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kelly80's review against another edition
1.0
The premise was great, but the execution was awful. The writing style is just really odd and disjointed for a teen book (or any fiction). Individual scenes are choppy, the transitions don’t work, and the characters are rather flat. The plot meanders and lacks any sort of impetus. It’s a book that doesn’t know what it wants to be... there’s a good story in there somewhere, but the flaws make it a tedious reading experience.
sc104906's review
4.0
I received this through Edelweiss.
Linden has perfected the art of blending in, not causing trouble or excelling. She is attempting to hide a big secret, the fact that she is homeless and has no adult in her life. Linden lives at the school, but must make sure that no one finds out. Her deceased mother made her promise to make something of herself and she knows if she ends up in the system that will never happen. Linden has found two of the greatest friends, Ham and Seung. Even though she just met them last year, they are like an inseparable family, until Linden and Seung start noticing their growing feelings for each other. Not only is Linden hiding her own secret, but she knows the secret of popular girl Bea.
I found that this novel moved well and that I enjoyed most characters. I thought that this book attempted to tackle too many things, ultimately detracting from the main message. Not only is Linden dealing with homelessness, there are issues of domestic violence, and lgbtq identity explorations. All in all, it was an interesting gritty novel, solid.
Linden has perfected the art of blending in, not causing trouble or excelling. She is attempting to hide a big secret, the fact that she is homeless and has no adult in her life. Linden lives at the school, but must make sure that no one finds out. Her deceased mother made her promise to make something of herself and she knows if she ends up in the system that will never happen. Linden has found two of the greatest friends, Ham and Seung. Even though she just met them last year, they are like an inseparable family, until Linden and Seung start noticing their growing feelings for each other. Not only is Linden hiding her own secret, but she knows the secret of popular girl Bea.
I found that this novel moved well and that I enjoyed most characters. I thought that this book attempted to tackle too many things, ultimately detracting from the main message. Not only is Linden dealing with homelessness, there are issues of domestic violence, and lgbtq identity explorations. All in all, it was an interesting gritty novel, solid.
totallynotanerd's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
3.5 - bordering on 4 stars
Although I was 50% unsure of what was going on most of the time, I was thoroughly entertained.
Although I was 50% unsure of what was going on most of the time, I was thoroughly entertained.
islandgeekgirl's review
4.0
This book was a quick read exploring a topic I haven't seen too much in YA books, at least to this extreme. It followed Linden, a high school student who was homeless and living in the school as much as she could. She had a system down and if she didn't follow it, it could mean the difference between sleeping somewhere in the school and getting stuck outside for the night. She had her two best friends, a notebook to keep track of her debts, and she was determined to graduate and go to college. Her life and the lives of her two best friends ended up getting tangled up with a trio of popular kids, which Linden feared would expose her secret.
Linden was a very determined, goal-oriented character. She didn't want to be a burden on anyone so she kept a tally of anything she took and found ways to pay it back. She was always careful about how she presented herself so as not to draw attention so teachers or parents wouldn't start asking questions. The riskiest thing she allowed herself was the friendship of her two best friends, Ham and Seung. Those three together were amazing. Seung was the more serious one and Ham was the comedian. The three of them had their differences at times but they were so clearly meant to be a group.
When her group started to clash with Bea's group, it brought more attention to Linden and she kept trying to stay away from it. She was resistant to getting involved at first. Bea clearly didn't want Linden around her, it broke so many of Linden's rules that kept her safe, but they kept getting pushed together. It provided some interesting dynamics between the two groups.
Overall, I thought this book did a great job highlighting the issue of youth homelessness and how easily overlooked it can be. It had really interesting character dynamics, which I will always like, and it had growth for so many characters without distracting from the main character's arc.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Linden was a very determined, goal-oriented character. She didn't want to be a burden on anyone so she kept a tally of anything she took and found ways to pay it back. She was always careful about how she presented herself so as not to draw attention so teachers or parents wouldn't start asking questions. The riskiest thing she allowed herself was the friendship of her two best friends, Ham and Seung. Those three together were amazing. Seung was the more serious one and Ham was the comedian. The three of them had their differences at times but they were so clearly meant to be a group.
When her group started to clash with Bea's group, it brought more attention to Linden and she kept trying to stay away from it. She was resistant to getting involved at first. Bea clearly didn't want Linden around her, it broke so many of Linden's rules that kept her safe, but they kept getting pushed together. It provided some interesting dynamics between the two groups.
Overall, I thought this book did a great job highlighting the issue of youth homelessness and how easily overlooked it can be. It had really interesting character dynamics, which I will always like, and it had growth for so many characters without distracting from the main character's arc.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
slc333's review
2.0
2.5 stars Tackles 2 important issues- homelessness and domestic violence in teen dating but despite recognising the importance of these topics the story itself just failed to engage me. The interactions between the characters often felt disjointed and kinda weird and I never really got a sense of who they were. They were also more tell than show. They whole friends to more thing between Linden & Seung was also very choppy. I think the elements of a good story were there - they just weren't put together properly.
foreveryoungadult's review against another edition
Graded By: Rosemary
Cover Story: Montell Jordan
BFF Charm: Yay!
Swoonworthy Scale: 6
Talky Talk: Straight(ish) Up
Bonus Factors: Teen Homelessness
Relationship Status: I'll Be There For You
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Montell Jordan
BFF Charm: Yay!
Swoonworthy Scale: 6
Talky Talk: Straight(ish) Up
Bonus Factors: Teen Homelessness
Relationship Status: I'll Be There For You
Read the full book report here.
maylenehunt's review against another edition
5.0
Man that was a rollercoaster. I nearly cried i loved it!
saltyglasses's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
wittymombooklover's review against another edition
4.0
You truly never know what someone else's life is like, what they've been through, and what they've overcome to get to today. This book is an incredible reminder of that. Homelessness is an epidemic in our country and it does not discriminate between adults and children. This book sheds a realistic light on its effect on one child who overcomes those obstacles. People can only see what's going on when they truly look and pay attention.
lavenderbeam's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5