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katykelly's review
My top book of 2020 already - the most conniving and amorally wonderful narrator you'll ever come across.
This is now riding high in my 'what are your favourite ever YA books?' should anyone ask me. I can't recall just how I heard of it, probably on a 'what to read next' website, but boy am I glad I got myself a copy.
Young Adult fiction really does offer readers a wealth of characters, settings, genres and styles. It's one of the most exciting ages to be to discover fiction, with so many intelligent and innovative plots and protagonists you'll see in books. And THIS is, from the first, an exciting, wry and whip-smart glance at a high school. Schools done to death, you say? You won't say that after reading Enter Title Here.
Blackly funny, it's meta, it's ironic, it's self-referential - it's a unique narrative and gives us the most unforgettably zealous, self-centred and detached student you'll ever see on the page. Reshma is going to get to Stanford. Let's rephrase, she IS going to get to Stanford. Whatever it takes. And that, at her already-high-achieving school, means she needs to be class valedictorian. And to make her stand out - she needs a literary agent and a book.
Trawling through fiction for her age group, she determines the factors most likely to net her a book deal - she'll need to write a coming of age story about a girl who learns how to party, how to be cool, someone who gets a boyfriend and has sex. So she sets herself a timeline of how to go about achieving these things, to then write about them.
Intensely funny, I couldn't stop myself reading 'just one more' chapter constantly. I loved the fact that Reshma is Asian, that we see those stereotypes played with in herself and her parents and their family's experiences. There are some secondary characters that make their mark as well, some that appear to be archetypes from every teen movie you've ever seen, but actually do have a little depth to them and don't act as you'd expect. There's even a male version of a (not so) manic dream pixie potential love interest.
Reshma's 'journey' is both expected and gives some surprises: will she get into Stanford? Will she write that book? The side effects of high achieving, of taking performance enhancing drugs, of throwing the feelings of others under the bus, of cheating, of soulless drilling and learning by rote, they all feature thematically.
I didn't hate Reshma at all, I found her lack of sympathy for fellow humans amusing in the context of the book, as we are meant to. She is a remarkable literary creation, and I'd love to see her resurrected further along her timeline, see where life takes her.
This would be an excellent basis for discussions with older teenagers (mild sexual content, nothing graphic, but the themes will resonate more with those close to Reshma's own age).
Please please please read this. Adult or teen, you won't forget this book or protagonist.
This is now riding high in my 'what are your favourite ever YA books?' should anyone ask me. I can't recall just how I heard of it, probably on a 'what to read next' website, but boy am I glad I got myself a copy.
Young Adult fiction really does offer readers a wealth of characters, settings, genres and styles. It's one of the most exciting ages to be to discover fiction, with so many intelligent and innovative plots and protagonists you'll see in books. And THIS is, from the first, an exciting, wry and whip-smart glance at a high school. Schools done to death, you say? You won't say that after reading Enter Title Here.
Blackly funny, it's meta, it's ironic, it's self-referential - it's a unique narrative and gives us the most unforgettably zealous, self-centred and detached student you'll ever see on the page. Reshma is going to get to Stanford. Let's rephrase, she IS going to get to Stanford. Whatever it takes. And that, at her already-high-achieving school, means she needs to be class valedictorian. And to make her stand out - she needs a literary agent and a book.
Trawling through fiction for her age group, she determines the factors most likely to net her a book deal - she'll need to write a coming of age story about a girl who learns how to party, how to be cool, someone who gets a boyfriend and has sex. So she sets herself a timeline of how to go about achieving these things, to then write about them.
Intensely funny, I couldn't stop myself reading 'just one more' chapter constantly. I loved the fact that Reshma is Asian, that we see those stereotypes played with in herself and her parents and their family's experiences. There are some secondary characters that make their mark as well, some that appear to be archetypes from every teen movie you've ever seen, but actually do have a little depth to them and don't act as you'd expect. There's even a male version of a (not so) manic dream pixie potential love interest.
Reshma's 'journey' is both expected and gives some surprises: will she get into Stanford? Will she write that book? The side effects of high achieving, of taking performance enhancing drugs, of throwing the feelings of others under the bus, of cheating, of soulless drilling and learning by rote, they all feature thematically.
I didn't hate Reshma at all, I found her lack of sympathy for fellow humans amusing in the context of the book, as we are meant to. She is a remarkable literary creation, and I'd love to see her resurrected further along her timeline, see where life takes her.
This would be an excellent basis for discussions with older teenagers (mild sexual content, nothing graphic, but the themes will resonate more with those close to Reshma's own age).
Please please please read this. Adult or teen, you won't forget this book or protagonist.
thestoryowl's review against another edition
4.0
his was a very unique voice for a YA novel. I found myself disliking the narrator immensely, but not because she was a badly written character. I enjoyed the story of this crazily driven teen even if I couldn't really empathize with her choices. The story about a person writing a story was a fun addition. There were a couple spots where I full out laughed.
carryonamelia's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know what to say. This was a very meh book. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. Reshma was a bit of a spoiled brat, but overall I didn't mind her. It was a good book, it just wasn't anything special.
chivalricmaiden's review against another edition
5.0
I have reread this novel over and over and I'm reluctant to return this to the library.
First off I want to say that I didn't get why the protagonist couldn't just make it up instead of trying to enhance real life. I don't think it would be hard for her to write the ending she wanted to have. Moving on.
Reshma is this manipulative, school-cheating Indian girl (although she does work hard) who is determined to go to Stanford NO MATTER WHAT. I can't believe I was supporting her all the way. My insides cried when she didn't end up going to Stanford, but it's what she deserves. But the defeat to Susan Le is AGGRAVATING.
In fact, Stanford's the reason she started this whole novel. She doesn't have any real interests but somehow I still loved her. Her tiger personality wowed me even though from the other side I'd be terrified. Her arc isn't big but I can see a gradual sense of change at the end. She's still blunt but she's slightly softer.
I actually can relate to her except her cheating habit. She could've taken various books and websites on one subtopic and mix them all up together beautifully (not whole sentences just partial or paraphrase it), turning in a fresh assignment.
Parenting Reshma must be hard. With her demand of lawsuits, it's a complicated process. I can see her mother obviously saddened and irritated while her father thinks it's no big thing. (Yay dad love)
Chelsea is this nice, fair individual(at least on the outside) who is second adjacent to Reshma with her gold. Although from explanations of past events, I can infer that she wasn't always so bright and sunny. I imagine her with a touch of snobbishness.
When Chelsea applied to Stanford after Reshma got dragged down to a lower place, I could see a bit of joyousness in it. In her mind, she's dancing that she's on top. I wanted to see her spill a bit of rudeness in between the lines, however. Maybe Reshma wouldn't notice but I would.
Miss Ratcliffe did crack however. I was extremely upset along with Reshma when she spoke ill of her parents!
Alex is so aggressive that she's similar to Reshma. The only major difference is that they were on opposing sides. I wasn't mad at her either. (What is this book doing to me?!)
I have no idea how to conclude this or what to talk about anymore so I'll just say something obvious. I loved this book.
(I hate writing reviews. It takes a lot of thought that I never knew I had (and makes me go crazy when I don't have any thought). The result is a tad mushed up.)
REVIEW DONE IN 2017
First off I want to say that I didn't get why the protagonist couldn't just make it up instead of trying to enhance real life. I don't think it would be hard for her to write the ending she wanted to have. Moving on.
Reshma is this manipulative, school-cheating Indian girl (although she does work hard) who is determined to go to Stanford NO MATTER WHAT. I can't believe I was supporting her all the way. My insides cried when she didn't end up going to Stanford, but it's what she deserves. But the defeat to Susan Le is AGGRAVATING.
In fact, Stanford's the reason she started this whole novel. She doesn't have any real interests but somehow I still loved her. Her tiger personality wowed me even though from the other side I'd be terrified. Her arc isn't big but I can see a gradual sense of change at the end. She's still blunt but she's slightly softer.
I actually can relate to her except her cheating habit. She could've taken various books and websites on one subtopic and mix them all up together beautifully (not whole sentences just partial or paraphrase it), turning in a fresh assignment.
Parenting Reshma must be hard. With her demand of lawsuits, it's a complicated process. I can see her mother obviously saddened and irritated while her father thinks it's no big thing. (Yay dad love)
Chelsea is this nice, fair individual(at least on the outside) who is second adjacent to Reshma with her gold. Although from explanations of past events, I can infer that she wasn't always so bright and sunny. I imagine her with a touch of snobbishness.
When Chelsea applied to Stanford after Reshma got dragged down to a lower place, I could see a bit of joyousness in it. In her mind, she's dancing that she's on top. I wanted to see her spill a bit of rudeness in between the lines, however. Maybe Reshma wouldn't notice but I would.
Miss Ratcliffe did crack however. I was extremely upset along with Reshma when she spoke ill of her parents!
Alex is so aggressive that she's similar to Reshma. The only major difference is that they were on opposing sides. I wasn't mad at her either. (What is this book doing to me?!)
I have no idea how to conclude this or what to talk about anymore so I'll just say something obvious. I loved this book.
(I hate writing reviews. It takes a lot of thought that I never knew I had (and makes me go crazy when I don't have any thought). The result is a tad mushed up.)
REVIEW DONE IN 2017
aelong1399's review against another edition
5.0
This book is so twisted and AWESOME. Never saw ANYTHING in it coming. Reshma is such a complicated and intense narrator
talya_'s review against another edition
3.0
Reshma sure is something else. She's not someone you can root for-- instead it leaves me wondering why in the world she has no soul and is so crazy. (Blackmailing someone into being your friend by threatening to out them as a drug dealer when you're the one buying the drugs? Insanity.) But at the sane time, I didn't hate her. I hated things she did, and I certainly didn't like her, but I didn't hate her either. I wish the author developed her a little more though. She seems like an actual soulless robot. Not in an I'm-a-snotty-bitch way, just in an I-honestly-have-no-soul-and-am-oblivious-to-human-emotion way. There wasn't really any reason behind this, and the author hints that maybe her ruthlessness and desire to be better than everyone is because she actually feels worthless, but that was never gone into on a deeper level.
caffeineaddict980's review against another edition
5.0
‘All successful people have a hook.’
Reshma is an overachiever and she will do anything to be the best. She needs something to set her apart from the other applicants applying for Stanford University, so what does she do?
Write a novel, of course.
This process leads her down a path of self-discovery and helps her come to an important realisation, maybe being successful isn’t all that matters after all?
We see Reshma’s workaholic personality only increase throughout the novel and learn that she also has an unhealthy addiction to Adderall. In comparison to her overachieving, ambitious, perfectionist side to her personality we see that simultaneously it brings out the worst in her. In comparison to this she can be manipulative, self-absorbed and nasty, going as far as she possibly can to achieve her means, which does include blackmail.
When we first meet Reshma she is only interested in having relationships (romantic and otherwise) to gain material to help her novel become more relatable and digestible for readers. As the novel carries on, particularly towards the end, we see her redeem herself in this and ultimately realise that meaningful relationships are important and occasionally, give her some insight into her own behaviour and how she can improve herself.
Mental health plays an extremely important part in this novel - as we watch Reshma achieve her goals, her mental health continues to spiral, up until a pivotal scene in the novel where Reshma is pushed to her lowest point.
Upon the realisation that she might not be able to get into Stanford after all of her past actions, she discusses her novel with her therapist as they try and come up with conclusive endings and with the main character of that novel being herself, they begin to talk in metaphors and hypothetical situations which eventually gets to the point of her main character committing suicide.
After having a manic episode and not sleeping for days on end as she works on her novel, she ends up taking too many Adderall pills and nearly dies from an overdose – this makes Reshma re-evaluate some things, but soon enough, she’s back to her self-destructive obsession with being perfect and the best at everything.
In the end of the novel, Reshma has finally gotten the Stanford place that she wanted after all and has managed to help her parents with issues surrounding their old business. She has also learned about who she really is and wants to be, reflecting on herself, her actions, and her qualities.
As for the novel she has written, it does get seen and even her newfound friends help her unpick it and even add to it in sections, finding things out about themselves and how they personally could improve themselves from reading the novel.
Overall, this is an amazing debut novel about perfectionism and is relatable for all ages, not just limited to young adults specifically! I found this novel relatable in sections and thought it was a well thought out and coherent novel to read.
Reshma is an overachiever and she will do anything to be the best. She needs something to set her apart from the other applicants applying for Stanford University, so what does she do?
Write a novel, of course.
This process leads her down a path of self-discovery and helps her come to an important realisation, maybe being successful isn’t all that matters after all?
We see Reshma’s workaholic personality only increase throughout the novel and learn that she also has an unhealthy addiction to Adderall. In comparison to her overachieving, ambitious, perfectionist side to her personality we see that simultaneously it brings out the worst in her. In comparison to this she can be manipulative, self-absorbed and nasty, going as far as she possibly can to achieve her means, which does include blackmail.
When we first meet Reshma she is only interested in having relationships (romantic and otherwise) to gain material to help her novel become more relatable and digestible for readers. As the novel carries on, particularly towards the end, we see her redeem herself in this and ultimately realise that meaningful relationships are important and occasionally, give her some insight into her own behaviour and how she can improve herself.
Mental health plays an extremely important part in this novel - as we watch Reshma achieve her goals, her mental health continues to spiral, up until a pivotal scene in the novel where Reshma is pushed to her lowest point.
Upon the realisation that she might not be able to get into Stanford after all of her past actions, she discusses her novel with her therapist as they try and come up with conclusive endings and with the main character of that novel being herself, they begin to talk in metaphors and hypothetical situations which eventually gets to the point of her main character committing suicide.
After having a manic episode and not sleeping for days on end as she works on her novel, she ends up taking too many Adderall pills and nearly dies from an overdose – this makes Reshma re-evaluate some things, but soon enough, she’s back to her self-destructive obsession with being perfect and the best at everything.
In the end of the novel, Reshma has finally gotten the Stanford place that she wanted after all and has managed to help her parents with issues surrounding their old business. She has also learned about who she really is and wants to be, reflecting on herself, her actions, and her qualities.
As for the novel she has written, it does get seen and even her newfound friends help her unpick it and even add to it in sections, finding things out about themselves and how they personally could improve themselves from reading the novel.
Overall, this is an amazing debut novel about perfectionism and is relatable for all ages, not just limited to young adults specifically! I found this novel relatable in sections and thought it was a well thought out and coherent novel to read.
kpjt_books's review against another edition
3.0
I'd give it 3.5 if I could. It was quirky and interesting with a very unlikely heroine - definitely not your run of the mill YA coming of age book at all. I found the main character almost too unbelievable - so I couldn't give it 4 stars, but it was a close call. Quick read.
phillygirljl's review against another edition
4.0
Reshma is an unlikeable, yet realistic, teen who is willing to do anything, go to any lengths, to top her fellow classmates and be the best.
It's very rare that I like a book that has a main character in it that I absolutely loathe, but in this case, Enter Title Here is an exception. Reshma is selfish, cunning, and really only looking out for herself, but to me, that makes her character all the more realistic. High school in general is competitive, but when you mix in the fight to stay on top academically, to get into the best college(s), and to best the best overall, it's down right cutthroat. Enter Title Here does a great job of highlighting this phenomena through Reshma's character.
On the other hand, because of Reshma's character development, despite disliking her so much, I was also able to see through her eyes and empathize with her. I could understand her actions, even while thinking she was going way to far to achieve her goals. The complexity of her character had me disagreeing with her at the same time that I accepted the fact that she felt it was necessary to go to the lengths she did to ensure her personal successes.
I read Enter Title Here in one day and thoroughly enjoyed it. Reshma was scarily driven and utterly focused on her goals, but she was still a high school student looking to belong somewhere, even as she alienated anyone who got close to her. I enjoyed reading this book as an adult, but would have loved it as a teen.
It's very rare that I like a book that has a main character in it that I absolutely loathe, but in this case, Enter Title Here is an exception. Reshma is selfish, cunning, and really only looking out for herself, but to me, that makes her character all the more realistic. High school in general is competitive, but when you mix in the fight to stay on top academically, to get into the best college(s), and to best the best overall, it's down right cutthroat. Enter Title Here does a great job of highlighting this phenomena through Reshma's character.
On the other hand, because of Reshma's character development, despite disliking her so much, I was also able to see through her eyes and empathize with her. I could understand her actions, even while thinking she was going way to far to achieve her goals. The complexity of her character had me disagreeing with her at the same time that I accepted the fact that she felt it was necessary to go to the lengths she did to ensure her personal successes.
I read Enter Title Here in one day and thoroughly enjoyed it. Reshma was scarily driven and utterly focused on her goals, but she was still a high school student looking to belong somewhere, even as she alienated anyone who got close to her. I enjoyed reading this book as an adult, but would have loved it as a teen.