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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
* Thank you NetGalley, Holiday House, and Alexene Farol Follmuth for sending me an eArc for this book.*
This was so incredibly cute!
Review to come closer to release date! <3
This was so incredibly cute!
Review to come closer to release date! <3
hopeful
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
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
Okay, I kind of like this book. Not only is Bel a successful Woman in STEM, she’s creative, has a good sense of fashion, and represents a Woman Who Takes A Somewhat (emphasis on somewhat) Alternate Path to STEM glory. I like it when characters can be both #girlboss and also have a feminine side that they are in touch with because often when girls are portrayed as smart, they reject all facets of stereotypical femininity (similar topic to Why Can't A Smart Woman Love Fashion), and Bel doesn't do that. I guess I liked how they work together in engineering contexts and how that translated into friendship and then into liking each other somehow, though. They did sort of ignore the cultural appropriation problem of the Holi festival that Neelam brought up, choosing to just listen to her and then just go anyway and kiss or whatever. There was still weird stuff with fancy colleges, but as a non-STEM person idk how it works. A part that rubbed me the wrong way was when Teo offered to call MIT and just ask them to have Bel come, and like (A) she can handle it on her own (she shouldn't have applied to ONE school and (B) shouldn't we *not* try to fix problems by using wealth and class to "fix" them, and the problem is sort of glossed over. Many issues. Glossed over. But this is a YA romance so ;-; It’s a like 3.25 out of 5. It’s the best book I've read so far that deals with both STEM and romance.
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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:
Yes
I picked this up as part of a storygraph challenge, and was interested by the synopsis.
Bel is a girl who by her own admission, is weird, and socially awkward, saying random things, that tend to confuse other people, she is finishing up her final year at an elite school, and she doesn't know what she wants to do with her life, until she ends up as part of the robotics team.
Teo is the captain, of the robotics team, and captain of the football team, a driven student with a huge amount of privilege, (namely a wealthy family) who wants to get into MIT, and has a courseload, that shows how determined he is. After seeing Bel design an egg drop device, that he realises will slow the drop, and protect the egg, immediately dismisses all the other students trying out, much to the annoyance of Neelam, another girl on the team who has spent four years being looked over, and having her ideas dismissed.
Over the course of the book, Bel starts to fall for Teo, and vice versa, and Bel starts to see that she could become an engineer.
The book hits on a lot of issues for women and girls in stem, being ignored, having to work harder than the boys, needing to be a team player, when they push back on situations, like the AP Physics teacher giving the best table in the class to Teo and his friends. It also highlights that Bel hasn't had to put in the work that Neelam had to, and that she is given an easier time because Teo is immediately drawn to her.
I enjoyed that each chapter was made up of the two main character's viewpoints, that give their perspective, on the situation. Also give a shoutout to Ms Voss, the teacher who saw that engineering comes naturally to Bel, and pushed her into the harder Physics class, and to try out for the robotics team. And boo to Teo's dad, who is a brilliant programmer/engineer, who has no time for his own son, but does find time to critisise when Teo starts to spend time with Bel.
The one thing I though was a little confusing, was when, I read football, and saw scrimage mentioned as part of a practise, I guessed that it meant the US game, but then later it mentions soccer.
Bel is a girl who by her own admission, is weird, and socially awkward, saying random things, that tend to confuse other people, she is finishing up her final year at an elite school, and she doesn't know what she wants to do with her life, until she ends up as part of the robotics team.
Teo is the captain, of the robotics team, and captain of the football team, a driven student with a huge amount of privilege, (namely a wealthy family) who wants to get into MIT, and has a courseload, that shows how determined he is. After seeing Bel design an egg drop device, that he realises will slow the drop, and protect the egg, immediately dismisses all the other students trying out, much to the annoyance of Neelam, another girl on the team who has spent four years being looked over, and having her ideas dismissed.
Over the course of the book, Bel starts to fall for Teo, and vice versa, and Bel starts to see that she could become an engineer.
The book hits on a lot of issues for women and girls in stem, being ignored, having to work harder than the boys, needing to be a team player, when they push back on situations, like the AP Physics teacher giving the best table in the class to Teo and his friends. It also highlights that Bel hasn't had to put in the work that Neelam had to, and that she is given an easier time because Teo is immediately drawn to her.
I enjoyed that each chapter was made up of the two main character's viewpoints, that give their perspective, on the situation. Also give a shoutout to Ms Voss, the teacher who saw that engineering comes naturally to Bel, and pushed her into the harder Physics class, and to try out for the robotics team. And boo to Teo's dad, who is a brilliant programmer/engineer, who has no time for his own son, but does find time to critisise when Teo starts to spend time with Bel.
The one thing I though was a little confusing, was when, I read football, and saw scrimage mentioned as part of a practise, I guessed that it meant the US game, but then later it mentions soccer.
An easy read although Bel’s character really irked me for first half of the book and I found myself siding with neelam more and more. She came across as way too naive and whiny at times - however, I liked how they ended it.