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stephxsu's review against another edition
2.0
Four students band together to form an SAT study group. The beautiful, outspoken Daisy needs to do well on her SATs in order to get scholarships, but she thinks the whole system is geared toward rich bastards. Leo IS the rich, popular bastard with apathetic parents, but Leo himself is serious about getting into Yale. Max, Daisy's best friend, thinks he's a loser and won't do well enough anyway to please his dad. And Jane, the daughter of a famous actress, can hardly believe that she finally has three people over her house almost every week.
In between studying and doing practice tests, however, sparks fly and drama occurs. Almost against their will, Leo and Daisy fall in love--while a lovestruck Max watches forlornly from the side as Daisy falls in love with what appears to be yet another jerk. Jane's got some mental thing going on, thinking that her stepfather is a skeevy guy who likes to check her out.
Then the word is out: someone has cheated on the SATs. Everyone is a suspect, especially Daisy and Leo. Will the four friends' relationships survive the suspicion and accusations? And who really cheated on the SATs?
CRUNCH TIME is unique because of its rapid change of narration between the four characters, but otherwise I found the plot often too bogged down. The characters aren't that lovable either at times.
In between studying and doing practice tests, however, sparks fly and drama occurs. Almost against their will, Leo and Daisy fall in love--while a lovestruck Max watches forlornly from the side as Daisy falls in love with what appears to be yet another jerk. Jane's got some mental thing going on, thinking that her stepfather is a skeevy guy who likes to check her out.
Then the word is out: someone has cheated on the SATs. Everyone is a suspect, especially Daisy and Leo. Will the four friends' relationships survive the suspicion and accusations? And who really cheated on the SATs?
CRUNCH TIME is unique because of its rapid change of narration between the four characters, but otherwise I found the plot often too bogged down. The characters aren't that lovable either at times.
goosemixtapes's review against another edition
4.0
i have a vague memory of loving this in middle school and i was pleased to find out that it still holds up... really tight, solid writing and VERY compelling characters. i could definitely read a LOT more about these characters + i genuinely liked all four of them...
sam_ekberg's review against another edition
4.0
Really good, it was a refreshing break from magic and stuff, with real life kids dealing with real life problems. The characters were real and you can really relate to them. Age rating: 11-12+
asparagusisreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Tell me why I read books with settings similar to things I'm going through or thinking about at the time.
When I read this, I was thinking about taking the ACTs and SATs. In high school, teachers try to get you to take each at least once, if not twice, before going to college. Now I believe more colleges are removing it from being a requirement or making it optional for you to submit it. I am not the best test taker so I was nervous about what my scores would look like and how that would affect my application process. Randomly, I found this book and thought it would be a great idea to read it. I just want to make it known that this was a mistake because I was incredibly nervous about taking the test after reading this.... and ended up not getting the best score.
CRUNCH TIME is about a group of teenagers who randomly meet and eventually decide to do a study group before taking their SATs. As time passes, they start to study less and build more relationships with each other. They start questioning the tests like why it has become competitive amongst students, whether it is actually helpful, and things like that.
After the SATs are taken, the scores are in and the school discovers somebody or some people have cheated. All eyes and pointer fingers immediately turn to the study group. Each student has their own motives as to why they would cheat but did they really?
When I read this, I was thinking about taking the ACTs and SATs. In high school, teachers try to get you to take each at least once, if not twice, before going to college. Now I believe more colleges are removing it from being a requirement or making it optional for you to submit it. I am not the best test taker so I was nervous about what my scores would look like and how that would affect my application process. Randomly, I found this book and thought it would be a great idea to read it. I just want to make it known that this was a mistake because I was incredibly nervous about taking the test after reading this.... and ended up not getting the best score.
CRUNCH TIME is about a group of teenagers who randomly meet and eventually decide to do a study group before taking their SATs. As time passes, they start to study less and build more relationships with each other. They start questioning the tests like why it has become competitive amongst students, whether it is actually helpful, and things like that.
After the SATs are taken, the scores are in and the school discovers somebody or some people have cheated. All eyes and pointer fingers immediately turn to the study group. Each student has their own motives as to why they would cheat but did they really?
kba76's review against another edition
3.0
This is one of those stories where you get pretty much what you expect.
At the start were introduced to the main characters and see that nearly all have a reason to self-justify cheating in the SATs. We then have the build up to the test and see the shifting relationships. Following this we have the fall-out of cheating and what comes next.
The character were quite stock types. Nobody really changed or developed in a meaningful way. There was the potential to really explore the concept of pressure or ethics behind the issue but this didn’t come close.
It was, to use a word that probably wouldn’t feature on the paper, bog-standard.
At the start were introduced to the main characters and see that nearly all have a reason to self-justify cheating in the SATs. We then have the build up to the test and see the shifting relationships. Following this we have the fall-out of cheating and what comes next.
The character were quite stock types. Nobody really changed or developed in a meaningful way. There was the potential to really explore the concept of pressure or ethics behind the issue but this didn’t come close.
It was, to use a word that probably wouldn’t feature on the paper, bog-standard.
clarkco's review against another edition
3.0
It's all fun and games until somebody cheats on their SATs.
lukenotjohn's review against another edition
4.0
It's been six years now since I've read it, but it was one I did read 3 or 4 times over again throughout my own high school years. This book hit a lot of my predetermined boxes, as I really love YA novels with alternating narrators, am a huge fan of The Breakfast Club, and even cared a lot about standardized tests/the college application process in high school and resonated with their fervor.
My copy is currently packed away in storage, but I can still remember some things that really stood out here. I was really impressed with the characterization; each of the main four felt authentic and nuanced; even if they are obviously molded after common teen tropes, Fredericks does a good job of fleshing them out to make them feel human. I personally believe this is a huge asset to alternating narration, because it challenges the author to not only give each character a unique voice and perspective but also offers us multiple other lenses to look at our protagonists through rather than solely a reflective one mirroring their own view back at themselves. While some other reviewers clearly disagree, I truly cared for each character and felt as though they were all pretty genuine portrayals of people.
I thought this especially for Leo who is a character we're never "supposed" to like in YA novels or media but also rarely get to actually know, and I think Fredericks did a great job of giving him layers and compelling me to care for him. I honestly don't remember how the love triangle ends, but I do recall rooting for him the whole time (because seriously? The "friendzoned" NiceGuy getting the girl hasn't been done before?). Even more than Leo, though, I remember absolutely adoring Jane. I just felt like she was this really complicated, endearing, broken, sad character and I honestly related a lot to her in some ways. I've rooted for few characters as strongly as I did her, even know she was making some poor choices out of her woundedness and lostness and desperation. I'm bummed because I can't remember the specifics super well, but I just really loved that character a lot.
As for the "mystery" element...I mean, I thought it was pretty obvious and it seems that many others did too? I think it created some compelling drama and elevated the plot beyond a simple "slice-of-life" character study, but in some ways it also felt unnecessary and like an unwarranted change in direction. But it also brought out some really interesting sides of the characters and made for a more exciting ending, sure. Also, class is dealt with in really honest and realistic ways here, especially in relation to college, and I loved that it was actually addressed head-on. Overall, this book was a super fun YA read with some surprising depth and complexity (while still managing to be more fun than heavy) - definitely recommended!
My copy is currently packed away in storage, but I can still remember some things that really stood out here. I was really impressed with the characterization; each of the main four felt authentic and nuanced; even if they are obviously molded after common teen tropes, Fredericks does a good job of fleshing them out to make them feel human. I personally believe this is a huge asset to alternating narration, because it challenges the author to not only give each character a unique voice and perspective but also offers us multiple other lenses to look at our protagonists through rather than solely a reflective one mirroring their own view back at themselves. While some other reviewers clearly disagree, I truly cared for each character and felt as though they were all pretty genuine portrayals of people.
I thought this especially for Leo who is a character we're never "supposed" to like in YA novels or media but also rarely get to actually know, and I think Fredericks did a great job of giving him layers and compelling me to care for him. I honestly don't remember how the love triangle ends, but I do recall rooting for him the whole time (because seriously? The "friendzoned" NiceGuy getting the girl hasn't been done before?). Even more than Leo, though, I remember absolutely adoring Jane. I just felt like she was this really complicated, endearing, broken, sad character and I honestly related a lot to her in some ways. I've rooted for few characters as strongly as I did her, even know she was making some poor choices out of her woundedness and lostness and desperation. I'm bummed because I can't remember the specifics super well, but I just really loved that character a lot.
As for the "mystery" element...I mean, I thought it was pretty obvious and it seems that many others did too? I think it created some compelling drama and elevated the plot beyond a simple "slice-of-life" character study, but in some ways it also felt unnecessary and like an unwarranted change in direction. But it also brought out some really interesting sides of the characters and made for a more exciting ending, sure. Also, class is dealt with in really honest and realistic ways here, especially in relation to college, and I loved that it was actually addressed head-on. Overall, this book was a super fun YA read with some surprising depth and complexity (while still managing to be more fun than heavy) - definitely recommended!
kaitlinnn's review against another edition
3.0
I read this in one sitting, really quickly, so maybe I just didn't have time to get connected to the characters. Maybe that's way the book feels kinda forgettable. Crunch Time was good, I enjoyed it, but it was kinda slow and a little boring. It feels like a lot of stuff could have been cut out and the book still would make sense and feel the same. I did really like ending.
nathanbartos17's review against another edition
5.0
Even though I read this for class AND it was about the SATs, I really liked this book. I love who the culprit is. It is brilliant!
seemeghanread's review against another edition
4.0
I like the author's use of perspective in this novel. It's not easy to write a book from the POV of four different characters, but she does a great job. I nice, light read that keeps you guessing till the end.