Reviews

Tell Me Everything by Sarah Enni

mindfullibrarian's review against another edition

3.0

I wanted to love this book. I really really wanted to. However, I definitely think its target audience is more in the 7th/8th grade range vs. high school, despite the subject matter, and I just couldn't fully buy into Ivy and her character. Some of the social media stuff was hard-hitting and would be great for kids to read, but some of the other events were just cringeworthy. I'm eager to hand it to my 13 yo daughter and see what she says - my view may just be skewed because of my age and the fact that I'm not the target audience :-) My 3 star rating is NOT a bad rating, it just means "I finished it and found it partially worthy, didn't love it but didn't hate it, nothing majorly problematic, won't be shouting about it from the rooftops but will recommend it to people looking for books on this topic".

crabber's review

2.0

2.5/5
This did not do anything to me, the story was very mediocre, same as the characters. I wished there was more substance to a topic this interesting, but frankly, there wasn't. It didn't do anything wrong per se but nothing amazing either.

didnot_finish's review

2.0

2.5ish

sc104906's review against another edition

4.0

Find my original review on my blog: https://wp.me/p8jcuj-2y2

Ivy is a quiet artist, who likes to spread kindness to those around her. Harold, her best friend, is going away to a summer camp and as a farewell, she plans something epic. It is through this that Ivy feels a shift in their friendship to something more romantic. She can't wait to see where they are when he returns and the only thing she has to distract herself is an anonymous art app, where users upload images of various pieces of art. Ivy doesn't feel confident enough to post on the app, but she intensely follows the posts and stories. When Harold returns, he seems to have forgotten what happened that last night and doesn't seem to have time for Ivy any longer. Ivy struggles with Harold's busy schedule and chaffes at the fact that he doesn't seem to understand or approve of her obsession with the VEIL app. When someone posts a hate comment, the app is brought into the real world, parents get involved, and the app is threatened. Ivy wants to save her favorite app and as she begins to uncover secret identities of the app users she works to help them.


The cover of this book is as compelling as the story inside. I had a great time with this book. I thought it was an interesting commentary on both spreading kindness, but also good intentions not always being enough. I was less thrilled with the Harold romance and more interested in the friend from art class. This was an interesting idea that was well executed.

applebutter_and_pickles's review

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

morganashley121's review

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

liak418's review against another edition

3.0

Was a decent book but I didn’t love it. It was a good book to pass time though.

z_brarian's review against another edition

4.0

A different take on the damages of Social Media. While Ivy thinks she's completing Random Acts of Kindness, she is actually "violating" the privacy of others. VEIL is supposed to be an app that users. can post their artistic interpretations without any reactions/comments, etc. Ivy is perceptive enough to deduce who some of these users are. This book is also an examination of social anxiety, the lack of willingness for someone to truly put themselves out there. Ivy uses VEIL but is reluctant to post, while at the same time she recreates posts in her own way, which turn out to be a path to her opening up and accepting the true artist that she is.

daniallreads's review

4.0

Being an artist myself, Enni’s novel really brought me back the familiar feeling of the anxiety and doubt you feel when you expose the deep meanings beneath your artwork to your peers and colleagues. Walking with Ivy through her journey of her sophomore year of high school was the light and the dark that I experience through high school and college between the discovery of presenting many forms of artwork to many people and the mistakes we make that as referenced in Mean Girls as “social suicide.” The characters help the reader know that it’s alright to make mistakes and to never be fearless when it comes to your deep inner creativity. Enni’s characters truly inspired me to get back into my deep rooted creative mind to produce photographs and drawings that evoke my feelings. If you want a quick light read with deep characters and strong emotions I suggest you pick up Tell Me Everything. You won’t regret the nostalgia that seeps through you as you turn each page.

rhappe13's review against another edition

4.0

I love Sarah Enni's podcast and I love this book. I work at a high school library and I see the effects of social media every day. So many students come to me because of things posted about them online, how they feel people are judging them because of it, etc. Having this book in high school libraries is so important.

Beyond that, this was just a really great book to read about self-identity and esteem, relationships, and the high school experience.

Full review: https://picturethisliteraturecom.wordpress.com/2019/04/30/tell-me-everything/