Review: Bright Before Sunrise by Tiffany Schmidt

Bright Before Sunrise
Author: Tiffany Schmidt
Release Date: February 18, 2014
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Source: NetGalley
Review by: Jenn
Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Goodreads / IndieBound

My rating: 3 stars out of 5 stars

When Jonah is forced to move from Hamilton to Cross Pointe for the second half of his senior year, "miserable" doesn't even begin to cover it. He feels like the doggy-bag from his mother's first marriage and everything about her new life - with a new husband, new home and a new baby - is an upgrade. The people at Cross Pointe High School are pretentious and privileged - and worst of all is Brighton Waterford, the embodiment of all things superficial and popular. Jonah's girlfriend, Carly, is his last tie to what feels real...until she breaks up with him.
For Brighton, every day is a gauntlet of demands and expectations. Since her father died, she's relied on once coping method: smile big and pretend to be fine. It may have kept her family together, but she has no clue how to handle how she's really feeling. Today is the anniversary of his death and cracks are beginning to show. The last thing she needs is the new kid telling her how much he dislikes her for no reason she can understand. She's determined to change his mind, and when they're stuck together for the night, she finally gets her chance.
Jonah hates her at 3p.m., but how will he feel at 3a.m?
One night can change how you see the world. One night can change how you see yourself.  

*I received an eARC of this book from the publisher but it did not influence this review in any way*

I've been in a contemporary kick lately and after reading a couple of 5 stars books, I picked up Bright Before Sunrise. I enjoyed it and it was cute but I did have some problems with it. I did like how the story line follows both main characters, Brighton and Jonah, throughout the whole book as dual point of views.

Bright Before Sunrise follows the story of Brighton and Jonah. Jonah is new to school at Cross Point and he is a bit of a loner who refuses to socialize with anyone. Brighton is a happy, friendly, nice girl that everyone knows and like. Right off the bat, Jonah doesn't like Brighton and everything he thinks she stands for: pretentious, judgemental, privileged, and thinks she leads the perfect life. Since he won't talk to her, Brighton has taken it upon herself to seek him out and get him involved in school. And she also has a need that everyone has to like her, so she's hell bent on finding out why he doesn't like her and then changing that.

I wasn't a big fan of Jonah, to be honest. He was a bit of an asshole to Brighton and I don't agree with how he treated her like crap and used her for his own agenda. He complained about Cross Pointe and how they judged him from where he used to live but I didn't see any evidence to back up is claim. Instead, I just I saw him judging Brighton and the rest of their classmates. I also didn't understand Brighton's and Jonah's attraction to one another. Throughout the whole book we see how little Jonah like Brighton and by the end I'm supposed to believe that he finds her irresistible and wants to be with her? No, I just can't buy it. I'm blaming the author on that part because I just didn't find it believable.

All in all, Bright Before Sunrise had a really cute concept and it was a quick and easy read. While it may not be a favorite, it was an enjoyable read.