You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
Hmmm. I have mixed feelings about this one. Psych Major Syndrome is the story of Leigh (first name: Tuesday) Nolan's first semester at Stiles College, which is an alternative to the mainstream college experience. I'll outline the things I liked and did not like below, but I won't get too specific to avoid being spoiler-y.
Pluses: Relationship confusion during freshman year of college is a biggie. I was in a long-distance relationship with my high school boyfriend (now husband) through my own university years. However, I saw the metamorphosis and destruction of plenty of other relationships. The changes in a relationship that come from being suddenly thrust into a freer environment with lots of new people really rang true. I really liked Leigh's roommate, Ami. I had an art student roomie when I was a senior, and Ami made me think of her and smile. The best part is how all of the characters defer to others as experts in their major, even though freshmen haven't exactly learned much in their areas yet. I remember that well, and thinking I was an authority on all things language & literature because I was majoring in English (and feeling panicky when I couldn't answer a question because of that). I also enjoyed the ending. It made me happy.
Minuses: Where's the school part of college? Aside from the occasional study group scene, school and schoolwork were absent. Does this school really have no exams, papers, or classes? I found that hard to believe. While a large part of college is the social experience, it's not the only thing going on. Another big problem was the mentoring program Leigh participated in. I found Leigh's behavior behavior rather unbelievable, and the sponsoring middle school teacher's handling of the situation even more so. A lot of the supporting characters seemed more like caricatures than real people. Li especially bothered me. The treatment of his Chinese accent ("Close your eye!") gnawed at me. It seemed disrespectful at least, racist at worst. Additionally, his poem is just so... bad. I can't believe that something like that would win any sort of prize in a college-level statewide contest. Granted, it was rewritten from memory en route, but still. The time between the beginning of school through Thanksgiving took up almost 300 pages, and then everything was wrapped up neatly in the last 40. The ending felt rushed.
All in all, this book is a fun bit of fluff. There's nothing deep about it, but it's pretty enjoyable, and the storyline goes pretty much as expected. It's the book version of comfort food. This would be a good read for the college-bound still in high school relationship. It certainly would give them something to think about. Ultimately, though, it's not really to my taste. I was looking forward to reading a story about the transition to college, since it can be so traumatic (but so fun), and Thompson's book didn't deliver the sort of insight I was expecting.
Pluses: Relationship confusion during freshman year of college is a biggie. I was in a long-distance relationship with my high school boyfriend (now husband) through my own university years. However, I saw the metamorphosis and destruction of plenty of other relationships. The changes in a relationship that come from being suddenly thrust into a freer environment with lots of new people really rang true. I really liked Leigh's roommate, Ami. I had an art student roomie when I was a senior, and Ami made me think of her and smile. The best part is how all of the characters defer to others as experts in their major, even though freshmen haven't exactly learned much in their areas yet. I remember that well, and thinking I was an authority on all things language & literature because I was majoring in English (and feeling panicky when I couldn't answer a question because of that). I also enjoyed the ending. It made me happy.
Minuses: Where's the school part of college? Aside from the occasional study group scene, school and schoolwork were absent. Does this school really have no exams, papers, or classes? I found that hard to believe. While a large part of college is the social experience, it's not the only thing going on. Another big problem was the mentoring program Leigh participated in. I found Leigh's behavior behavior rather unbelievable, and the sponsoring middle school teacher's handling of the situation even more so. A lot of the supporting characters seemed more like caricatures than real people. Li especially bothered me. The treatment of his Chinese accent ("Close your eye!") gnawed at me. It seemed disrespectful at least, racist at worst. Additionally, his poem is just so... bad. I can't believe that something like that would win any sort of prize in a college-level statewide contest. Granted, it was rewritten from memory en route, but still. The time between the beginning of school through Thanksgiving took up almost 300 pages, and then everything was wrapped up neatly in the last 40. The ending felt rushed.
All in all, this book is a fun bit of fluff. There's nothing deep about it, but it's pretty enjoyable, and the storyline goes pretty much as expected. It's the book version of comfort food. This would be a good read for the college-bound still in high school relationship. It certainly would give them something to think about. Ultimately, though, it's not really to my taste. I was looking forward to reading a story about the transition to college, since it can be so traumatic (but so fun), and Thompson's book didn't deliver the sort of insight I was expecting.
This book was okay. There were parts of this book that I liked and moments that were laugh out loud funny. Sometimes I liked Leigh, but most of the time she frustrated and/or annoyed me. Andrew was a tool and yet Leigh stayed with him and defended him. She also was way too lazy and irresponsible for my taste. I never quite understood why Leigh hated Ellen (or vice versa). The whole mentoring storyline was just weird. Leigh's confession to Rebekah about sex were totally inappropriate. I felt that Rebekah and Li were both extremely stereotypical characters. Li's broken English and Rebekah's use of the word "ain't" rubbed me wrong.
I did like Ami and Nathan, and I liked Leigh when she was with them instead of with other characters.
I did like Ami and Nathan, and I liked Leigh when she was with them instead of with other characters.
This was a cute, brainless romance set at a small college. It wasn't exactly memorable, but I enjoyed the psychology woven in, and I liked reading a book written by someone only a year older than me. I think this author will grow and develop more. Good book for romance fans, as well as those interested in romance at college. Mostly clean.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
It was good. It was easy to understand and relatable. It wasn't too dry or fluffy fluff fluff
I didn't want this book to end! It was incredible. I can't wait to read more from this author. Highly recommended!
Standard boilerplate YA teen girl romance thing, which means that it was fun although not groundbreaking, and thus right in my guilty pleasure wheelhouse.
This book is too cute. So I found it because the media specialist at my job had a bunch of donated books to sort through and determine if they were alright for the high school library and this title caught my attention big time. I asked if it was making its way onto the shelves and she said she hadn’t looked through it yet, so I offered to and then COVID happened.
This is a quick read, super light, laugh out loud funny for the psych major in me, and an awesome in between book for high school seniors/college freshman. Deep enough that lessons are learned but also light enough that you don’t feel bogged down reading it.
Definitely recommend for anyone who likes YA romcoms!
This is a quick read, super light, laugh out loud funny for the psych major in me, and an awesome in between book for high school seniors/college freshman. Deep enough that lessons are learned but also light enough that you don’t feel bogged down reading it.
Definitely recommend for anyone who likes YA romcoms!