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hellonovahere's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.5
genuinely a pretty cute, romantic book about two teens who are just coming into their own while competing for valedictorian. i love academic-rivals-to-lovers and this book 100% delivered on that front. it certainly has some parts that are weak but they're pretty minor, so i don't even care. overall, i think you should definitely give this a read if you want a funny, light and lovely time!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Child death and Drug use
chelseafrieske's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Car accident and Drug use
jessicaludden's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
“‘Crush’ is too weak a word to describe how I feel. It doesn’t do you justice, but maybe it works for me. I am the one who is crushed. I’m crushed that we have only ever regarded each other as enemies…”
This was fine. It felt like there was a lot going on, but also nothing at all? I didn’t particularly care about the characters that much. The stakes of the scavenger hunt game weren’t very high so at times it felt boring and dragged on. Rowan had a lot going on and while some people could say that makes her a complex character, I just think it became distracting and too much to keep up with. There were many things she would say out of nowhere and then just not follow up with. If it was that important for her character you’d think there would be more depth, but it felt more like she was just listing her personality traits. This book was super cheesy and the pop culture references were a little much at times. I did think it was funny at some points, mostly cringey, but it did make me laugh a few times. It felt very fast, which is of course because it only takes place in one day, but I’ve read much better books with that same time constraint. It also ended really weirdly. I wasn’t expecting the ending to go on for as long as it did and I thought the ending would be a little more ambiguous than it was. What almost slightly redeemed this for me was Neil’s note to Rowan in her yearbook. I knew it was gonna be cute, but I really wasn’t expecting it to be THAT romantic. That’s probably the only thing I really enjoyed about this book if I’m being honest. Overall, it just wasn’t for me and it’s not even that it’s a YA book set in high school. It’s the characters and the plot. I can see how it would be good for other people, but I’m not one of them.
Favorite Quotes:
“Neil McNair has become my alarm clock, if alarm clocks had freckles and knew all your insecurities.”
“Until I met McNair, I didn’t know patience could feel like a physical piece of me, something he stretches and twists whenever he has a chance.”
“Yet here’s someone I labeled as an enemy who was maybe feeling isolated in the same way.”
“He studies me for a long moment, as though I am a sentence he’s trying to translate into another language.”
“The things that mattered to us for the past four years will shift and evolve, and I imagine they’ll keep doing that forever. It’s terrifying.”
“And whether that makes us friends or just two people who were supposed to meet somewhere but got lost along the way.”
“Neil is softer than I realized, and I’m a barbed-wire fence. Every time he gets too close, I make myself sharper.”
“When he grins, it’s bright enough to light up the night sky. It’s kind of beautiful.”
“‘You like being infuriated. By me.’”
“The fantasy: that my perfect high school boyfriend would be the epitome of romance. The reality: Neil McNair has been here all along.”
“I’ve devoted the past four years to leaving Seattle, but you… You are the best thing about this city. You are going to be the hardest to leave.”
“I’ve given this boy the messiest parts of me, and he’s done nothing but convince me he’ll be careful with them.”
This was fine. It felt like there was a lot going on, but also nothing at all? I didn’t particularly care about the characters that much. The stakes of the scavenger hunt game weren’t very high so at times it felt boring and dragged on. Rowan had a lot going on and while some people could say that makes her a complex character, I just think it became distracting and too much to keep up with. There were many things she would say out of nowhere and then just not follow up with. If it was that important for her character you’d think there would be more depth, but it felt more like she was just listing her personality traits. This book was super cheesy and the pop culture references were a little much at times. I did think it was funny at some points, mostly cringey, but it did make me laugh a few times. It felt very fast, which is of course because it only takes place in one day, but I’ve read much better books with that same time constraint. It also ended really weirdly. I wasn’t expecting the ending to go on for as long as it did and I thought the ending would be a little more ambiguous than it was. What almost slightly redeemed this for me was Neil’s note to Rowan in her yearbook. I knew it was gonna be cute, but I really wasn’t expecting it to be THAT romantic. That’s probably the only thing I really enjoyed about this book if I’m being honest. Overall, it just wasn’t for me and it’s not even that it’s a YA book set in high school. It’s the characters and the plot. I can see how it would be good for other people, but I’m not one of them.
Favorite Quotes:
“Neil McNair has become my alarm clock, if alarm clocks had freckles and knew all your insecurities.”
“Until I met McNair, I didn’t know patience could feel like a physical piece of me, something he stretches and twists whenever he has a chance.”
“Yet here’s someone I labeled as an enemy who was maybe feeling isolated in the same way.”
“He studies me for a long moment, as though I am a sentence he’s trying to translate into another language.”
“The things that mattered to us for the past four years will shift and evolve, and I imagine they’ll keep doing that forever. It’s terrifying.”
“And whether that makes us friends or just two people who were supposed to meet somewhere but got lost along the way.”
“Neil is softer than I realized, and I’m a barbed-wire fence. Every time he gets too close, I make myself sharper.”
“When he grins, it’s bright enough to light up the night sky. It’s kind of beautiful.”
“‘You like being infuriated. By me.’”
“The fantasy: that my perfect high school boyfriend would be the epitome of romance. The reality: Neil McNair has been here all along.”
“I’ve devoted the past four years to leaving Seattle, but you… You are the best thing about this city. You are going to be the hardest to leave.”
“I’ve given this boy the messiest parts of me, and he’s done nothing but convince me he’ll be careful with them.”
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism and Sexual content
mandalacb19's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.5
I loved this book so much - such great dialogue and characters that I really grew attached to. I loved the representation of both main characters being Jewish, and I enjoyed how the author put in the culture into the book. Would read again, though I do think some things in book might have been done better, for example her feelings growing for Neil, and Rowan's relationship with her friends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Car accident and Alcohol
meesecheese's review against another edition
lighthearted
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Sexual content
mswarning's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Racism, and Antisemitism
Minor: Violence and Sexual content
lucy33's review against another edition
lighthearted
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
4.75
one word: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. also i would do anything for rowan. okay so that's more than one word but this book is so sickly adorable and perfect and everything that i wanted it to be when i started reading. yep, screaming into a pillow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Sexism, Car accident, and Drug use
sweetsxrrxw's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
i wrote this review im february 2022 but i recently discovered the author is a zionist, so fuck her <3
------------------------
i wanted to start and finish this book for valentine's day because i had heard it was a cute read for that day. but i finished reading it 10 days after. i guess i was kinda sad when i started reading it and maybe the beginning was a bit boring. but after a while it got kinda interesting. im giving it 3.75 bc i dont think it sticks out to me at all.
i think this is a good read if you're looking for something soft and maybe a bit nostalgic to distract yourself from reality. maybe it's kind of a slow burn but i bet you'll catch yourself smiling at least a couple times while you're reading.
the writing is easy and it has some cultural references such as the smiths, star wars and romance and classic books, as the two main characters (who are also jews btw) are nerds.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Minor: Stalking, Car accident, and Sexual content
aerospace's review against another edition
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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: Sexual content
drraytay's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content