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delaneytorek's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
carinamiya's review against another edition
2.0
I really want to say I liked the book. The premise is fine, its full of tropes but I read these YA romance books for fun, not for detailed, complex plots.
So Olivia starts messaging this guy called Elm on Reddit, under the name Carrie. When he asks to exchange selfies, she doesn't expect to ever meet him, so she sends him a picture of her friend Katie. She goes to another state and finds out that she's actually working with Elm for the summer. Then.
The premise was promising, but I got really annoyed at the problem that could have been solved with a 30 second conversation. I read the first 25% in an hour and the last 75% in another hour because I just wanted to get to the end.
So Olivia starts messaging this guy called Elm on Reddit, under the name Carrie. When he asks to exchange selfies, she doesn't expect to ever meet him, so she sends him a picture of her friend Katie. She goes to another state and finds out that she's actually working with Elm for the summer. Then
Spoiler
Katie comes to the town and Elm thinks Katie is CarrieThe premise was promising, but I got really annoyed at the problem that could have been solved with a 30 second conversation. I read the first 25% in an hour and the last 75% in another hour because I just wanted to get to the end.
betwixt_the_pages's review against another edition
3.0
As everyone at her Brooklyn high school announces their summer adventures, Olivia harbors a dirty secret: Her plan is to binge-watch horror movies and chat with her online friend, Elm. Olivia and Elm have never shared personal details, apart from their ages and the fact that Elm’s aunt is a low-budget horror filmmaker. Then Elm pushes Olivia to share her identity and sends her a selfie of his own. Olivia is shocked by how cute he is! In a moment of panic, assuming she and Elm will never meet in real life, she sends a photo of her gorgeous friend Katie. But things are about to get even more complicated when Olivia’s parents send her to the Catskills, and she runs into the one person she never thought she would see. This sweet and funny summertime romance is perfect for fans of Love and Gelato and The Unexpected Everything.
Rating: 3.5/5 Penguins
Quick Reasons: I could see the first plot twist coming from a mile away; a little predictable, but super adorable; the life lessons for our characters are SUPER easy to relate to, no matter where you're at in life; that literal leap of faith feeling carried through every page
HUGE thanks to Leah Konen, Amulet Books Publishing, and Fantastic Flying Book Club for sending a complimentary paperback of this title my way! This in no form altered my read of or opinions on this book.
There is something about soft pastel covers and adorably easy-to-relate-to plot lines that make my cold Penguin heart flitter-flutter in only the best of ways. The characters in this novel--especially Olivia/Carrie--are so easy to empathize with and feel for, you'll be rooting for them before you even start reading! The life lessons and growths that happen are just as easy to understand and follow; you'll almost have yourself believing that YOU are going through the journey, yourself!
The script is a mess, and it's all over the place, and I know it's not perfect, but it's real.
I stare at it, scrolling through the pages, looking at all I've written.
So many words, so many scenes, so many bits of dialogue, action lines, and description.
All mine.
My heart swells, and I feel, again, like I'm zipping over the trees, flying.
Like my fear, my self-sabotaging bullshit, my old neuroses--well, they can go jump off their own cliff, and not securely hooked up to a zip line, either.
This is well-rounded on ALL levels, not just the characters. The relationships, the story line...everything falls together in a well-paced, adorable way. There were some things that were particularly predictable for me...but it was so easy to overlook those things, as swept up in the journey as I was! I feel like Leah Konen may have played the "same old romance tropes" a bit heavily, even, to sort of prove a point. While the characters are busy discussing the different ways people in horror movies always make the wrong decisions...there they are, doing the same thing but in their lives and loves.
I had such a blast reading this novel, and am POSITIVE that you will, too, if you give it a chance! The characters are realistic and well-rounded, and their journeys are so easy to relate to. No matter where you are in life, you're bound to find something in this novel to FEEL--and feel deeply. I definitely recommend to lovers of contemporaries, horror movie fanatics, and all things pastel. Welcome to this Happy Scary Messy Love, Penguins!
sukicorn's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Fun fact: I actually got this book at the dollar store lol. It looked so cute so I decided to try it and it was indeed cute. Kind of classic teenage love interesting scenario that keeps escalating and you are like whyy but it all ends cute and with some sort of message and in this case 1. about being able to take the leap for something you care about and just to try and 2. about being yourself. This book took me a long while to read because I took it on a summer program with me and didn’t have a lot of time but yeah and anyway the book was good and cute and yeah and etc.
harato's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
It was a good summer read. 4 stars. I am in a massive reading slump so I read this very slowly. Nevertheless I actually enjoyed it. Plus the cover is so cuteee.
It really shows how we all have different problems in our life and it's up to us on how we choose to respond to it. As well as never be ashamed of being who you are. Yes we have a ton of insecurities but don't let that hinder you from showing people the you that they can see.
Idk I love their family situation :(( No they weren't perfect ofc but the development they had gosh I want that for me.
Jake was also actually so patient? 😭 love that
Overall a very good summer read about being who you are and trying your best.
It really shows how we all have different problems in our life and it's up to us on how we choose to respond to it. As well as never be ashamed of being who you are. Yes we have a ton of insecurities but don't let that hinder you from showing people the you that they can see.
Idk I love their family situation :(( No they weren't perfect ofc but the development they had gosh I want that for me.
Jake was also actually so patient? 😭 love that
Overall a very good summer read about being who you are and trying your best.
missprint_'s review against another edition
3.0
Cute romance. Liked the horror movie element which makes it a good comp for Rayne and Delilah's Midnite Matinee by Jeff Zentner. Olivia was a little hard to take. As someone who struggles with staying out of my own way it sometimes hits a little too close to home when a character is like that (which actually also makes this a good comp for Dumplin' by Julie Murphy). Not my fave from Leah but one I'll still recommend.
capesandcovers's review against another edition
3.0
this is a super quick read, and it's fun if you're looking to kill some time! i already decided a few books ago that i'm too jaded for lying plots like this, but olivia's story kept me going until the end. i did think that she acted younger than she was supposed to be, but tbh i think it was mostly just so she and her friends could drive and go to parties etc. essentially she makes bad decisions but you know what that's okay too. idk where i'm going with this review, but it definitely seemed like something i might've loved as a teen so i'm sure some of them will probably like it!
bookswithzee1's review against another edition
challenging
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Olivia definitely got dug her own grave with her web of lies. Honestly it was a nice and cozy read for sure. I loved the awkward faze that was added for teenagers when they first fall in love. It makes it feel so real. We all go through a lot of fears and sometimes it can be really hard to face them. But in the end, you come to realize that there is nothing wrong with being yourself.
michelle_pink_polka_dot's review against another edition
4.0
More like 3.5. It was cute— adorably cute, but completely unbelievable and about 50 pages too long. Also, ughhh Katie, the BFF,... I didn’t like her at all, at all.
I want to start by saying Happy Messy Scary Love was an adorable book and I really enjoyed reading it. It was written in a way that brought me in and got me invested in the story, however unbelievable that story was...
If I didn't stop and actively think about it, it was easy to just fall in with the characters and the inevitable downfall of Olivia's "plan". I'm a thinker though, so I did eventually pause and note the fact that this scenario was pretty far-fetched. We're supposed to believe that Olivia, who lives in Brooklyn, meets a guy from North Carolina on Reddit-- and they both coincidentally end up in the Catskills working at the same outdoor zip-line tour company, without either of them knowing beforehand. The world is not that small.
Also, instead of just TELLING Jake that she is the girl he's been chatting with (which is what EVERYONE ON PLANET EARTH WOULD DO), she pretends she doesn't know him and starts pretending to be someone different in real life in order to differentiate herself from her online self. It was just head-shaking behavior.
Putting that out of my head, the romance was cute. Olivia and Jake had real chemistry (online and in real life), and I loved how aware Olivia was of it. She was self-conscious, obviously, but she wasn't one of those people who have zero awareness about a connection they are making with someone.
The thing is, I've read this book before. And yeah, I like reading books like these every now and again-- but I want the story to be different in some sort of way from the other stories. I didn't find that here. That also takes the surprise-factor out of it, because I knew how this was going to go.
By the time the best friend, Katie, shows up to help push along the big blow-up, I was thinking it was time to wrap this book up. It kind of goes on a little too long where the characters go on and on about horror movies (sometimes out loud and sometimes in their heads) because they literally have nothing else to do but wait for this lie to come out. Speaking of BFF Katie-- I HATED her. Maybe it's just me, but OMFG this girl was awful and the book kept telling me she was wonderful. Just no.
Maybe if they were working somewhere that pertained to horror movies, the coincidence would make sense. Maybe if Olivia didn't try to pretend she didn't like horror and be a different person, I would've been more on board with the lie. Maybe if the story was somehow different from all the other "You've Got Mail" retellings. I have a lot of maybes here, but somehow I still really enjoyed reading this book?!?!?
OVERALL: It's cute, it's light, it's fun. It's been done before. I've read this exact book before with different characters and settings. Luckily it was written in a way that allowed me to fall into it without being too bored or annoyed, but I still don't think that makes up for an unbelievable/unoriginal story. I do recommend it due to it being completely readable and fun, but if you're into YA Contemporary Romance, be ready for déjà vu.
My Blog:
Pink Polka Dot Books
I want to start by saying Happy Messy Scary Love was an adorable book and I really enjoyed reading it. It was written in a way that brought me in and got me invested in the story, however unbelievable that story was...
If I didn't stop and actively think about it, it was easy to just fall in with the characters and the inevitable downfall of Olivia's "plan". I'm a thinker though, so I did eventually pause and note the fact that this scenario was pretty far-fetched. We're supposed to believe that Olivia, who lives in Brooklyn, meets a guy from North Carolina on Reddit-- and they both coincidentally end up in the Catskills working at the same outdoor zip-line tour company, without either of them knowing beforehand. The world is not that small.
Also, instead of just TELLING Jake that she is the girl he's been chatting with (which is what EVERYONE ON PLANET EARTH WOULD DO), she pretends she doesn't know him and starts pretending to be someone different in real life in order to differentiate herself from her online self. It was just head-shaking behavior.
Putting that out of my head, the romance was cute. Olivia and Jake had real chemistry (online and in real life), and I loved how aware Olivia was of it. She was self-conscious, obviously, but she wasn't one of those people who have zero awareness about a connection they are making with someone.
The thing is, I've read this book before. And yeah, I like reading books like these every now and again-- but I want the story to be different in some sort of way from the other stories. I didn't find that here. That also takes the surprise-factor out of it, because I knew how this was going to go.
By the time the best friend, Katie, shows up to help push along the big blow-up, I was thinking it was time to wrap this book up. It kind of goes on a little too long where the characters go on and on about horror movies (sometimes out loud and sometimes in their heads) because they literally have nothing else to do but wait for this lie to come out. Speaking of BFF Katie-- I HATED her. Maybe it's just me, but OMFG this girl was awful and the book kept telling me she was wonderful. Just no.
Maybe if they were working somewhere that pertained to horror movies, the coincidence would make sense. Maybe if Olivia didn't try to pretend she didn't like horror and be a different person, I would've been more on board with the lie. Maybe if the story was somehow different from all the other "You've Got Mail" retellings. I have a lot of maybes here, but somehow I still really enjoyed reading this book?!?!?
OVERALL: It's cute, it's light, it's fun. It's been done before. I've read this exact book before with different characters and settings. Luckily it was written in a way that allowed me to fall into it without being too bored or annoyed, but I still don't think that makes up for an unbelievable/unoriginal story. I do recommend it due to it being completely readable and fun, but if you're into YA Contemporary Romance, be ready for déjà vu.
My Blog:
Pink Polka Dot Books