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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Elle and Drix share one moment together at a midway and they know they’ll never see each other again, only hours later, they’re face to face once more. Elle’s father is the governor of Kentucky and is starting a new program called the Second Chance Program to help teens stay off the streets and Drix is the poster boy for the program. Elle wants to get to know Drix better and get away from under her parents’ thumb, but they won’t have it. So Elle must do what every teen has done before her, go behind their backs. This novel was just as predictable as you’d imagine it to be. There was nothing surprising or clever or remotely original about this. Every twist and turn took the reader on a path that was inevitable. It didn’t help that the characters were so clichéd; you have your typical bad-boy, who wouldn’t stop complaining about how the girl was “too good for him”, then you have the standard “good girl” who follows orders as her parents have programed her to do, which lastly brings us to the classic controlling parents who “only have their child’s best interests at heart” but really have their own agenda. This was just fast-paced enough that the reader got through this quickly, but this was really something they shouldn’t have finished. There’s a lot of build up between Elle and Drix on whether or not they’ll be together and it’s very obvious how it was going to end. That part was alright to read, even if Drix was very, very broody and it wasn’t really exciting. It was the plots with Elle and her parents that were hard to read. The reader could tell she wanted to love her parents, what kid doesn’t, but she also knew on some level what they were doing wasn’t right. It was great to see her break out of it, but it also felt like it followed a formulaic pattern, plus the resolution between them felt too neat, like after years of manipulated abuse it didn’t feel realistic how it ended. Her character felt stronger than that. Also the way women were treated in this novel was icky. Like even the way Elle’s cousin talked to her when she said she liked a boy, it was ‘nope we’ve got to lock you up’, essentially and it read as really sexist. Overall, this wasn’t a great read, the reader wanted to like it, but there were just too many elements that didn’t work for this reader.
Neste livro conhecemos o Hendrix (Drix) que acabou de sair de uma espécie de programa de reabilitação para jovens que cometeram crimes. O programa serve para dar a estes jovens uma segunda oportunidade e assim tomarem um melhor rumo na sua vida. No entanto, Drix pagou por um crime que não cometeu, mas mesmo assim o programa ajudou-o muito.
Ellison (Elle) é a filha do governador que criou o programa. Elle sempre se sentiu pressionada a ser perfeita e a ser bem sucessiva em tudo para deixar os pais orgulhosos.
Os dois conhecem-se por mero acaso numa feira popular e voltam a encontrar-se na conferência de imprensa sobre o programa onde o Drix irá falar um pouco sobre o mesmo.
Contudo, os pais de Elle não gostam da ideia de a filha ser amiga de alguém com cadastro. Mas por muito que tentem estar afastados um do outro e fazer o que os outros dizem ser o correto, não conseguem.
Este livro contém um amor proibido, contém ação, emoção, etc...
Recomendo!!
Ellison (Elle) é a filha do governador que criou o programa. Elle sempre se sentiu pressionada a ser perfeita e a ser bem sucessiva em tudo para deixar os pais orgulhosos.
Os dois conhecem-se por mero acaso numa feira popular e voltam a encontrar-se na conferência de imprensa sobre o programa onde o Drix irá falar um pouco sobre o mesmo.
Contudo, os pais de Elle não gostam da ideia de a filha ser amiga de alguém com cadastro. Mas por muito que tentem estar afastados um do outro e fazer o que os outros dizem ser o correto, não conseguem.
Este livro contém um amor proibido, contém ação, emoção, etc...
Recomendo!!
Loved this story and Drix might be one of my favorites now...
It has been a while since I have read anything by Katie McGarry and Say You’ll Remember Me reminded me of why I love her books so much. On our last podcast with Swoony Boys, Kass mentioned how much she loved this book so I pushed it up on my TBR. Once I started, I found myself unwilling to put this down (unfortunately my work life didn’t really agree with me on this) and couldn’t wait to find out what happened with these characters, Elle and Drix, whose lives couldn’t have been more different.
Elle is the governor’s daughter and she knows she is lucky to have the things she has but sometimes she just wants to do what she wants without the expectations and pressure that comes along with being who she is. She would also like to be free to do the things she loves, not what her parents believe is right. I have to say I was frustrated with Elle sometimes and it was more around how much she let her parents control her and dictate almost everything in her life from her hair color and contact color to what classes she could take.
Drix on the other hand, doesn’t have much materially but he has his brother, sister, and friends. Drix spent most of his time drinking, getting high, making music, and chasing after girls but after having been convicted of a crime that he didn’t commit, he knows he needed to change and he takes this for the wakeup call he needed. Now that he is out, Drix is willing to do whatever he needs to in order to get his life back on track and that includes becoming the poster boy for the Second Chance Program. This program is the governor’s newest project to rehabilitate delinquents and Drix isn’t going to do anything to ruin his chance for a clean start. He completely changed who he was while he was away and if the program will help him get into the music school he wants to get into, he knows he can change his life.
When Elle and Drix meet, they have no clue who the other is, and I loved how McGarry introduced them to each other. I also loved how McGarry developed the friendship / relationship between them. It starts out with a chance meeting at a fair and slowly becomes more and it felt real. Of course, they are attracted to each other but because they are traveling together (with the governor) they start to spend time together and really get to know each other. I love that Drix specifically calls out that he likes the “real” Elle more than that perfect version her mother is creating and encourages her to wear her glasses and be who she wants to be.
The other part of this story that I really enjoyed was the tie to family. Drix obviously didn’t have the best role models with his parents and he has restructured his definition of family to revolve around his brother, sister, and friends. And they truly are a family – they care about each other and support each other in all the ways a family would/should. When Drix goes away, he knows someone in his circle let him take the fall and when he comes back, he has a hard time being ok and trusting those he isn’t sure of, and that includes his sister and his best friend.
On the other hand, Elle loves her parents and knows they love her, but they are super controlling and didn’t really support her in the things she wanted for herself…they just wanted her to be what they wanted her to be. Throughout the story I could feel her frustration, but she always fell back to the idea that they were doing the things they did out of love and protection. She trusted her parents to always do the right thing and unfortunately, she learns that they don’t.
In the end, this is more than just a good girl falls for the bad boy story. Elle’s optimism and desire to do what’s right is threaded throughout everything she does and Drix’s desire to be better than he was are what move this story forward and kept me turning the pages.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I think if you are a fan of McGarry’s other books, you will really like this one. She does a fantastic job of highlighting the challenges that the “have nots” face as well as showing that just because someone’s life looks perfect on the outside, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it truly is. If you are looking for a story that has well developed characters, a fantastic story, and of course, swoons, you should check this one out. As always, I am looking forward to whatever McGarry puts out next.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy!
It has been a while since I have read anything by Katie McGarry and Say You’ll Remember Me reminded me of why I love her books so much. On our last podcast with Swoony Boys, Kass mentioned how much she loved this book so I pushed it up on my TBR. Once I started, I found myself unwilling to put this down (unfortunately my work life didn’t really agree with me on this) and couldn’t wait to find out what happened with these characters, Elle and Drix, whose lives couldn’t have been more different.
Elle is the governor’s daughter and she knows she is lucky to have the things she has but sometimes she just wants to do what she wants without the expectations and pressure that comes along with being who she is. She would also like to be free to do the things she loves, not what her parents believe is right. I have to say I was frustrated with Elle sometimes and it was more around how much she let her parents control her and dictate almost everything in her life from her hair color and contact color to what classes she could take.
Drix on the other hand, doesn’t have much materially but he has his brother, sister, and friends. Drix spent most of his time drinking, getting high, making music, and chasing after girls but after having been convicted of a crime that he didn’t commit, he knows he needed to change and he takes this for the wakeup call he needed. Now that he is out, Drix is willing to do whatever he needs to in order to get his life back on track and that includes becoming the poster boy for the Second Chance Program. This program is the governor’s newest project to rehabilitate delinquents and Drix isn’t going to do anything to ruin his chance for a clean start. He completely changed who he was while he was away and if the program will help him get into the music school he wants to get into, he knows he can change his life.
When Elle and Drix meet, they have no clue who the other is, and I loved how McGarry introduced them to each other. I also loved how McGarry developed the friendship / relationship between them. It starts out with a chance meeting at a fair and slowly becomes more and it felt real. Of course, they are attracted to each other but because they are traveling together (with the governor) they start to spend time together and really get to know each other. I love that Drix specifically calls out that he likes the “real” Elle more than that perfect version her mother is creating and encourages her to wear her glasses and be who she wants to be.
The other part of this story that I really enjoyed was the tie to family. Drix obviously didn’t have the best role models with his parents and he has restructured his definition of family to revolve around his brother, sister, and friends. And they truly are a family – they care about each other and support each other in all the ways a family would/should. When Drix goes away, he knows someone in his circle let him take the fall and when he comes back, he has a hard time being ok and trusting those he isn’t sure of, and that includes his sister and his best friend.
On the other hand, Elle loves her parents and knows they love her, but they are super controlling and didn’t really support her in the things she wanted for herself…they just wanted her to be what they wanted her to be. Throughout the story I could feel her frustration, but she always fell back to the idea that they were doing the things they did out of love and protection. She trusted her parents to always do the right thing and unfortunately, she learns that they don’t.
In the end, this is more than just a good girl falls for the bad boy story. Elle’s optimism and desire to do what’s right is threaded throughout everything she does and Drix’s desire to be better than he was are what move this story forward and kept me turning the pages.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I think if you are a fan of McGarry’s other books, you will really like this one. She does a fantastic job of highlighting the challenges that the “have nots” face as well as showing that just because someone’s life looks perfect on the outside, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it truly is. If you are looking for a story that has well developed characters, a fantastic story, and of course, swoons, you should check this one out. As always, I am looking forward to whatever McGarry puts out next.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy!
This was the first McGarry book that I read, and I was instantly fascinated by her descriptions of the life of a Governor's daughter. Elle is the face of perfection, poise and professionalism, but beneath all that is a fire, a passion that could easily rival her father's causes. The relationship between her and Drix is a very dreamy representation of first love. Intertwined with Drix' dark past, this is an unforgettable story of second chances, redemption and learning about your true self. More importantly, it teaches that you can learn about who you truly are at any time.
inspiring
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
Even though this is a YA book, I still enjoy a little happy romance every once in a while and Katie McGarry is one of my favorites.