate Curtis. No don't change him. I don't want to like him. I just don't wanna give something HE'S in 5 stars. But, hey, everything else is 5 stars! Especially Hunter and Vere!!! They're just too cute. And the Press Speech? My heart turned into a puddle of goo. I mean, seriously, why can't guys like that exist outside outside of books?(less)

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May 19, 2013 Zoe rated it 2 of 5 stars

I like it but I'm not crazy about this book.

I like it because of the chemistry between Hunter and Vere. They're hilarious together.

I do not like that no one bothered to do a grammar check.

Grammatical mistakes distract me.

Lines like these are distracting and irritating.

"You, minus the diguise, is distracting."

"Let's don't go there."

There's more in the book.

I do not appreciate the fact that once again, Vere is basically a mixture of Bella Swan and Anastasia Steele. And Hunter is basically Edwar...more

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Apr 22, 2013 Ziv rated it 5 of 5 stars

Just finished reading this book and I have to say that I LOVED IT!!!!

Well, this book was amazing. It's my first book of this author and I assure you it won't be my last. This book made me laugh, cry and even get mad. There were times where I was like "Dude! Stop being an ass!" Or "Vere, you love him!"; and there were times where I was like "FINALLY!" or "YAY!".
Vere was an adorable character. I loved how funny and weird she were. At first I thought she was annoying and, maybe, too nice but she g...more

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Apr 14, 2013 Tina rated it 3 of 5 stars

3-3.5 Stars

I enjoyed the concept of the story, but not so much the execution of it. The portrayal of teens was one of the things I didn't enjoy about the book as much. Jenna and Vere, for example, are pretty immature for high school juniors. I don't know if they're immaturity level was intentionally high. While I do understand why they would be portrayed as immature, I felt that level of immaturity was unnecessary. I also didn't like Charlie that much. While I appreciated the protectiveness he h...more

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Feb 09, 2013 Amber rated it 3 of 5 stars

I wanted to love this book, I just could not. The premise of the story had me hooked - famous boy in scandal escapes to small town in disguise. If the book would have a little more editing it might have been amazing. First, the writing was not great. There are entirely too many OMGs and WTFs and “effing”. The conversations between the characters were stilted, unbelievable and extremely awkward at times. I realize that the author was trying for awkward in some parts, but mostly it just did not wo...more

I wanted to love this book, I just could not. The premise of the story had me hooked - famous boy in scandal escapes to small town in disguise. If the book would have a little more editing it might have been amazing. First, the writing was not great. There are entirely too many OMGs and WTFs and “effing”. The conversations between the characters were stilted, unbelievable and extremely awkward at times. I realize that the author was trying for awkward in some parts, but mostly it just did not work for me.

Another reason I had a hard time reading this book was the amount of typos. I’m not sure if this was due to the Kindle formatting or lack of editing, but there was a typo in almost every chapter. It completely distracted my reading because every ten minutes or so I was using the content error button on my Kindle to report a typo. Hopefully this changes soon so other people can enjoy a typo free book!

Hunter is an interesting character, in that he is a celebrity being sent to a small town to escape a scandal. However, at first, Hunter is spoiled, selfish and has a horrible temper. He does not have any respect for his mother. He is what I think of when I think of a bad role model for children watching the Disney channel. As the novel progressed, Hunter grew on me. I ended up really liking Hunter by the end of the book.

Vere is an interesting and relatable character - shy and a little socially awkward. However, her unrealistic and huge crush is annoying and over-the-top. Like Hunter, by the end of the book, I adored Vere, but the first few chapters were a little painful.

I almost put the book down after the first few chapters because of the writing and my dislike of the characters. Eventually, I really liked the characters and really wanted to know what happened with their story. This was the reason I continued to read on and finish the book. I wanted to love this book, and with better writing and editing it could be a great book, but it just was not that great for me. (less)

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Jan 25, 2013 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, kindle, review-on-blog

Wow, there is so much that I love about Unmaking Hunter Kennedy. I just can't get over this book. It made me so happy and smilie and honestly all the nice feelings I want from a contemporary. It was like She's the Man plus some crazy matchmaking scene plus a pinch of chemistry perfection.

The characters jumped off the page for me. They seemed so real. Hunter seemed real. Dustin (his fake dork identity) seemed real. Vere seemed beyond real. (I finished reading this book two days ago and when I fi...more Wow, there is so much that I love about Unmaking Hunter Kennedy. I just can't get over this book. It made me so happy and smilie and honestly all the nice feelings I want from a contemporary. It was like She's the Man plus some crazy matchmaking scene plus a pinch of chemistry perfection.

The characters jumped off the page for me. They seemed so real. Hunter seemed real. Dustin (his fake dork identity) seemed real. Vere seemed beyond real. (I finished reading this book two days ago and when I first sat down to write the review it seemed too gushing to me, so I decided I should put a few days of rest between my emotional high after reading this book in the hopes that I would be more clear headed, but I fear I might still fangirl a bit.)

Vere is just this quiet, blushing ball of tiny cuteness. Sure she is super pretty, but she is no where near one of those beyond perfect characters and that is what I loved about her. About all of the characters actually. They each have their share of flaws. Vere is so shy that she turns all shades of red and she can't even talk in front of guys, including her crush on Curtis. Which, I totally didn't get by the way, but maybe that is because he completely paled in comparison to Hunter/Dustin.

On amazon, Anne Eliot says that she "I love to write couples as they are falling in love and learning to trust. It's a vulnerable time when all emotions are exposed. Love stories and first kisses give me butterflies and, of course, I try to write those butterflies into the pages."

She completely hit the nail on the head! This book gave me butterflies and I loved, loved loved watching Vere and Hunter try to trust each other and grow as people. It was a real joy.

The plot of Unmaking Hunter Kennedy is fun too! There are makeovers, and phobias, secrets and watching Vere and Hunter bond was adorable. This book seemed completely real to me. Nothing felt rushed, or forced or fake. Everything was built on, little by little.

I think this is my first 5 star book of 2013 and honestly I wish I could give it more than 5 stars. The only thing I didn't like about this book is that now I am done reading it and I want more Hunter and Vere. I was honestly sad when it was done because it isn't a series and I wasn't going to read about them anymore. I actually miss them. If you are a fan of contemporary romances, you NEED to read this book. (less)

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Jan 23, 2013 BookHookup rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Story

Ana: A sweet romance that gave me more than I expected. Hunter’s back story…his life as a rock star, public commodity and son are explored throughout this book and added to the plot. There was a depth to the story and to the characters that we don’t often see in YA.

Amy: Complex and complicated rock star meets geeky girl next door.. LOVE! This book is a very sweet and captivating story that explores not only friendship and love but some of the darker issues in life as well..

Thoughts on V...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

Just by looking at the cover you know what is going to happen..and it totally takes the whole book to get there! Unmaking Hunter Kennedy is an enjoyable read, the characters, even the pop star, is relatable and entertaining.

Hunter only wants to get back to work and continue to do what he loves.. he has people counting on him but he pulled a scary "prank" that lands him getting "Unmade". Hunter has some major life scars and his mother thinks Colorado, going to high school, and taking blending in...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Kacii rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, fiction, young-adult, romance

I guess I'm kind of into the whole 'rockstar under cover' thing when it comes to Young Adult contemporary. It would rock even more if the said rockstar was a werewolf or faerie or something in disguise. But I guess we can only ask for so much before it becomes ridiculous.

Anyways, I thought this book kind of, I dunno, rocked. Bad joke, I know. Hang in there, it only gets worse. Or better. Or whatever.

I never liked Curtis. He seemed to stereotypical blah blah eh, you know? Just so bleak and.....more

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Jan 04, 2013 Tiffany rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: decent-but-not-to-reread, young-adult-romance

I was not completely thrilled with this book. In fact, I can almost say that I didn’t like it. However, I LOVED the concept. The idea of a famous rock star having issues and running away to disappear into a more “normal” life and falling in love with a “normal” person is a great idea. It’s the thing that drew me in and made me interested in reading the book. When I got to the end of the free sample, I already knew that I was likely not going to like the book, but I wanted to see if it improved a...more I was not completely thrilled with this book. In fact, I can almost say that I didn’t like it. However, I LOVED the concept. The idea of a famous rock star having issues and running away to disappear into a more “normal” life and falling in love with a “normal” person is a great idea. It’s the thing that drew me in and made me interested in reading the book. When I got to the end of the free sample, I already knew that I was likely not going to like the book, but I wanted to see if it improved and I really wanted to know how it ended, so I bought it.

READ THIS BOOK IF:
1. You have a secret desire to meet/fall in love with/make out with a hot celebrity
2. You want to read about two teenagers who both have issues and help each other through them, but you don’t want to go too deeply into the issues
3. You can relate to either a) a high school girl who is socially awkward or b) a teenage boy who is famous and adored by everyone
4. You have patience for minimal character development, and just want to read a good story
5. You don’t mind reading about a teenager who has coping issues and has a dysfunctional sexual history and had a not-quite-suicide-attempt as a cry for help. If that offends you or scares you, don’t read it

First things first. I didn’t like the format. I know, silly, but it made determining new paragraphs very difficult. (I read it on my phone with the Kindle app.) And there were times when it was difficult to tell if the same person kept talking or if it was a new person talking, because there were no indentations for new paragraphs or anything like that. There was also a LOT of grammar/spelling/punctuation mistakes. At first, it didn’t bother me, but then, as the book went on, there were times when I didn’t know what someone was supposed to be saying/thinking because a word was missing or was in the wrong place or a completely random word was in the middle of a sentence. Simple editing. I’ll gladly do it for them if they want me to. :)

I found the author’s writing style to be difficult to understand at times. The characters used incomplete sentences (maybe to be more realistic of “teen speak” but that’s difficult to try to do in writing, mainly because that type of language depends heavily on voice inflection, which we obviously don’t have in a book) and they thought in odd, broken sentences. There were times when I had to read paragraphs over and over again to try and understand what they were saying.

I loved the concept of socially awkward Vere. She reminded me so much of myself in high school. She’s sweet, “nice,” wholesome, and an overall good girl. I think the way her anxieties were presented in the first part of the book were entirely realistic. Her makeover and her transition into not-quite-popularity are almost believable. Almost. However, her entire recovery/transition process took her…what, barely a month???

In fact, the whole timeline of the book seems entirely unrealistic to me. The book begins prior to school starting and ends just barely a month later. In my opinion, that’s not enough time to develop this excellent story. I wish the author had taken more time to create some more angst for the characters. Give Hunter a longer stay with his aunt, explore his feelings a little more about missing his band and his mom and such. And give him and Vere time to really (realistically) fall in love! I think the entire plot would have been more believable if the author had stretched things out a little bit. It felt rushed to me. And the ending??? Don't even get me started. I had such high hopes....

I really enjoyed Hunter’s internal thought process. It had so much potential, I wish the author had dedicated more time to it. I would love to read more about him and the way his brain processes what is going on around him. His journey to Colorado, his makeover, his introduction to high school, his exposure to “mean kids,” and the other events of the book would have been WONDERFUL opportunities to showcase his vulnerability! This kid has coping issues and this was a great opportunity to develop those (especially to have him go into more detail about his emotions concerning his “prank” and his breakdown). Also, I would have loved to see Hunter’s music/acting skills become more front and center. He was supposedly writing all these love songs for (and inspired by) Vere, it would have been so romantic to have seen some of those! Hunter was by far my favorite character in the book.

I think Hunter and Vere are great characters. The supporting characters of Jenna and Charlie are good, as well. One thing that amazed me was Vere and Curtis --- reminded me waaaay too much of one of my crushes growing up. Well done, Anne Eliot. Kristen and her entourage were a bit cliché and stereotypical, but that’s okay. It was necessary for the development of the plot. Hunter’s relationship with his mom needed some fleshing out and development, too. It seemed inconsistent at times, and confusing.

I wouldn’t mind if there was some kind of sequel that developed Hunter and Vere a bit more, but I think that’s too much to hope for. I’m being awfully harsh. Honestly, Anne Eliot, I applaud you for this book. It certainly held my attention and, like I said, I absolutely love the concept. But I could only give it three stars.(less)

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Dec 31, 2012 Sheyla rated it 4 of 5 stars

Hunter Kennedy's life is a mess. He is a famous pop rock star. He has been in a six weeks mental facility after drinking, crashing his car, popping pills and cutting himself. It was a cry for help. His mother decides that fame is too much for him. She sends him to live with his great aunt in Monument, Colorado. He meets the Roth children, Charlie and Vere, who are to help him in the transition.

Vere has had a crush on Curtis for years. She has been teased non stop at school for it. When she meets...more

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Dec 30, 2012 Nicole K. rated it 4 of 5 stars

I differed on giving this book three stars (3.99?) simply because of the ending. So cheesy, had me cringing, wanting to skip it altogether...but I couldn't give it just three stars. I enjoyed it far too much. Something I will definetly be coming back to.

Vere reminded me more of a sixth grader than a junior in high school. I don't know about the rest of you, but we didn't talk like this. I could have stood to have been on the edge of my seat a bit more with Hunter's feelings toward her coming on...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Deanna Knippling rated it 5 of 5 stars

Another crazy teen book. It's almost like a Regency set in modern times...the rogue who has gone too far...the slightly nerdy woman who doesn't fit well into society...the love triangle in which the bad boy is forced to help the woman he loves obtain the man of her dreams, who happens to be all wrong for her...the brother who hates the rogue and loves the other guy like a brother. The smart-mouthed sidekicks! The makeovers!

All of this and more, set in modern-day Colorado.

More seriously, though,...more

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Dec 02, 2012 Lindsey rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a really really good novel. The issues it deals with are sometimes deep and sometimes light with threads connecting the two together. I found myself sucking in my breath from laughter to shock and saddness.It was really interesting reading from the two points of view of the main characters. Hunter is a moving character whose past trials make him the person he is through the novel, but they also allow him to change. I was able to relate to Vere because of her place within her school and...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Allison rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-guilty-pleasures, frustrating, ya, romance

Ummm. I don't know. It was ok. It was a lot different than I was expecting. I mean I guess I should be glad that there was more depth to it than a lot of YA romance, but I felt like it was trying too hard maybe. I definitely thought it was longer than it needed to be. There was a lot of inner dialogue happening that got really rambling and repetitive. And yeah, I guess that's how one's inner dialogue tends to be, but we can't just write out every little thing we're thinking if we are trying to t...more

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Nov 18, 2012 Tabitha H rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was so sweet!
The story of Hunter was altogether sweet and sad all at the same time. The fact that he was able to live his dreams but still struggle like anyone else made him even more believable. I hurt for him.
Vere, an adorable mess was just what this story needed to complete it. She was embarrassing awkward and yet beautiful all wrapped up in one tiny pixie of a girl.
With Hunters help she was able to break out of her shell. And with Vere's help Hunter was able to see clearer and help...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Sharon Hawes Dodd rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book. Anne Eliot captivated with the different POVs with every chapter (Hunter/Dustin and Vere) coupled with her successful character development of both Hunter/Dustin and Vere and Charlie were very honest and believable. I LOVED this story.

Hunter and Vere are both struggling in different ways, however, when they are together, they seem at peace with each other and themselves. Friends first then love is a plot that I adore and they have this in spades. I was swept up in Hunter's de...more

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May 24, 2013 Esther rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: infuriating-instalove, meh-boring-okay, realistic-contemporaries

I was digging the whole Hanna Montana's Best of World thing and the girl-chasing-after-a-different-guy crap if it weren't only for Vere's blood rush and skin disease. For example:

"Vere felt the cheeks tingle full force."
"Vere felt her whole face flame up."
"..unable to hold her thoughts in order as a huge random blush attack set in." BLUSH ATTACK????? REALLY?!
"He smiled back and kindly didn't address her still flaming face."
"Her still fire engine red, all over body blush was doing a fine job at s...more

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May 03, 2013 ღEzzaღ rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Be prepared this has spoilers buuuut...... they are coded ;) so it is safe. This link translates it back to English though you do have to do it one paragraph at a time :) xoxo happy reading if you can. If you can't that okay ღ

http://www.wordplays.com/pig-latin

uttingCay aightstray otay ethay asechay…. eThay artstay asway eallyray owslay andyay Iyay osedclay ethay ookbay ayay ouplecay ofyay imestay asyay Iyay otgay oredbay ithway ethay introyay intoyay untersHay ifelay. Ityay asway indkay...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Ella rated it 2 of 5 stars

May contain some spoilers!

I read this book till the end because I never in my life have ever left a book unfinished it's just not in my nature. BUT...

I rated this book 2 stars which means 'it was okay' which it was but it was JUST okay. Nothing more. Nothing less. I really thought I would love this book. The whole premise of a famous person finding themselves and falling in love with a normal person so to speak but the book just didn't flow for me. The conversations were long and awkward and ove...more

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Nov 20, 2012 Jenna Christy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Aww, heck, that was one sappy ending!

Unmaking Hunter Kennedy is the kind of novel that makes you want to keep on reading it. Though there were some parts that needed more editing, but the story has a LOT of potential. The story it has is not a plain light read but it also hold good values we can learn from. It talked about some heavy and sensitive issues such as depression and suicide. Miscommunication really leads to more complicated problems, such as what was told in the story.

Hunter Kennedy i...more

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Nov 06, 2012 ♥ Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-na, 5-stars, love-love-love, fluffy

This was one of the cutest YA romance novels I've ever read! Trust me, that's saying a lot. Even though it was a bit predictable and formulaic at times, with a bit of a slow start...

The story was executed perfectly. The timing, pacing, plot, character development, humor (MY.GOD. I was cracking up like a maniac), and so much more. I could totally imagine this as a rom-com/chick-flick teen film. And it would BLOW "Twilight" out of the water.

Devoured the book in one setting, in 4 hours. Yup. It wa...more

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Apr 07, 2013 Me123me1 rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is just page turning and sooo sweet.

It was just like AWW all the way threw.

It had some serious issues thrown in too which gave the book a lot of depth.

So, Hunter Kennedy’s a bad boy pop star and after what he calls “A prank” his mother sends him to Colorado to be someone other then himself… changing his name to Dustin, and dressing as dorky as possible so that no one recognizes him.

Vere, is the girl who helps him change into Dustin, and becomes his best friend.

Vere is a total geek,...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Yasmine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, young-adult

Yep, pretty much adored this book.

Having a first glance at this book had put it in my 'maybe' pile for a while, but when I realised it was written by the same author of 'Almost' I had to pick it up.

Blurb: Hunter Kennedy is a puppet pop star in a band called Guaderobe (WTF up with that name?). His mom and agent are constantly pulling his strings and everything begins to tip him over the edge.
After a drunken incident and some bodily harm, his mom sends him to rehab. She decides he should have some...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Hexe rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love Anne Eliot's writing. I wish there were more books like hers. I love that the boys in her books have feelings too, that they have crushes and feel butterflies and agonise over girls they are in love with. I love the tingling sensation with which she manages to lead up to a first kiss between her characters, so enticing that you feel the excitement within yourself. The emotions in her books, though sometimes exhausted to the max of bearable, are so real, so palpable.
I'd still say I prefer...more

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Dec 18, 2012 Kala rated it 3 of 5 stars

Also posted on my blog at:
Kala's Book Blog

Someone needs to take a red pen and remove a good chunk of this book. It clocks in at over 400 pages and there are well over 100 pages of crap that could be removed and would make this a much better novel.

Hunter Kennedy is a pop star who struggles with his relationship with his mom and acted out by crashing his car and slitting his wrists. Because of that, he had to spend some time in rehab and then in disguise at a "normal" school in order to get a bett...more Also posted on my blog at:
Kala's Book Blog

Someone needs to take a red pen and remove a good chunk of this book. It clocks in at over 400 pages and there are well over 100 pages of crap that could be removed and would make this a much better novel.

Hunter Kennedy is a pop star who struggles with his relationship with his mom and acted out by crashing his car and slitting his wrists. Because of that, he had to spend some time in rehab and then in disguise at a "normal" school in order to get a better perspective on life.

Vere Roth is a shy quirky girl who lives next door to Hunter's Great Aunt Nan. Nan enlists her to help Hunter become "Dustin McHugh" - an unrecognizable nerd boy so that Hunter can see what it's like to be normal. She knows from the start that he is famous and she helps him develop his nerd boy persona.

Vere also struggles with anxiety around boys, especially her lifelong crush, Curtis. Hunter and Vere come up with a plan to help her become more comfortable around boys, but while that's going on Hunter starts falling for Vere.

The first third of this book is VERY slow. The first weekend that Hunter and Vere spend together, when they're developing Dustin, is dragged out for SO long. Some parts were funny - especially when Vere takes him shopping, but I found myself skimming parts of it because I was getting so bored.

SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT

I liked the development of Hunter and Vere's relationship. It felt semi-realistic (if you ignore the out there pop-star-in-hiding premise). I also liked Curtis, at first. But then Curtis goes from this guy who has been nice to Vere for ages and deserving of her crush to a total douchebag. Like, where did that come from? I think the author was trying to show how Vere put Curtis on a pedestal and that he wasn't really such a stand up guy... but it didn't work out like that. Instead it seems like a whiplash inducing personality switch out of nowhere that's used as a plot device to show why Vere should choose nice guy Hunter instead.

Charlie was a terrible character. Again, I think the author was trying to show him as someone who is protective about Vere, but instead he comes across as a complete jerk. He tries to force the Curtis/Vere relationship knowing that Curtis is a total douche who changes out girlfriends every 2 months. What happened at the end with Charlie selling out Hunter was completely unredeemable. I'm sorry, but his reasons were weak ("You kissed my sister!") and maybe I'm a terrible person, but I didn't like how easily Hunter forgave him.

The absolute worst part of this book was the ending. I've never been a fan of the "big moment" endings in these types of books where the famous person tells the nobody that he loves her in front of all the paparazzi. This book takes that ending to the extreme and Hunter gives a 5-10 page dialogue in front of dozens of cameras that culminates in him asking Vere to Homecoming and making out with her. Vere, who suffers from severe shyness and anxiety, apparently doesn't have a huge issue with this. It was just a really cheesy and over the top ending that needed to be toned down. WAY down.

Overall, I liked parts of the book and disliked other parts. I liked Vere a lot. I ended up liking Hunter a lot. I really liked how the author handled the relationship between Hunter and his mom, including how that turned out in the end. I thought that was really well done. I will probably check out other novels by this author, but I can't really rate this one higher than 3 stars and I was tempted to go with 2 for the terrible ending.(less)

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About Anne Eliot

I write middle grade and young adult fiction full time. I'm a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI), Romance Writers of America (RWA), and Pikes Peak Writers.

I love to hear from readers. For more information, please visit my website.

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Quotes from Unmaking Hunter Kennedy

“First. Don't get drunk. Don't smoke anything."
"Duh. What are you, my dad? That's easy. I don't drink. We aren't even twenty-one. I seriously doubt anyone will be drinking at the Hodjwick house. And who smokes cigarettes anymore? So gross."
Dustin shook his head. "You are so backwards. I wasn't talking about cigarettes, and if you truly believe no one will be drinking at a high school party on a Saturday night then you are too much of a baby to even leave your own house.” — 15 people liked it

“You’re the luckiest person in the whole world to have already figured out what you love. And you’ll be, quite possibly, the stupidest person in the world—if you don’t hold on to it.” — 11 people liked it

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Unmaking Hunter Kennedy

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