This book will make you hate the ocean.

Not only for its roaring waves, but because you can relate to its instrumental role in the story.

If anything, this book was an absolute roller coaster of emotions that by the end leaves readers hungry for more. Full of lively characters and tragic scenarios, “Slammed” is a book that’ll have you red-faced and laughing one second and then bawling your eyes out the next.

The novel revolves around 18-year-old Layken’s life with her mother and younger brother, Caulder, and her new life in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Following her dad’s death, Layken and her family are forced to move for her mother’s new job, leaving her and her little brother without a real “home,” friends or familiarity. The whole endeavor seems horrible, until Layken meets her attractive 21-year-old neighbor Will. Immediately, the two become very close, and quickly become enveloped in each other’s lives. However, as the plot continues, both Will and Layken are hit with realizations that leave them both breathless, unprepared and heartbroken.

Now, the core aspect of “Slammed” that sets it apart from other young adult books is the poetry. Not just any poetry either. Slam poetry.

For those who don’t know, slam poetry isn’t just writing, it’s a performance that displays the poets raw emotion. Whether it’s happiness, anger, frustration or heartache, everything comes pouring out when the poem is performed on the stage. This is not only the way the characters in “Slammed” express their emotions to one another, but it is the one force that holds them together throughout their hectic lives.

The poetry is what makes the story; it’s what makes it real. Without it, it’s just another basic love story. It adds true feelings that otherwise would be non-existent, and if anything, allows the reader to connect with each character emotionally.

From cover to cover, this book sucks the reader into the lives of the characters, both laughing at their ridiculous habits and crying at their saddening circumstances. Each scene that takes place has a purpose; from the smallest phrase in a conversation to the final slam in the novel, each  scene has a deep impact on the overall experience of the book.

So yeah, by the end you will hate the ocean…

…but for sure you will love the lake.