Reviewer: Andrea
I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Vija is quickly drawn to Nolan, a romantic folksinger. He’s handsome, talented, charming, and, she eventually realizes, a control freak. How did he take charge of her life so easily? Will she decide to break it off, or is she too far involved to end the relationship?
17-year-old Vija Skalbe wants to be an all-American girl–no matter how hard her parents try to impose their strict Latvian standards on her. Then Nolan, a folksinger, steals her heart at a coffeehouse. When Nolan stops at their table, it’s Vija’s friend, Caprice, who does all the talking. But it is Vija who gets his phone number–and later the back seat of his motorcycle. Soon she is cruising from one adventure to another, dizzy with joy, her new-found freedom and the excitement of being with the kind of guy who is a challenge.
However, when Vija’s father has a heart attack, she must take over running the family lawn-care business. She feels overwhelmed until sweet brainiac Joel volunteers to help. He shares the workload and lifts her spirits with his humor. But it is Nolan who fills her heart.
It doesn’t matter that Nolan wants everything his way. Or that he’s constantly eyeing other girls. Or that he can be pouty and punitive. Or that he says she’s seeing things all wrong. Until it does matter. But Vija’s in so deep. Will she deal with Nolan’s controlling tactics, or is she too far under his spell?
Review:
It’s All in Your Mind has loads of 1950s appeal. Set on the cusp of the Vietnam Conflict and the “flower-power” movement, this novel has a sugary- sweet charm straight from a Frankie and Annette movie. I think many YA girls will find the chivalrous nature of the relationships surprising and will be wondering why their own boyfriends don’t act more like Joel and even Nolan when he’s not attention seeking. After all, there is something to be said for that pre-women’s lib time when boys still voluntarily opened doors and paid for dates. It was refreshing if not a little frustrating with Vija’s overly innocent attitude. I found myself wanting to shake her every time she believed Nolan’s shovels of . . . manure and each time she played doormat to Caprice.
There were some eye-roll moments, like when Vija (picture Sandy from Grease but with a Latvian accent) thought she was in love because Nolan won her a teddy bear at the fair, and modern girls will see the red flags of Nolan’s domineering jerkiness close to the novel’s beginning, but some of that, I’m certain, is by design. I was a little let down because there wasn’t a major blow-up moment when Vija has her epiphany about Nolan. After all, this guy has been telling her what to eat and asking her to dye her blonde hair, and I REALLY wanted Nolan and Joel to run into each other at the beach or for Vija to spot Nolan in all his philandering glory.
The novel was a bit slow-paced at times, much like the 1950s I suppose, but it’s an easy read with lots of historical references.
