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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
3.5 stars — a cute story if you need a good palette cleanser!
Actual rating 3.75
This is my least favorite out of all of her books so far but that's not to say I didn't enjoy it. I feel like the characters didn't connect as well as in her other books for me and there was a timeline thing going on that always throws me off. Now that I've read it if I reread it I might have a different take going into it but that'll have to wait for another day. Also I thought the whole marching band/Megan Pleasant thing would have played a bigger role than it did. Loved Brit, she was my fave.
This is my least favorite out of all of her books so far but that's not to say I didn't enjoy it. I feel like the characters didn't connect as well as in her other books for me and there was a timeline thing going on that always throws me off. Now that I've read it if I reread it I might have a different take going into it but that'll have to wait for another day. Also I thought the whole marching band/Megan Pleasant thing would have played a bigger role than it did. Loved Brit, she was my fave.
This book had some moments that I totally did not see coming, and a few parts gave me all the feels in a good way. This is the first Emma Mills that didn’t make me cry but that’s not a bad thing at all because I smiled, laughed out loud, and gasped at the one big reveal.
Sophie and her friend group remind me so much of the friend group I had growing up in a small town. We all knew each other since preschool and any outsiders were very much scrutinized before being allowed into the fold.
August’s character has so many things about him that I just loved. He was very flawed and relatable, but still funny and well written.
Overall, this book was another hit and I cannot wait to read more from this author in the future.
Sophie and her friend group remind me so much of the friend group I had growing up in a small town. We all knew each other since preschool and any outsiders were very much scrutinized before being allowed into the fold.
August’s character has so many things about him that I just loved. He was very flawed and relatable, but still funny and well written.
Overall, this book was another hit and I cannot wait to read more from this author in the future.
MY OPINION: ****
Summer Reading Challenge #5: A book recommended by a librarian
When I went to the library to personally ask the librarian what she would recommend, she was so overly excited that I realized I should do this more often. Especially considering the fact that I actually quite enjoyed the book she recommended.
There were times when the book made me laugh out loud because of certain passages, or gasp when plot twists were revealed. I finished the book in a day and yet it stuck with me beyond that. My sister is also reading the book and has shared her rather negative opinions, but she is not a contemporary reader and I am. The majority of my favorite reads are contemporary novels, and so I gave more leeway to certain “silly” parts of the novel that my sister scoffed at.
PLOT
A lot happens in this book, way more so than I expected from a short, young adult, realistic fiction. While there is a main goal throughout the book, there are quite a few elements revealed that add to the background of our protagonist.
In the small, small town of Acadia in Illinois, the marching band is considered most important, or at least highly important to the citizens. It’s in every parade, every event, and it’s now been chosen for the annual Rose Parade (or something like that, I can’t quite remember the entire name). However, the booster club finds itself in a quandary: they don’t have enough money to participate. The amount of fundraising that they do each year will not be enough for this additional event.
Go-getter and perfectionist Sophie and her four best friends, members of the MPSFC (aka Map as F***) which has something to do with the booster club (I found this quite confusing), decide that they have found the perfect way to raise the money: invite Megan Pleasant, famous country singer, who used to live in Acadia, to sing at their fundraiser event. She’s the most famous person to come out of Acadia and she would be perfect to raise the money. However, she stated in a very bold way that she was never ever going back to Acadia. And nobody knows why.
CHARACTERS
Sophie. Our protagonist is focused on making sure that everything is perfect in every way, as well as doing the impossible to ensure the safety and happiness of EVERYONE. She cares more about the people around her than herself, which causes minor rifts between her and one of her best friends, Brit. On top of that, we see her obsessive need to finish something once she’s started, even when everyone else has given up. She is a part of the core friend group known as the “Where would you stay for eternity” or something along those lines.
Brit. She’s less concerned with everyone else and likes to have fun and party and be happy. She’s fired again and again from jobs around town and we soon learn that she’s desperate to get out of town as soon as possible, while Sophie wants to stay forever. We also learn that she has a revenge vendetta against a boy who she blames for an accident involving her brother.
The other friends in the group are less important but all of them seem unique and not like they were built from the same mold, something that I liked.
August. He’s new to town and he’s the very young brother of the father of the kids that Sophie babysits. He’s around Sophie’s age and obviously since this is a YA contemporary novel, there’s some romance between them. However, he is confusing and soon admits that he doesn’t want to stay there either. We learn a lot about his parents and what happened to him and it’s quite deeper than I originally thought.
Megan Pleasant. The story focuses around her and finding out everything about why she suddenly left and the ending just shows that it’s a small world.
ENDING
There is a significant plot twist at the end that I did not expect at all. The author makes everything seem so natural throughout the book, only for us to realize that it’s not at all what it seems.
OVERALL
I enjoyed this book and would be willing to read more from Emma Mills. I would recommend this book to readers looking for a serious and fairly dramatic and emotional read.
Main Character: Sophie
Sidekick(s): August, Brit, Flora, etc
Villain(s): Not always being perfect, grief, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: All of this book was very real to life.
Summer Reading Challenge #5: A book recommended by a librarian
When I went to the library to personally ask the librarian what she would recommend, she was so overly excited that I realized I should do this more often. Especially considering the fact that I actually quite enjoyed the book she recommended.
There were times when the book made me laugh out loud because of certain passages, or gasp when plot twists were revealed. I finished the book in a day and yet it stuck with me beyond that. My sister is also reading the book and has shared her rather negative opinions, but she is not a contemporary reader and I am. The majority of my favorite reads are contemporary novels, and so I gave more leeway to certain “silly” parts of the novel that my sister scoffed at.
PLOT
A lot happens in this book, way more so than I expected from a short, young adult, realistic fiction. While there is a main goal throughout the book, there are quite a few elements revealed that add to the background of our protagonist.
In the small, small town of Acadia in Illinois, the marching band is considered most important, or at least highly important to the citizens. It’s in every parade, every event, and it’s now been chosen for the annual Rose Parade (or something like that, I can’t quite remember the entire name). However, the booster club finds itself in a quandary: they don’t have enough money to participate. The amount of fundraising that they do each year will not be enough for this additional event.
Go-getter and perfectionist Sophie and her four best friends, members of the MPSFC (aka Map as F***) which has something to do with the booster club (I found this quite confusing), decide that they have found the perfect way to raise the money: invite Megan Pleasant, famous country singer, who used to live in Acadia, to sing at their fundraiser event. She’s the most famous person to come out of Acadia and she would be perfect to raise the money. However, she stated in a very bold way that she was never ever going back to Acadia. And nobody knows why.
CHARACTERS
Sophie. Our protagonist is focused on making sure that everything is perfect in every way, as well as doing the impossible to ensure the safety and happiness of EVERYONE. She cares more about the people around her than herself, which causes minor rifts between her and one of her best friends, Brit. On top of that, we see her obsessive need to finish something once she’s started, even when everyone else has given up. She is a part of the core friend group known as the “Where would you stay for eternity” or something along those lines.
Brit. She’s less concerned with everyone else and likes to have fun and party and be happy. She’s fired again and again from jobs around town and we soon learn that she’s desperate to get out of town as soon as possible, while Sophie wants to stay forever. We also learn that she has a revenge vendetta against a boy who she blames for an accident involving her brother.
The other friends in the group are less important but all of them seem unique and not like they were built from the same mold, something that I liked.
August. He’s new to town and he’s the very young brother of the father of the kids that Sophie babysits. He’s around Sophie’s age and obviously since this is a YA contemporary novel, there’s some romance between them. However, he is confusing and soon admits that he doesn’t want to stay there either. We learn a lot about his parents and what happened to him and it’s quite deeper than I originally thought.
Megan Pleasant. The story focuses around her and finding out everything about why she suddenly left and the ending just shows that it’s a small world.
ENDING
There is a significant plot twist at the end that I did not expect at all. The author makes everything seem so natural throughout the book, only for us to realize that it’s not at all what it seems.
OVERALL
I enjoyed this book and would be willing to read more from Emma Mills. I would recommend this book to readers looking for a serious and fairly dramatic and emotional read.
Main Character: Sophie
Sidekick(s): August, Brit, Flora, etc
Villain(s): Not always being perfect, grief, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: All of this book was very real to life.
I’m obsessed with this book. It was funny, summery and so sweet. Highly recommend for anyone who wants a cute summer read with a lot of heart.
4.75*
I need to immediately read the other Emma Mills books on my TBR because I am just in love with her fantastic dialogue and endearing characters! She had me laughing and in tears! I absolutely adored this group of friends and loved how each one felt developed despite their side character status. I would have liked to see August (side bar: no more YA characters named August, please!) developed a bit more (what was his life like beforehand? what happened to his friends? etc.) but that didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. And while the plot wasn't that thrilling there were still a couple of great twists that really surprised me. If you love character driven YA contemporary this is a sweet one!
I need to immediately read the other Emma Mills books on my TBR because I am just in love with her fantastic dialogue and endearing characters! She had me laughing and in tears! I absolutely adored this group of friends and loved how each one felt developed despite their side character status. I would have liked to see August (side bar: no more YA characters named August, please!) developed a bit more (what was his life like beforehand? what happened to his friends? etc.) but that didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. And while the plot wasn't that thrilling there were still a couple of great twists that really surprised me. If you love character driven YA contemporary this is a sweet one!
ahhhahHhhHahHh finally found what I was looking for thank u emma mills!!!!
me while reading this book: 😜🤤🤭😭🥰🥰😍😭😭🤭🤤😭😩🥰🥰😍
me while reading this book: 😜🤤🤭😭🥰🥰😍😭😭🤭🤤😭😩🥰🥰😍
This book Just did not wow me. I normally look foward to emma books and wanted to love it. I did enjoy and I read it super fast but I did not feel super connected to the characters and felt like this story was not super tighly wound. I thought the pacing and all the threads of this novel was just not as strong as her other novels. I thought some of the ending elements were little bit out of left field. I would consider re-reading this book knowing the end and seeing If I enjoy it more that way. This book I just did not feel as connected to the characters as I normally feel about her characters.
3.5 stars. It was cute and low stakes but my least favorite of Emma Mills’ books. I felt the love story moved too fast to be realistic, and there were one too many story lines happening at once.