Judul:  Slammed (Slammed #1)
Penulis: Colleen Hoover
Bahasa: Inggris
Format: ebook, 317 hal.
Penerbit: Colleen Hoover (2012)
Genre: Contemporary romance, new adult, realistic fiction

Cerita

Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she’s losing hope.

Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope.

Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart.

2 Points for:

  Story

  Characterization

  Writing style

  Moral/interesting trivia

Level of Interest

My Review

Ke mana aja, Tan? Hari gini baru baca Slammed.

Saya memang termasuk pembaca yang kudet. Selalu telat baca buku yang hits. Dan telatnya suka kelewatan. Setelah bukunya udah basi baru nyoba baca.

Kayak Slammed ini. Buku yang dari sinopsis dan cover kelihatan biasa aja. Padahal…wow, ini salah satu buku yang sukses bikin saya mewek habis-habisan. Saking asiknya baca buku ini sampe dibelain nggak tidur.

Intinya adalah typical forbidden romance. Cinta terlarang antara murid dan guru (makanya judul terjemahannya Cinta Terlarang).

Will dan Lake jatuh cinta pada pandangan pertama, lalu berpacaran. Trus datanglah konflik khas FTV. Ternyata Will guru di sekolah Lake. Sementara Will tidak tahu kalau Lake ternyata masih di bawah umur. Kedua tokoh sama-sama punya masalah keluarga yang bikin hubungan mereka makin rumit.

Dari sisi romance-nya aku nggak merasakan chemistry yang dalam antara Will dan Lake. Tapi roman guru-murid yang tipikal ini dibalut dengan drama keluarga dan persahabatan yang menyentuh banget. Justru drama keluarga ini yang bikin Slammed nagihin sampai nggak tega ninggalin sebelum nemu kata ‘The End’. Kisah Will yang ngotot buat membesarkan adiknya meskipun (waktu itu) dia masih SMA, hubungan Lake dengan ibunya, sampai hubungan Eddie yang tokoh sampingan dengan keluarga angkatnya pun benar-benar menyentuh.

Puisi-puisi slam yang dimasukkan dalam cerita juga unik-unik. Ada beberapa yang berkesan buat saya. Terutama yang satu ini.

BLUE SWEATER

Bom Bom…
Bom Bom…
Bom Bom…

Do you hear that?
That’s the sound of my heart beating…

Bom Bom…
Bom Bom…
Bom Bom…

Do you hear that? That’s the sound of your heart beating.

It was the first day of October. I was wearing my blue sweater, you know the one I bought at Dillard’s? The one with a double knitted hem and holes in the ends of the sleeves that I could poke my thumbs through when it was cold but I didn’t feel like wearing gloves? It was the same sweater you said made my eyes look like reflections of the stars on the ocean.
You promised to love me forever that night…
and boy
did you
ever!

It was the first day of December this time. I was wearing my blue sweater, you know the one I bought at Dillard’s? The one with a double knitted hem and holes in the ends of the sleeves that I could poke my thumbs through when it was cold but I didn’t feel like wearing gloves? It was the same sweater you said made my eyes look like reflections of the stars on the ocean.
I told you I was three weeks late
You said it was fate.
You promised to love me forever that night…
and boy
did you
ever!

It was the first day of May. I was wearing my blue sweater, although this time the double stitched hem was worn
and the strength of each thread tested as they were pulled tight against my growing belly. You know the one. The same one I bought at Dillard’s? The one with holes in the ends of the
sleeves that I could poke my thumbs through when it was cold but I didn’t feel like wearing gloves? It was the same sweater you said made my eyes look like reflections of the stars on the
ocean.

The SAME sweater you RIPPED off of my body as you shoved me to the
floor,
calling me a whore ,
telling me
you didn’t love me
anymore.

Bom Bom…
Bom Bom…
Bom Bom…

Do you hear that? That’s the sound of my heart beating.

Bom Bom…
Bom Bom…
Bom Bom…

Do you hear that? That’s the sound of your heart
beating.

(There is a long silence as she clasps her hands to her stomach, tears streaming down her face)

Do you hear that? Of course you don’t. That’s the silence
of my womb.

Because you
RIPPED
OFF
MY
SWEATER!

What a powerful poem. Emosinya benar-benar kerasa.

About Slam

Sebenarnya slam itu apa, sih?

Rasanya sudah nggak perlu dijelaskan lagi, ya. Kayaknya semua orang sudah kelar baca novel ini. Jadi pasti tahu slam itu apa. Buat yang belum tahu. Ini aku terjemahkan definisi versi Wiki-nya.

Slam puisi adalah kompetisi di mana penyair membaca atau membacakan suatu karya orisinal. Dalam slam, beberapa penonton dipilih oleh MC atau host untuk bertindak sebagai juri. Sebelum kompetisi dimulai, host akan memilih “korban”, sebutan untuk penyair yang tampil pertama di atas panggung.

Konsepnya agak mirip kayak standup comedy gitu, ya. Tapi materi yang disampaikan adalah puisi.

Yak, sekian dulu review tentang Slammed. Mungkin dalam waktu dekat saya bakal resensi salah satu karya Colleen Hoover lagi. Saya sudah mulai kepincut sama penulis yang satu ini. Tapi sebelum baca kelanjutan Slammed alias Point of Retreat, kayaknya saya bakal mampir ke Hopeless dulu.