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pp_paperbacks's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rissa_may_read's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book romance was cute in end lovely summer read.
leeleerose93's review
5.0
This is was such a good read. Different parts made me squeal in excitement, gasp in shock, feel nostalgic, and cry. I didn’t ugly cry, but still. Definitely made me realize I need to read more books about black characters by black authors.
Reasons why I loved this book, in no certain order:
1. It was nice to see Quinn grow, to become brave to face her fears and own up to her things on her list, try new things, her forgiveness, to start to fully accept her blackness
2. As a mixed black girl, I could relate to a lot of the conversations about race, like the challenges of being black in predominantly white school, being an exception to the stereotypes, and especially the Oreo part.
3. Accepting her blackness—it was interesting to compare Quinn and Olivia, like how Quinn is afraid to fully embrace her blackness, but mixed girl Olivia embraces it 100% and dgaf
4. It shows some of the different kinds of racism. Flat out racism and then those who were ignorant but ultimately willing to educate themselves. And shows why it’s important to stand up to racist people, even if (especially if) they’re your friends because if you let it slip, they’ll keep thinking it’s okay to do it.
5. It really is important to have black friends as a black person and this book shows why because Quinn and her dad both had some internalized racism they had to work through. And her white friend Matt didn’t understand how her dad could be proud to be the first black chief surgeon at his hospital but not be proud to be black.
6. Hattie and her dementia and all the memories and moments she had with Hattie. Some moments reminded me of some of my own similar memories.
7. Almost every character was pretty well developed and had their own things going on
8. Olivia, her new best friend, was my favorite and I need a book about her right now. Her Bring It On reference and then how they sorta recreated that scene—perfection. I love the way she was unapologetically herself. I need a book about her now.
9. Carter, the love interest—ahh so dreamy and perfect. His tough love moments, the way he understood Quinn, the way he takes care of his little sister, how he didn’t push Quinn, how respectful he was, how he stood up for her
10. I liked her parents and their little storyline. My head cannon is that they fixed all their problems and are currently having pizza and wine while watching a movie they’ve never seen before for the rest of their nights
11. The relationship between Carter and Olivia and their families just made me feel so warm inside.
12. All the familiar Texan mentions like HEB and Sixth Street since I’m from East Texas but have also visited Austin for SXSW. Although don’t know how to feel about Auden mentioning how bad East Texas is because that was a little bit too true and relatable
Reasons why I loved this book, in no certain order:
1. It was nice to see Quinn grow, to become brave to face her fears and own up to her things on her list, try new things, her forgiveness, to start to fully accept her blackness
2. As a mixed black girl, I could relate to a lot of the conversations about race, like the challenges of being black in predominantly white school, being an exception to the stereotypes, and especially the Oreo part.
3. Accepting her blackness—it was interesting to compare Quinn and Olivia, like how Quinn is afraid to fully embrace her blackness, but mixed girl Olivia embraces it 100% and dgaf
4. It shows some of the different kinds of racism. Flat out racism and then those who were ignorant but ultimately willing to educate themselves. And shows why it’s important to stand up to racist people, even if (especially if) they’re your friends because if you let it slip, they’ll keep thinking it’s okay to do it.
5. It really is important to have black friends as a black person and this book shows why because Quinn and her dad both had some internalized racism they had to work through. And her white friend Matt didn’t understand how her dad could be proud to be the first black chief surgeon at his hospital but not be proud to be black.
6. Hattie and her dementia and all the memories and moments she had with Hattie. Some moments reminded me of some of my own similar memories.
7. Almost every character was pretty well developed and had their own things going on
8. Olivia, her new best friend, was my favorite and I need a book about her right now. Her Bring It On reference and then how they sorta recreated that scene—perfection. I love the way she was unapologetically herself. I need a book about her now.
9. Carter, the love interest—ahh so dreamy and perfect. His tough love moments, the way he understood Quinn, the way he takes care of his little sister, how he didn’t push Quinn, how respectful he was, how he stood up for her
10. I liked her parents and their little storyline. My head cannon is that they fixed all their problems and are currently having pizza and wine while watching a movie they’ve never seen before for the rest of their nights
11. The relationship between Carter and Olivia and their families just made me feel so warm inside.
12. All the familiar Texan mentions like HEB and Sixth Street since I’m from East Texas but have also visited Austin for SXSW. Although don’t know how to feel about Auden mentioning how bad East Texas is because that was a little bit too true and relatable
tencutepuppies's review
4.0
(4) This book was very cute and left me with a warm fuzzy feeling when it was over and Quinn was reflecting on all the new things in her life that made her happy. Though there were deep topics sprinkled throughout (like casual racism, bullying, the effects of a family member with dementia) it was overall a light read that I finished in less than a day.
I loved Quinn’s relationship with her grandmother and her struggles in her connection with her dad. Her and Carter were cute. I never had like a huge connection to them because I found their relationship to be a bit rushed, but I was rooting for them to get together nonetheless. Also, I really appreciated the way Carter was like the opposite of every toxic masculine love interest, and instead stood up for the women in his life against creepy men and slut shaming.
The thing I found most profound about this book was its portrayal of the casual microaggressions/stereotypes Black people face unprompted in school and just in daily life. I’ve read books before that deal with violent, aggressive and pointed attacks of racism, but never one that opened my eyes to how seemingly inconsequential (from common ignorant perspectives) phrases and actions cut away at the average, everyday person’s racial identity, which is no less disgusting. It was just really good to see a different perspective like that side plot in this book. I loved to see Quinn begin to start accepting the parts of herself she was pressured to suppress.
I feel a little bad for saying this because I feel like it’s going to come across that I don’t like Quinn and Carter together, but I really wanted to see more of Olivia and Auden. The tension in their dynamic was very juicy and had me hooked to the page. Olivia was my favorite character (I need a friend like her ASAP), so I just wished we could have gotten more of her life and her budding feelings for Auden. And vice versa, of course. If there was another book based around Olivia, I would consume that shit instantaneously.
I loved Quinn’s relationship with her grandmother and her struggles in her connection with her dad. Her and Carter were cute. I never had like a huge connection to them because I found their relationship to be a bit rushed, but I was rooting for them to get together nonetheless. Also, I really appreciated the way Carter was like the opposite of every toxic masculine love interest, and instead stood up for the women in his life against creepy men and slut shaming.
The thing I found most profound about this book was its portrayal of the casual microaggressions/stereotypes Black people face unprompted in school and just in daily life. I’ve read books before that deal with violent, aggressive and pointed attacks of racism, but never one that opened my eyes to how seemingly inconsequential (from common ignorant perspectives) phrases and actions cut away at the average, everyday person’s racial identity, which is no less disgusting. It was just really good to see a different perspective like that side plot in this book. I loved to see Quinn begin to start accepting the parts of herself she was pressured to suppress.
I feel a little bad for saying this because I feel like it’s going to come across that I don’t like Quinn and Carter together, but I really wanted to see more of Olivia and Auden. The tension in their dynamic was very juicy and had me hooked to the page. Olivia was my favorite character (I need a friend like her ASAP), so I just wished we could have gotten more of her life and her budding feelings for Auden. And vice versa, of course. If there was another book based around Olivia, I would consume that shit instantaneously.
martapsalvado's review
Maybe I would have liked this when I was 13 or something but now it just felt too childish and the writing was not that good 😭 I didn't hate it, but wasn't having any fun reading.
reeny_lizabeth's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
5.0