Third Degree

Third Degree by Julie Cross
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a pleasant surprise! Who knew Julie Cross could write NA? This again proves that a good writer is a good writer regardless of the genre.

I had the absolute pleasure of beta reading this book. It had me up all night, mostly laughing. The banter and general dialogue in this story is hilarious. This is mostly due to the social ineptitude of the main character, but the quick-witted replies by the love interest certainly don't hurt.

Don't get me wrong, though. This isn't just a funny book. It's about growing up and the discovery (and acceptance) of one's limitations despite obvious gifts. It's also about how overachieving and a positive attitude just won't fix everything.

The characters in this novel are surprisingly multi-dimensional. Isabel, the main character, is especially interesting. She goes from being a child prodigy to a self-aware young adult through the course of the story. She meets disappointment, anger at her situations, frustration with real life and a first love that knocks her down all with realistic bumbling. Observing her observe herself was great fun.

Isabel's love interest, RA Marshall Collins, is both wonderful and flawed. He is not what he seems, but Cross has departed from the usual bad-boy persona here. Mr. Collins has some serious issues going on; he's not a result of his own bad choices but rather an overachieving victim of circumstance. He behaves as would be expected for a person in his situation.

The secondary characters are equally entertaining. Marsh's family, Isabel's roommate and even "Shirtless Guy" and Isabel's fellow resident Justin all provide priceless hilarity. Isabel's parents are kind and caring. Even the bad guy is a nice person.

The plot is well-paced and comes to a nice conclusion. For a contemporary, I found it to be lighthearted even though it deals with some serious issues. This was refreshing when compared to much of the NA out there that attempts to tackle huge social issues. Here they weren't simple or glossed over; they were just placed into perspective as a backdrop for the romance. In addition, the writing reflects the first-person perspective and is clinical in its descriptions. Very fitting when you take Isabel's character into account.

I highly recommend this for lovers of NA fiction. It is a breath of fresh air.



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