Review: Puddle Jumping by Amber L. Johnson

When it comes to love there’s no such thing as conventional.

Everyone thinks Colton Neely is special.

Lilly Evans just thinks he’s fascinating.

Once friends when they were younger, their bond is cut short due to her accident prone nature and they go their separate ways. Years later, they meet again and Lilly learns that there is something special about the boy she once knew, but she has no idea what it all means. And she’s not sure if she’s ready to find out.

When he walks through the corridor of her school the first day of her senior year, she knows that it’s time to get to know the real Colton Neely. The more she learns, the deeper she falls.

Their friendship grows into love, even as Colton does not express it in words. But one decision threatens to break down the world that Lilly has tried so hard to integrate into and she must figure out if the relationship can survive if they are apart.

5 Star Review by Jen Skewes

I accidentally stumbled across this book one day while on Amazon.  I posted the sale on our blog and after reading the great reviews and synopsis I knew I had to read it.  Puddle jumping is a beautiful love story.  It's about a boy who people see as different and the girl who fell in love with him.  

Lilly met Colton when she was ten and he was nine.  His mother paid her to babysit him for a few hours a day.  Lilly knew back then that there was something special about Colton.  And she also knew that he was different, but at that age she didn't exactly understand why.  Due to her accident prone ways Colton's mother asked that she no longer babysit Colton and they parted ways. Through the years she always thought of him and it wasn't until her senior year of high school that they met again.  

Lilly began to understand why Colton was considered different from herself and those around her but she never judged him or ignored him because of it.  She never saw him as being different.  Instead she wants to get to know him, to be able to understand him and his ways of thinking.  To Lilly he was not different but he was extraordinary.  They formed a beautiful friendship that turned into such a wonderful love story.

"What I'd like to really stress about this is when you love someone, their difference fall away.  I don't look at him and see anything but him, and how sweet he is.  I know how my stomach erupts in excitement when he simply holds my hand.  How my heart reacts when we kiss.  I know, above anything else, that when we're together, it's because we both want it.  Not because of any other reason."  

Lilly is an 18 year old girl who is just so caring, loving and amazing in every way.  She is what every 18 year old girl should be.  I loved her and admired her.  The only thing that mattered to her was Colton and helping him.  Colton had a difficult time expressing his feelings, but through the words written on the page by Ms. Johnson you felt how much this boy loved her.  And those moments when he was able to express it just completely melted my heart and honestly caused me to get a little choked up.  Colton is just so precious and what an wonderful character.  I wanted to get to know him just as much as Lilly did.  I felt what he felt.   No matter what issues Colton faced, deep down Colton is still just a 17 year old boy who fell deeply in love with a girl that he knew since he was a child.  Lilly was the girl that he met at the age of nine and never forgot. The love that these two had for each other was so real and so deep even at their young age.  I loved watching these two characters grow and to see Colton become the person he was in the end.  They both captured my heart from the very beginning.

"You're my beautiful Lilly.  the one who makes everything right in my world."

I am writing this review and getting goosebumps just thinking about this story.  It was that beautiful.  I found myself highlighting so many lines in this book.  It is not your typical romance that is filled with drama and angst.  It is one of the most beautiful love stories I think I have read, between two young people.  It is a feel good story.  There were times that were heart breaking and sad.  But there were moments where I had happy tears in my eyes and felt myself smiling.  Words cannot express how amazing this book is.  While the ending was perfect in every way I must admit that I want more of them. Amazing job by Amber Johnson.  I will definitely be reading more from this author in the future.

"I wish you were like me."
"Because then you would understand."