Review – The Double Threat Series by Julie Prestsater

I highly recommend the Double Threat series to anyone who has teenage children, to teenage children themselves or for anyone who enjoys a realistic view of teenage life. This is an amazing series and Julie Prestater is a talented and gifted writer. ~ Guilty Pleasures

Descriptions:

SO I’M A DOUBLE THREAT (Double Threat #1)
Megan Miller, a freshman at Carver High and a Double Threat, the perfect combination of smart and popular. She’s got the grades, she’s got the friends, and she’s got the connections. Freshman year should be a breeze, but it’s not. How can it be when you have boys, boys and boys on the brain. And really only one in particular. Alex Aguilar…the boy of Meg’s dreams. They met at a party and Meg’s whole world shifted. The spark was there, there was no denying it. But could that spark lead to more? Can a Senior and Freshman really make a go of it no matter what kind of connection they share? Or will outside circumstances ruin not only Meg’s Freshman year, but her chance at hooking the guy of her dreams. Being a Double Threat is supposed to make you special, but is it worth it if you don’t get your crush?

DOUBLE THREAT MY BLEEP (Double Threat #2)
Megan Miller’s someday came and she and Alex Aguilar are a couple. She nabbed her dream guy and couldn’t be happier. The only problem is, he is miles away in college and Meg is stuck at Carver High dealing with girl drama, boy problems and the fact that Alex is constantly surrounded by half naked girls. What should be the best year for Meg and company is shaping up to be a year filled with drama and tears and the possibility of a broken heart. Not to mention the confusing feelings she has about Travis, the newest member to the group. Can Meg and Alex make the distance work or will circumstances lead to Meg’s happily-ever after being a thing of the past? And will Travis be there willing to pick up the pieces if it happens?

DOUBLE TIME (Double Threat #3)
Megan Miller has done the crush thing, had her heart broken and flirted with a close friend to the point of an almost relationship. She is over the drama of her Freshman and Sophomore years and is ready to be single and to mingle. With Keesha and Steph by her side the girls are ready to rock the single hood in their Junior year. Playing the field, meeting new people, doing different things sounds like the life. But is it? What happens when you are out their working the dating scene but your heart is somewhere else, or better yet with someone else? Can you be tied down and still manage to enjoy not being attached? Meg is about to find out. Sometimes being single takes double time.

DOUBLE THREATS FOREVER (Double Threats #4)
After three years of broken hearts, back stabbing, lying, cheating, and fighting, Megan Miller and crew have finally made it to their senior year. They are ready to rule the school and show Carver High what the true meaning of being a double threat is, that is if they can manage to keep the drama out of their life. With Ben gone and Amy creating some waves, Meg feels like she is in over her head. What should be the year of prom, parties and memories, is quickly becoming the year of pressure and figuring what path you want your life to go on, and what it means when you may not have your friends by your side. With Alex and her parents’ encouragement, watch as Meg learns sometimes just because you stand on your own two feet doesn’t mean you won’t be a Double Threat Forever.

SPOILER ALERT For Against The Wall readers!!!!
If you’re reading the Double Threat series, and also waiting for the release of Between The Sheets (the sequel to ATW), you may want to wait on reading Double Threats Forever. It contains some very big spoilers for the adult romance readers. So if you don’t want know what happens with Mel and Ty, then hold onto your panties, wait a few weeks more, and read BTS first.

The Double Threat series is a Young Adult series and contains four books: So I’m A Double Threat, Double Threat My Bleep, Double Time, and Double Threats Forever. Normally I wouldn’t review a series as an all in one but this series warrants it because you will absolutely want to read these books in order to get the full effect. These are full sized books, not novellas and I’ll warn you they are hard to put down. I stayed up all night finishing book 2 and reading book 3 straight through. They are mesmerizing, brutally honest, compelling, and according to two teens (one who graduated last year and one who is a junior this year) very realistic.

I fell in love with Julie Prestsater when I read and reviewed her two adult books Against The Wall and Between The Sheets. These books are about the teachers that work in the school where these YA books take place. We see the teachers in the YA books and we come to understand just how important they are to these teens. I won’t lie to you for many parents this YA series will probably be very eye opening and may even scare the bejezus out of you. I however feel these should be recommended reading for all parents of teens in high school as well as the teens themselves. I thoroughly believe these will open up the lines of communications about a lot of topics most parents don’t want to deal with and most teens are horrified to discuss with their parents but the communication is so vital. Over the last two years, one of my good friends almost lost her son and another has been dealing with her 16 year old daughter becoming a parent. The issue with the boy started when he was a junior in high school and he began drinking and doing a variety of drugs. During his senior year, he attempted suicide and would have been successful if one of his friends hadn’t found him in time. The girl comes from a very good family and became involved with a young man who was her world. Neither one apparently was prepared to be sexually active since they are now 17 year old parents of a newborn. Unfortunately these are not unusual stories in high school now, and they weren’t unusual back when I was in school back in the dark ages.

These books brought back so many memories of my high school days and a lot of the same feelings I had during that time. I ran with a group of kids from junior high through graduation and a few even into our college years. I still maintain a friendship with a few of my friends so I can totally understand the connections this group (known as “the crew”) has. These books follow the lives of a group of girls from freshman year through senior year. The main story is about Megan and Alex who are friends throughout the first book but become a couple at the end of the first book. It deals with their trials and tribulations as they try to maintain a long distance relationship when Alex goes off to college as well as many teenage pressures. There are many secondary characters and their stories are no less interesting and I found myself very much enthralled with the entire group. I must also mention Megan’s parents who are tough (and sometimes naive) but they are also very understanding and try very hard to be very good and supportive parents.
I really don’t want to go into specifics about these books because I don’t want to ruin the feelings you will get when you read through them. I was on an emotional roller coaster reading these books; I laughed, I cried, I cheered, I cried some more, and I even think I had a few “eewww” moments. I also felt like the most proud Mom at the end of book four because Julie delivers an awesome epilogue. Seriously, an epilogue all epilogues aspire to be.

These books are beautifully written and they are told from Megan’s point of view. Honestly this is one of the reasons this series gets a 4.5 instead of 5 star review from me. As I sat back and reflected on this series (and believe me I’ve done a lot of reflecting) I realized we really didn’t get to see or get to know Alex very well at all. I would have loved to know more about what he was thinking and how he was feeling during the duration of these books and I really want to know what all went on during his time at Berkley. The other reason for the 4.5, as much as I loved the epilogue and because I am a seriously happily ever after person, it was a little to fairy tale like. I mean that in the nicest way and believe me, I wanted it to end like it did but this is the one part of the book I didn’t feel was very realistic. Please remember this is my opinion!

I highly recommend the Double Threat series to anyone who has teenage children, to teenage children themselves or for anyone who enjoys a realistic view of teenage life. This is an amazing series and Julie Prestater is a talented and gifted writer. I encourage you to give her books a try, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed and in fact you’ll probably ask yourself why it took you so long to check her out! Thank you Julie for bringing back those high school memories for me the only thing that would have made these books even better is if one of the crew had been gay. My best male friend in high school was gay in a time (the 70’s) when you certainly didn’t “come out” and it wasn’t accepted. When he came out to me it was like the most special moment of my high school years because I knew he trusted me with his secret and he just needed someone else to know. These books took me back to those times and made me realize that sharing a burden can be so important and can sometimes save the life of another person. Teenagers are such fragile creatures and unfortunately so many people seem to forget that even though they are growing up, they aren’t grown and they still need love, acceptance, and guidance.