Book Review: Flat-Out Celeste (Flat-Out #2) by Jessica Park

Flat-Out Celeste by Jessica Park

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY

I LOVE THIS BOOK!

I FREAKING LOVE THIS BOOK THAT IT HURT WHEN I REACHED THE LAST PAGE

‘CAUSE I NEVER WANT TO STOP READING THIS!!!

Okay. So I meant it when I said I never want to stop reading Flat-out Celeste. I had to resist myself from reading this for the nth times. I’ve freaking fallen in love with Flat-out Love and Flat-out Matt. I had to go out with swollen eyes for two days because of the ugly crying I’d done the night before caused by those two books. But with Flat-out Celeste… I am not just in love with this book. I am freaking falling deeply-fiercely-awfully in unconditional love with it.

When I first met Celeste on FoL, I just fell in love with her character. Heck, I think the Watkins kids are all so loveable. Even Finn who’s not present on the book physically, I liked him a lot. I felt really bad for Celeste on the first book. So when I found out that Celeste has her own story, I was so eager to witness her happiness slowly formed. And damn IT DID BEAUTIFULLY!

Celeste has grown up into a beautiful and socially-still-awkward teenager. Her being genius and has a very unique way of speaking makes her classmates raise their eyebrows at her every moves. High school life is like her personal torture. She only wants to skip every day to finally enter the college that she believes will offer more friendly surroundings. Pulling herself away too long from social life for years has affected her behavior now. None of her friends want to really befriend her. Not the girls. Not the boys as well. The only friend who wants to talk to her is this cheerful pink-haired girl who likes saying ‘cool beans’. Celeste knows she has no hopes left in her last year of high school, both of having friends or some romance. Not that she cares anyway. She’s fine with how her classmates treat her. She always prefers being unnoticed and unaffected. But everything has limits. Celeste finally meets the day when she could no longer want to be unnoticed and could not help but affected by all the negative treats. Most importantly, she finally blurts out that she wants to meet someone romantically.

With her witty aura, she goes around ‘reinventing’ herself by doing some stuff like trying out yoga session and attending audition for a local band ―which both ended up in total failures. Matthew, her brother, always encourages her to not worry too much over everything especially over ‘the dating’ thing. But being Celeste, she will always be critical about anything, and that’s including ‘that one dating’ thing.

”You don’t need to give a crap about universal anything.

You give a crap when you have love that defies boundaries.” 

-Matt Watkins-

Justin Milano comes to her life in a rather unique way; well, as unique as his personality. Being that-one-different-friend in his own friends circle, Justin never cares about that. He won over his own demon long time ago. Meeting Celeste has brought a whole new experience of being loved completely. Justin found himself loved not just by his cheerful personality but also by the quirks as well. This is the first time and Celeste is definitely a very special girl. Her positive attitude is what he loves the most. Unfortunately, the girl herself could not see the special on her. Using his own past experience and with love that slowly but steadily grows up between them; Justin will do just anything to make Celeste see what he’s been seeing on her. The special Celeste, the loveable Celeste. Love will conquer all in the end, right?

“… I want to destroy anyone who has hurt you for a dumb reason like just being yourself. What? Do we want the entire universe made up of people who are all clones of each other?” 

-Justin Milano-

Good Lord. THIS STORY HIT ME IN ALL THE RIGHT PLACES. Mind, heart, everywhere! I would never imagine Celeste to end up with anybody else but someone like Justin. I mean, Oh God, they’re just abso-freaking-lutely perfect for each other, DON’T YOU THINK SO??? Jessica Park is bloody genius for creating such couple that really different, unique, pure, cute, adorable, ultra-cute, sweet, omg did I mention ‘cute’ already? Just Celeste is enough for making me rate this book with thousands stars in the whole Milky Way but she just had to add Justin as well… with his speech about love… please, have some merci on me…

Ooo Celeste and Justin lookalike :); 
Source: Google (Not mine)

“… love comes from the way differences interact. How we bounce off of each other, challenge each other, and how we push and pull. It’s through those tensions that we connect with others and with ourselves. And that’s how we fall in love. Because there is magic in diversity.” 

-Justin Milano-

I’ve read and love bunch of young-adult romances in my life. But Flat-Out Celeste brings my taste to another level of loving YA-romance (and I don’t have any idea if there will be any YA books that I can put along with this awesome book, except, if Jessica decides to write another flat-out books…). The romance is really strong. Too strong. God, it’s too strong I would do just ANYTHING to have my own Justin Milano…

“Hey, Celeste?”

“Hey, Justin?”

“Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m very much all right.”

“Then I’m very all right, too.”

God… can it be any sweeter? Yes, it can.

“Why are you nervous?”

He squeezed her hand. “Because I’m going to kiss you.”

A touch of a smile crossed his lips. “And I better do

a good job because I want you to like it.”

Celeste’s voice was shaky. “I feel sure that I will.”

“How could you know that?”

“Because it is you.”

Something a little bit cute-cheesy?

“You could wear a garbage bag, and I wouldn’t mind a bit.” 

-Justin Milano-

And for the final touch…

Justin : “I am falling so in love with you.”

Celeste : “I am, unequivocally and wholly falling in love with you, too.”

At some parts it was so dang funny I could not help laughing out loud. I really really reallyyy love Jessica’s writing style in Flat-Out series. The idea of Celeste’s eccentricities is so fresh. And I love it that Watkins family here was described happier. God, that reaction of Celeste’s parents whenever Justin’s around was so damn funny! But you could never miss the sad part in a romance book, so in Flat-Out Celeste, Jessica has provided enough tear-jerking and emotionally-touching scenes in several parts. I smiled, I laughed, I cried, and all the mixed-feeling happened when I read this book. Along with so many lessons that you could get from this book, it’s like a complete package you wouldn’t ask for more.

I never felt this happy writing a review before. I had so many things in my mind that was in the edge of exploding soon and I found it rather hard to put them into proper words. That’s why it took me so long to finish this review. Even after weeks, I could still feel my emotions jumping to every direction when I recalled every sentence of the book.

Every single stars in the galaxy for this book, definitely! 

Love, read, and review,

Cynthia D.