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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-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:
No
Meh. The 5 POVs were barely distinguishable, and the 1st person format did not work for me. We got waay too much stream-of-consciousness thinking from each character, and many of their descriptions were too flowery and over-the-top for how real humans think. I think it would've been better served as a 3rd person narrative with more heist action and less angst. The aroace rep seemed more like checking off boxes than an authentic portrayal to me, but I am not part of this community, so I will defer to those who are on this point.
I received this as an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Bellamy has worked hard to get into MIT and with her single working mother, she is certain to get enough financial aide to help her go there. However, when the school incorporates the salary of Bellamy’s non-existent father, she no longer qualifies for any aid. Bellamy’s friends won’t stand for it. Nari uses her computer hacking skills to orchestrate the best money-making scheme ever. With the help of their group of friends, Nari is able to skim money off of Bellamy’s father’s company and put it in a secure account for her college. Keagan, Nari’s boyfriend, is starting to have second thoughts, will this group of friends be able to keep it together long enough to complete their plan.
I was not a big fan of the characters. Each character felt over-the-top. I found myself frustrated with the plot.
Bellamy has worked hard to get into MIT and with her single working mother, she is certain to get enough financial aide to help her go there. However, when the school incorporates the salary of Bellamy’s non-existent father, she no longer qualifies for any aid. Bellamy’s friends won’t stand for it. Nari uses her computer hacking skills to orchestrate the best money-making scheme ever. With the help of their group of friends, Nari is able to skim money off of Bellamy’s father’s company and put it in a secure account for her college. Keagan, Nari’s boyfriend, is starting to have second thoughts, will this group of friends be able to keep it together long enough to complete their plan.
I was not a big fan of the characters. Each character felt over-the-top. I found myself frustrated with the plot.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It’s like Ocean’s 11 meets The Breakfast Club. A group of teens that are all different and shouldn’t fit together, but do. And they come up with a plot to help their friend in need...risking everything.
There’s a lot of book BEFORE the actual event takes place. You get to know the characters, the group, their dynamic, each one’s place inside the group. And of course, the relationships with each other. You also get points of view from everyone, which I loved. This made it far easier to not only get their thoughts on everything going on, but to also ensure that each one was fleshed our enough to feel like a separate person. An individual. That was brilliantly done.
And, it’s not as if they just decide to do the thing and they jump right in with no planning. It’s the opposite. Lots of detail, chatting, and even disagreeing. So much, in fact, that you almost feel as if you’re a part of it all and deserve your own say.
Waiting for the big day is intense...the build up is overwhelming. But rightfully so! This is a big deal. And illegal. You know what’s at stake. That just adds to the overall intensity as the plan goes down. I was so glad that there were snags, because no matter how much you plan, you always have to prepare for something going wrong. Call an audible. Which happened. And that made the stakes higher. And with the alternating points of view, you found yourself wondering where each involved person was...and had they been caught.
The ending is where the book is weak, unfortunately. I do like that they didn’t simply get away with their crime. However, it seemed a bit...unrealistic? that Bellamy’s father would have a change of heart after this. Want to know her. And be willing to pay. I don’t know. Maybe the explanations at the end were enough, but we’d only seen one view on the man. I think we needed just a little more interaction WITH him to believe how it ultimately turned around.
Overall, a great, fun read. I loved the spunky characters.
There’s a lot of book BEFORE the actual event takes place. You get to know the characters, the group, their dynamic, each one’s place inside the group. And of course, the relationships with each other. You also get points of view from everyone, which I loved. This made it far easier to not only get their thoughts on everything going on, but to also ensure that each one was fleshed our enough to feel like a separate person. An individual. That was brilliantly done.
And, it’s not as if they just decide to do the thing and they jump right in with no planning. It’s the opposite. Lots of detail, chatting, and even disagreeing. So much, in fact, that you almost feel as if you’re a part of it all and deserve your own say.
Waiting for the big day is intense...the build up is overwhelming. But rightfully so! This is a big deal. And illegal. You know what’s at stake. That just adds to the overall intensity as the plan goes down. I was so glad that there were snags, because no matter how much you plan, you always have to prepare for something going wrong. Call an audible. Which happened. And that made the stakes higher. And with the alternating points of view, you found yourself wondering where each involved person was...and had they been caught.
The ending is where the book is weak, unfortunately. I do like that they didn’t simply get away with their crime. However, it seemed a bit...unrealistic? that Bellamy’s father would have a change of heart after this. Want to know her. And be willing to pay. I don’t know. Maybe the explanations at the end were enough, but we’d only seen one view on the man. I think we needed just a little more interaction WITH him to believe how it ultimately turned around.
Overall, a great, fun read. I loved the spunky characters.
This surprised me by how much I liked it! I picked it up for spring break thinking it was going to be another one of those fun, fluffy heist books and it is so much more than that.
The characters are lovely, they feel like actual high school teens with the way they talk and everything. The romances were so sweet! Like, I'm not a big romance fan and it's usually my biggest turn with YA but both the long-term relationship, newly developing one, and the aroace character were portrayed with real genuine truth. Keagan stands out just because I loved how Clark wrote about not having high flying goals, not being 'special', I think it's overlooked but is a real thing.
The plot and the conflict was also so much more meta than I expect and in the best possible way. Like it had the fun mission impossible with teens element I was expected but also grounded in an awesome way. It wasn't as satirical as something like Princess Bride or Discworld, but I feel like there some really interesting and very genuine takes on YA tropes versus actual life as a young adult.
The characters are lovely, they feel like actual high school teens with the way they talk and everything. The romances were so sweet! Like, I'm not a big romance fan and it's usually my biggest turn with YA but both the long-term relationship, newly developing one, and the aroace character were portrayed with real genuine truth. Keagan stands out just because I loved how Clark wrote about not having high flying goals, not being 'special', I think it's overlooked but is a real thing.
The plot and the conflict was also so much more meta than I expect and in the best possible way. Like it had the fun mission impossible with teens element I was expected but also grounded in an awesome way. It wasn't as satirical as something like Princess Bride or Discworld, but I feel like there some really interesting and very genuine takes on YA tropes versus actual life as a young adult.
This is probably not a book I would have chosen for myself, but I really liked it. This book was part of the 2020 young adult Advent box from Once Upon a Book Club. It is about 5 friends that decide to pull off a heist from Bellamy's dad who she has never met. It was an interesting concept and I liked how it was not just an immediate conclusion that the would do it and get away with it without a thought. They had a conscience and ultimately that was what made it interesting for me. Great debut novel.
okay, as someone who loves thief books, this book all but jumped into my hands
ALSO there is an AROACE character and I didn’t know before I picked it up and it was the best surprise I have had in a long time!!!!
I adored all the characters!!! And the morality conflict.
Nari: My favorite and the fearless leader!!!! She is the one with the ideas and the driving force. Incredibly motivated but also she has a wicked sense of humor. I found her vivid and engaging and passionate.
Bellamy: You can easily see why all of her friends would risk going for jail for her, as she is adorable and deserves the world. She is a genius and decided she is done not having opportunities she deserves.
Reese: The aroace character!!!! She has a flare for dramatics, loves dying her hair, and always up for any kind of adventure. She is probably the most excited for said events and who I aspire to be in life.
Santiago: A sweetheart!!! He is filled with dreams but his parents want him to settle. His friends, however, believe he can do anything. Include breaking and entering. And so does he.
Keegan: A sweet boy who just wants to stay out of trouble and have parents who give him just a bit more privacy. He loves his friends very much but his moral compass interferes with the said plan of theft.
There is an established romance is between Nari and Keegan and I love the conflict they had between the two of them. And there is a will-they/won’t-they relationship, Bellamy and Santiago, and I wish we had seen more of it, cause the parts we did see were incredibly adorable.
The friendships!!!! SO amazing!!!! They all love each other so much. And the emotions were just great!!!
The ending fell flat to me. I suppose it went well with the rest of the book, but *sigh* I would have preferred something different.
ALSO there is an AROACE character and I didn’t know before I picked it up and it was the best surprise I have had in a long time!!!!
I adored all the characters!!! And the morality conflict.
Nari: My favorite and the fearless leader!!!! She is the one with the ideas and the driving force. Incredibly motivated but also she has a wicked sense of humor. I found her vivid and engaging and passionate.
Bellamy: You can easily see why all of her friends would risk going for jail for her, as she is adorable and deserves the world. She is a genius and decided she is done not having opportunities she deserves.
Reese: The aroace character!!!! She has a flare for dramatics, loves dying her hair, and always up for any kind of adventure. She is probably the most excited for said events and who I aspire to be in life.
Santiago: A sweetheart!!! He is filled with dreams but his parents want him to settle. His friends, however, believe he can do anything. Include breaking and entering. And so does he.
Keegan: A sweet boy who just wants to stay out of trouble and have parents who give him just a bit more privacy. He loves his friends very much but his moral compass interferes with the said plan of theft.
There is an established romance is between Nari and Keegan and I love the conflict they had between the two of them. And there is a will-they/won’t-they relationship, Bellamy and Santiago, and I wish we had seen more of it, cause the parts we did see were incredibly adorable.
The friendships!!!! SO amazing!!!! They all love each other so much. And the emotions were just great!!!
The ending fell flat to me. I suppose it went well with the rest of the book, but *sigh* I would have preferred something different.