Review: Happy Birthday To Me by Brian Rowe

Title: Happy Birthday to Me
Author: Brian Rowe

Format: Kindle
Genre: Paranormal, YA,
Source:  Personal
Published:   April 7th 2011     
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥  1/2
 

From Goodreads.com

Seventeen-year-old Cameron Martin has a huge problem: he’s aging a whole year of his life with each passing day!

High school is hard enough; imagine rapidly aging from seventeen to seventy in a matter of weeks, with no logical explanation, and with prom, graduation, and the state championship basketball game all on the horizon. That’s what happens to Cameron, a popular pretty boy who's never had to face a day looking anything but perfect.

All Cameron wants to do is go back to normal, but no one, not even the best doctors, can diagnose his condition. When he finds love with a mysterious young woman, however, he realizes his only hope for survival might be with the one person who started his condition in the first place...

  I picked up this book on a whim. I'd seen it mentioned around the bookish blog community and it sounded interesting, it was $.99 and I was on a book buying spree that day. 

Happy Birthday to Me was a quick read, if I hadn't fallen asleep thanks to a cold I would have finished it in one sitting. I loved the main character, Cam. He was your stereotypical pretty popular boy, yet as he aged (one year every day) he learned so much about who he was and "grew up". 

From page 1, I hated Cam's girlfriend. Charisma was a witch (not literally!) She was shallow, and I was frustrated with him for even liking her. I hated his father too, and there were a few particular scenes that made me so angry it almost hurt. But both characters played well into the story, and helped with Cam's journey. (Although the dad could have been toned down a wee bit.)

While I didn't like the above things, they worked for the plot and helped to make the book what it was. Unfortunately? The ending was predictable and quick. While the predictability wasn't really avoidable? The cheese factor was. It could have been less rushed and given a bit more information as to the reaction of Cam's family and friends. I felt like we were left hanging in a way, while there was absolutely no cliffhanger to the book. (I hope that makes some sense?) 

In the end? Happy Birthday to Me was an enjoyable book, and I plan on starting the 2nd book in the trilogy as soon as I finish my review!