Crush Control

           I just finished the book Crush Control by: Jennifer Jabaley. It's about a girl named Willow Grey who grew up in a small town in Georgia with her mother. Ever since she was born, she had a best friend and his name was Max Montgomery. The two were inseperable until one day, Willows mom announced that they were moving to Las Vegas. The reason being that her mom was going to be a hypnotist. She was going to have her own show called "the Hip Hypnotist." The day before the big move, Willow hypnotized Max so that he would always be her best friend. The two talked everyday when she lived in Vegas. For eight years her and her mom lived there but at age seventeen, her mom decided to move them both back to their hometown. When Willow gets back, she discovers Max has a girlfriend.. he's the only friend she really has in Georgia until she meets Quinton. Now, she has a huge crush on Max but her and newly found best friend Georgia (yeah ironic, right?) come up with a plan that they're positive will win Max over for sure. Willow uses hypnosis on Quinton to get him to like her. Their plan back fires when he goes from lovestruck to obsessed.

        Now I was thinking through out the book, whos fault was it for Willow using hypnosis to get what she wants? I mean, technically she was the one who was hypnotizing people, but could her mother be to blame? Growing up, all Willow was surrounded be was hypnotism. Las Vegas is full of them. Her mother had video and books from her studies all around the house and Willow was always backstage at her mothers shows (and sometimes even on stage.) Willow uses hypnotism to make friends by putting on a show for her new fellow classmates at a party. She took away the fear of heights for the head cheerleader and with just these actions plus dating Quinton, she sprouted right up to the popular crowd.

        Her mother gets mad at her when she finds out about what Willow has done, not even thinking about how she knows about any of this in the first place. She never even comes to the possibility that it's her fault. She should have made time for hypnotism and time for mother-daughter bonding. Not merging them into one thing. Maybe if she cooked dinner once in a while instead of always eating whatever was at the buffet, they would have bonded and talked more. It seems like her mother is always studying and finding ways to get better.

What do you think? Comment below!