The narrative is in the first person, which—with a few exceptions—is generally a sure-fire way to turn me off a book. But the style works for the story, since we are meant to experience everything through the eyes of heroine Shelly Gelson, and getting her take on everything is hilarious. Shelly is a thirtysomething English teacher at Carver High, recently dumped by her fiancé/lover of 10+ years and fellow teacher for another colleague, and still pining for him despite the fact that he is an absolute wanker. Matt Fuller (aka ‘Matty’ to Shelly, which drove me nuts—it makes him sound like a four-year-old!) is the way-too-perfect man and friend who’s been in love with Shelly for years and is so convinced that it’s now their turn for a HEA that he sends Shelly out on dates with other men during their ‘non-relationship’ to cement her feelings for him. The man is so ridiculously laid back about everything that I was sorely tempted to check him for a pulse several times. Then there’s fellow English teacher and BFF Melissa Cruz with the cheating soon-to-be-ex-husband, the hots for Shelly’s brother (the tale of book #2), and the conviction that Shelly needs a man—specifically, the uber-hotness that is Matt—to get over her ex.
The three of them together are hilarious, and the banter and teasing between all of them and the countless pop culture references and nods to the profession of teaching are fun and show the author knows what it’s like to teach high school and how high schoolers behave. But for three thirtysomething adults and professionals, the way they behave inside and outside of school is incredibly immature—I seriously felt like they should have been in high school rather than teaching it. The Against the Wall series is an adult crossover/spinoff with the YA Double Threat series Ms. Prestsater writes (which I have not read), and AGAINST THE WALL definitely read like it was written for (sometimes even by) high schoolers, but with sex and a lot of cussing. Reading about the happenings at Carver High felt kind of like watching reality television: nothing of import really happens, but it’s a fun ride and you find yourself wanting to know what’s next. Therein lies the appeal: it’s essentially a sort-of-R-rated romantic comedy in print—irreverent, immature, lighthearted, and relatable. The characters feel like real people, if sometimes too one-dimensional, and I’d kill for a Matt of my own and Mel as my trash-talking BFF. There’s the friends-to-lovers trope, the in-love-with-my-younger-sibling’s-friend trope, and the other-woman-who’s-(probably)-not-really-a-home-wrecker trope. And who doesn’t want to revisit high school without having to actually relive it and see the other (teacher) side? Instant guilty pleasure!
AGAINST THE WALL is a quick, laugh-out-loud funny, and cute read—not stellar in my opinion, but not bad (though I did find the attitude turnabout from hatred to friendship with the ex and his new squeeze Summer to be completely unbelievable). Being a notorious series reader with an overwhelming need to see how things end, I will be checking out the other books in the series for Mel’s and Summer’s stories—but they probably won’t be at the top of my TBR queue.
**Copy provided by Author's Taproom**
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