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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
this is my feel good author. i regret nothing.
she also breaks hearts, so there's that.
she also breaks hearts, so there's that.
Oh this book! Just what I was needing on a bitterly cold winter weekend. First of all, this is a little thing, but thank you Emma Mills for setting a story in Illinois somewhere other than Chicago! Though I'm a suburbanite who often just says I'm from Chicago when I travel because it's easier, I lived downstate for 4 years in college and I'm just not someone with a terribly urban soul - I like my wide open spaces, as does Sophie, our protagonist.
This book was full of things I love - authentic-feeling friendships, marching band, dialogue that *actually* sounds like the way teenagers talk, a bit of romance that in no way overwhelmed the story. It felt like my high school experience. The only part that sort of had me going "ehhh" was a reveal toward the end that I didn't anticipate because it felt like it came out of nowhere and I'm not convinced it added much to the story. However, besides that, I loved it and would absolutely buy it in libraries where contemporary YA is popular!
This book was full of things I love - authentic-feeling friendships, marching band, dialogue that *actually* sounds like the way teenagers talk, a bit of romance that in no way overwhelmed the story. It felt like my high school experience. The only part that sort of had me going "ehhh" was a reveal toward the end that I didn't anticipate because it felt like it came out of nowhere and I'm not convinced it added much to the story. However, besides that, I loved it and would absolutely buy it in libraries where contemporary YA is popular!
I guess i forgot to write a review for this, my bad... I received a copy of this book from Macmillan in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion.
I read this back in September, so, stick with me while I try to remember... THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD!!! i adore Emma Mills with my entire heart and soul. The friendships she writes, the families, the towns! All of it. This book broke my heart and put it back together a few times. I laughed, I cried, and soon I'm going to reread it and write a more coherent review.
I read this back in September, so, stick with me while I try to remember... THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD!!! i adore Emma Mills with my entire heart and soul. The friendships she writes, the families, the towns! All of it. This book broke my heart and put it back together a few times. I laughed, I cried, and soon I'm going to reread it and write a more coherent review.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“It’s probably better than thinking that nothing you feel or do can ever make a difference, right? I’d rather believe in something.”
2.75 - it just fell flat for me, some parts of the book wasn’t needed
As always, a masterpiece from Emma Mills. It's a five star read for me this time around. That's how much I enjoyed this book.
Original Review
In this book, Sophie tries to raise money for her school's marching band so they can go to the Rose parade. She tries to get a famous country star Megan Pleasant who is from her small town of Acadia to perform in the fundraiser. Obviously, this not all that happens in this book but I don't want to spoil the book for anyone. If someone asked me to tell them what this book is about, I would say it is about friendships. It is about those friends you have known for so long that they are basically family to you and the new ones you make along the way.
I am going to do a little character sketch about our group of friends. We have:
Brit: She is the crazy one. She can be brutally honest and she loves teasing people. She can say mean things sometimes but she would do anything for her friends. She is also really funny.
Dash: He is the serious one in the group. He has a good sense of humor and you can always count on him to give you a ride in his car "the cutlass".
Terrence: What can I say about him except he is the perfect example of a jolly good fellow.
Flora: She is the charmer. She is easygoing and has a very warm personality.
Sophie: And then, there's Sophie our main character. The book is told from her perspective. She is the one who loves too much. She is incredibly loyal and always committed to her friends and everything else. And she is always trying to fix things.
August: He is the new kid in town, still trying to find his place. He gets adopted by Sophie's group of friends. He is funny and even though he messes up sometimes, he is still a great guy. He is Sophie's love interest.
I think is safe to say that everyone in this book is really funny. I mean that's a given in any Emma Mills book. The friends in this book are so amazing, I wouldn't mind being friends with them in real life. It is a great feel good book that will make you laugh so hard. I loved everything about this book, it was simply amazing.
Original Review
In this book, Sophie tries to raise money for her school's marching band so they can go to the Rose parade. She tries to get a famous country star Megan Pleasant who is from her small town of Acadia to perform in the fundraiser. Obviously, this not all that happens in this book but I don't want to spoil the book for anyone. If someone asked me to tell them what this book is about, I would say it is about friendships. It is about those friends you have known for so long that they are basically family to you and the new ones you make along the way.
I am going to do a little character sketch about our group of friends. We have:
Brit: She is the crazy one. She can be brutally honest and she loves teasing people. She can say mean things sometimes but she would do anything for her friends. She is also really funny.
Dash: He is the serious one in the group. He has a good sense of humor and you can always count on him to give you a ride in his car "the cutlass".
Terrence: What can I say about him except he is the perfect example of a jolly good fellow.
Flora: She is the charmer. She is easygoing and has a very warm personality.
Sophie: And then, there's Sophie our main character. The book is told from her perspective. She is the one who loves too much. She is incredibly loyal and always committed to her friends and everything else. And she is always trying to fix things.
August: He is the new kid in town, still trying to find his place. He gets adopted by Sophie's group of friends. He is funny and even though he messes up sometimes, he is still a great guy. He is Sophie's love interest.
I think is safe to say that everyone in this book is really funny. I mean that's a given in any Emma Mills book. The friends in this book are so amazing, I wouldn't mind being friends with them in real life. It is a great feel good book that will make you laugh so hard. I loved everything about this book, it was simply amazing.
Because apparently being in quarentine means I'm going to read EVERY Emma Mills book.
Although honestly, they're all starting to blend together. I've got nothing to say about this one that i haven't said about her other books--female friendships and a cute romance and good banter and self-discovery. The one exception in this book was that the female lead is actually a very nice, kind, and unselfish person, whereas often her leads are a little self-absorbed.
Heres a new thing: The thing that I like about Emma Mills books is that in every single one of them I've had at least one moment where I strongly identify with the main character and one of the mistakes she makes. One moment where I think, "I've done that same thing, but I never realized it before. I never thought about it before," and so in virtue of that, as the MC comes to understand herself better, I come to understand myself better--especially the self that I was in highschool. And I really appreciate that, because my high school experience was a bit odd, and there are very few contemporary books about high schoolers that I identify with at all.
Although honestly, they're all starting to blend together. I've got nothing to say about this one that i haven't said about her other books--female friendships and a cute romance and good banter and self-discovery. The one exception in this book was that the female lead is actually a very nice, kind, and unselfish person, whereas often her leads are a little self-absorbed.
Heres a new thing: The thing that I like about Emma Mills books is that in every single one of them I've had at least one moment where I strongly identify with the main character and one of the mistakes she makes. One moment where I think, "I've done that same thing, but I never realized it before. I never thought about it before," and so in virtue of that, as the MC comes to understand herself better, I come to understand myself better--especially the self that I was in highschool. And I really appreciate that, because my high school experience was a bit odd, and there are very few contemporary books about high schoolers that I identify with at all.
This review originally appeared on Novel Ink.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Emma Mills has quickly become one of my favorite YA contemporary authors. She excels at writing dialogue and at creating characters who truly feel like real teenagers. I went into Famous in a Small Town fully ready to fall in love again, but unfortunately, this one just didn't do it for me.
For the first 100 pages or so, this was shaping up to be a five-star book. I mean, it has all of the things I love: small town coziness, friendship feels, witty dialogue, marching band, and country stars! However, while I love all of these pieces on their own, I don’t feel that Mills was able to pull all of these disparate elements together in a cohesive way.
As always, I loved the characters in this story. Sophie, in particular, was such a wonderful MC. Her group of friends was a lovable crowd of band nerds who felt a lot like my group of friends in high school, which was fun. The friendships in Mills’s books always deliver, and Famous was no exception on that front. I did like August, Sophie’s love interest, overall, though I felt like he acted like a jerk on multiple occasions. His behavior felt like teenage mistakes, though, as opposed to actual being-a-jerk (does that even make sense???). In fact, all of the friends make mistakes and hurt each other, but they always learn from and apologize for the hurt they cause. The romance was a sweet friends-to-lovers pairing.
The dialogue, too, was a highlight of Famous (as it is with most of Mills’s books!). All of her trademark snark and wit are present. I found myself laughing out loud every few pages because of a line or a comeback that completely took me by surprise.
A large issue I had with this stems from the pacing, I think. After reading the first third, I started to get a little worried, because it… didn’t feel like anything was happening? And, don’t get me wrong, I love a good slice-of-life contemporary, but Famous wasn’t exactly that, either. It almost felt like there were too many competing plot points happening at once, and because of this, Mills didn’t have the time to give any of them the development they needed. For example, the Meagan Pleasant plotline– which to me, was one of the main draws of this book. However, it’s hardly mentioned after the first 100 pages, and it almost felt as though Mills forgot about it until the end and was forced to hastily pull together an ending in the last few pages.
My main issue, though, has to do with a “plot twist” that’s thrown in toward the last third of the book. It felt really cheap, not to mention unnecessary to the story or the characters. Honestly, it threw me so much that it truly dampened my enjoyment of the remainder of the book. I simply do not understand why this was included in the book at all, if I’m being honest.
Overall, though I’ll continue to pick up whatever Emma Mills writes in the future, Famous in a Small Town missed the mark for me.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Emma Mills has quickly become one of my favorite YA contemporary authors. She excels at writing dialogue and at creating characters who truly feel like real teenagers. I went into Famous in a Small Town fully ready to fall in love again, but unfortunately, this one just didn't do it for me.
For the first 100 pages or so, this was shaping up to be a five-star book. I mean, it has all of the things I love: small town coziness, friendship feels, witty dialogue, marching band, and country stars! However, while I love all of these pieces on their own, I don’t feel that Mills was able to pull all of these disparate elements together in a cohesive way.
As always, I loved the characters in this story. Sophie, in particular, was such a wonderful MC. Her group of friends was a lovable crowd of band nerds who felt a lot like my group of friends in high school, which was fun. The friendships in Mills’s books always deliver, and Famous was no exception on that front. I did like August, Sophie’s love interest, overall, though I felt like he acted like a jerk on multiple occasions. His behavior felt like teenage mistakes, though, as opposed to actual being-a-jerk (does that even make sense???). In fact, all of the friends make mistakes and hurt each other, but they always learn from and apologize for the hurt they cause. The romance was a sweet friends-to-lovers pairing.
The dialogue, too, was a highlight of Famous (as it is with most of Mills’s books!). All of her trademark snark and wit are present. I found myself laughing out loud every few pages because of a line or a comeback that completely took me by surprise.
A large issue I had with this stems from the pacing, I think. After reading the first third, I started to get a little worried, because it… didn’t feel like anything was happening? And, don’t get me wrong, I love a good slice-of-life contemporary, but Famous wasn’t exactly that, either. It almost felt like there were too many competing plot points happening at once, and because of this, Mills didn’t have the time to give any of them the development they needed. For example, the Meagan Pleasant plotline– which to me, was one of the main draws of this book. However, it’s hardly mentioned after the first 100 pages, and it almost felt as though Mills forgot about it until the end and was forced to hastily pull together an ending in the last few pages.
My main issue, though, has to do with a “plot twist” that’s thrown in toward the last third of the book. It felt really cheap, not to mention unnecessary to the story or the characters. Honestly, it threw me so much that it truly dampened my enjoyment of the remainder of the book. I simply do not understand why this was included in the book at all, if I’m being honest.
Overall, though I’ll continue to pick up whatever Emma Mills writes in the future, Famous in a Small Town missed the mark for me.