The Vow by Jessica Martinez

Title: The Vow

Author: Jessica Martinez

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release Date: October 15, 2013

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

No one has ever believed that Mo and Annie are just friends. How can a guy and a girl really be best friends?

Then the summer before senior year, Mo's father loses his job, and by extension his work visa. Instantly, life for Annie and Mo crumbles. Although Mo has lived in America for most of his life, he'll be forced to move to Jordan. the prospect of leaving his home is devastating, and returning to a world where he no longer belongs terrifies him.

Desperate to save him, Annie proposes they tell a colossal lie--that they are in love. Mo agrees because marrying Annie is the only way he can stay. Annie just wants to keep her best friend, but what happens when it becomes a choice between saving Mo and her own chance at real love?

I always love a good contemporary story that's a little different and that's exactly what I got from Jessica Martinez's The Vow. This was a story about love, but not in the way that you would think. ANd because of that it was a refreshing and heartwarming story.

Annie and Mo may not have had a lot of friends but they've always been able to count on one another. When you're the dead girl's sister and the only Muslim in a small town, having someone you can always rely on means the world. When Mo's father loses his job and announces that he family is moving back to Jordan, Moa and Annie are willing to do anything to stay together. The only way to do this is to tell one colossal lie and put both their futures at risk. But what happens when that lie--telling the world they are in love--threatens Annie's chance at real love?

In The Vow, Jessica Martinez wrote a story about love, but not the kind of love you would expect. Here, the focus is on the love two best friends have for each other. And I loved reading about Mo and Annie's friendship. It was refreshing to read a story that focused on friendship rather than romance, especially the friendship between a boy and a girl. Too often, I'll read stories where the two friends realize they're in love with each other, but in The Vow, Mo and Annie's relationship is entirely platonic, despite what others around them might believe. It was just interesting to read about their friendship and see how it affected the other aspects of their lives, especially when it came to having an actual chance at love. Both were so willing to sacrifice everything for the other that they almost forgot to think about themselves until it was almost too late. And the ending was bittersweet because of that. I won't go into detail, but I will say that it wasn't how I thought things would go.

I've already said this, but I loved reading about mo and Annie's relationship. So often, it reminded me of the relationship I have with my own best friend. Not that we've ever considered getting married to avoid deportation, but the platonic nature of our relationship has often been questioned in the past. There was so much between Annie and Mo and I could tell just how much they cared about each other. But in a way, that mutual caring was Mo and Annie's downfall. They were loyal to each other to a fault. But at the same time, I respected them because they were will to sacrifice so much for the other. But they would often neglect their own pain, though they saw the other's. Mo saw what Annie's loyalty was doing to her, how it would end up hurting her. And Annie just wanted to do whatever she could help Mo, no matter what the cost to herself and her own happiness. Overall, though, I loved their friendship, even if at times it proved to be quite imperfect.

Jessica Martinez's The Vow was a refreshing and heartwarming read. It was so nice to see a friendship explored, one that was completely platonic. If you're looking for a great story about friendship, then I strongly recommend The Vow.