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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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:
Complicated
I adored this!! Despite this only being my second Becky Albertalli book, she writes books that like scratch and itch in my brain in some way. Imogen Obviously did that in too many ways to even list, while Amelia did it in the way that it talked about parasocial relationships and toxic fanbases and how we treat celebrities and people we look up to. And to back it up it has a great friend group with super fun banter and returning characters from Imogen that I was super excited to see again!!
Amelia is like a hot mess honestly but she was a charming hot mess who I liked a lot by the end. Natalie, Zora, and Mark complimented her chaos well and were always getting on board with her wild personality and convo topics. I probably could have worded that a little better but hopefully you get what I mean lol. What I enjoyed most was that in the first half you hear all the things that Walter and Hayden's fanbase said about them, the wild queerbating accusations, the shipping, the arguing over things their fans were treating like facts instead of the invasive assumptions they actually were, etc etc. But later we hear a different perspective on them directly from those affected by them and it really just shows that you never actually KNOW the people you look up to and admire in the spotlight. They aren't objects for you to speculate about and try to invade into their personal business for fun, they are literally just human beings who deserve respect and privacy. The parts where it shows us twitter comments, threads, tweets, and interviews from the Drama clash fandom are all too real because I know I see a lot of the same stuff on my social media every single day. And one specific thing that bothered me about that is that in those parts, it kept being said that both boys were queer, which Walter was, but Hayden was never confirmed to be so it was just added to the list of things their fans had taken as fact when it never really was in the first place. I have probably too much to say on that topic because I have very strong opinions about it so ill keep most of it to myself but basically I just really liked that aspect of it lol.
One thing that didn't quite land for me was Natalie and Amelia's relationship. Like they were cute as friends that I could've gotten on board with as something more completely, but it was such a slowburn that by the time the slowburn actually picks up into something more, we were at the end and it felt rushed and thrown in last minute. So it was cute but it had more potential than it lived up to. But like I said I liked them as individual characters anyways so it's very whatever to me, I get that it wasn't really the main plot of the book either. I also felt like pacing was a little weird and most of the time I didn't know where we were going direction wise which was tough. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy, all opinions have been my own!
Amelia is like a hot mess honestly but she was a charming hot mess who I liked a lot by the end. Natalie, Zora, and Mark complimented her chaos well and were always getting on board with her wild personality and convo topics. I probably could have worded that a little better but hopefully you get what I mean lol. What I enjoyed most was that in the first half you hear all the things that Walter and Hayden's fanbase said about them, the wild queerbating accusations, the shipping, the arguing over things their fans were treating like facts instead of the invasive assumptions they actually were, etc etc. But later we hear a different perspective on them directly from those affected by them and it really just shows that you never actually KNOW the people you look up to and admire in the spotlight. They aren't objects for you to speculate about and try to invade into their personal business for fun, they are literally just human beings who deserve respect and privacy. The parts where it shows us twitter comments, threads, tweets, and interviews from the Drama clash fandom are all too real because I know I see a lot of the same stuff on my social media every single day. And one specific thing that bothered me about that is that in those parts, it kept being said that both boys were queer, which Walter was, but Hayden was never confirmed to be so it was just added to the list of things their fans had taken as fact when it never really was in the first place. I have probably too much to say on that topic because I have very strong opinions about it so ill keep most of it to myself but basically I just really liked that aspect of it lol.
One thing that didn't quite land for me was Natalie and Amelia's relationship. Like they were cute as friends that I could've gotten on board with as something more completely, but it was such a slowburn that by the time the slowburn actually picks up into something more, we were at the end and it felt rushed and thrown in last minute. So it was cute but it had more potential than it lived up to. But like I said I liked them as individual characters anyways so it's very whatever to me, I get that it wasn't really the main plot of the book either. I also felt like pacing was a little weird and most of the time I didn't know where we were going direction wise which was tough. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy, all opinions have been my own!
I didn’t realize this is the sequel to a book I DNF’d. Should’ve DNF’d this one too. I also missed that this is YA. Overall, this one star is my fault, but in case any other 30 year-olds are considering this series: please save yourself. Teens: I’m sure you will adore this, have fun.
personally, I probably would’ve enjoyed this more if it came out when I was in high school (which makes sense bc target audience), but I had a good and fun time reading this book. Written in a way that’ll reflect this time period a lot with some of the slang and references, but I don’t think that that’s necessarily bad because it’s accurate to how someone today would talk and communicate in real life and online. It was fun and I had a good time reading!
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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:
No
I really enjoyed this and read it over two days. Like the last in the “series”/universe the burn is v slow and I loved it.
very cute and sweet i enjoyed this a lot i just wish it was longer and differently paced?? in a way. also the online lingo wont age well try reading this to a victorian child
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Mid follow up to Imogen, which I adored. Some good character moments and a very relevant B plot that I almost wish was focused on more. Not a bad read but I don't think it lived up to the excellency of Imogen.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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:
Complicated
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes