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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
Holding my review until the SMP boycott is resolved.
lighthearted
medium-paced
It was cute! Perfect lil YA rom com about fan fiction and friendship breakups and makeups and the consequences of getting what you asked for.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
medium-paced
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed the other books I have read from this author but this book really fell flat for me. The characters didn't have much personality and the conflict wasn't very interesting. I really wanted to like it but it just didn't wow me. I think if it were marketed as a middle grade book it might be better. It was a very quick and easy read and I didn't find it dragging or going slowly which I liked. I also wish we found out more about WHY and HOW Weston was there. I was frustrated that the majority of the conflicts were "solved" by Weston's magic, it didn't leave many problems for them to solve/navigate.
I enjoyed the other books I have read from this author but this book really fell flat for me. The characters didn't have much personality and the conflict wasn't very interesting. I really wanted to like it but it just didn't wow me. I think if it were marketed as a middle grade book it might be better. It was a very quick and easy read and I didn't find it dragging or going slowly which I liked. I also wish we found out more about WHY and HOW Weston was there. I was frustrated that the majority of the conflicts were "solved" by Weston's magic, it didn't leave many problems for them to solve/navigate.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I devoured this book. Like read it in two sittings. It’s funny and silly and so freaking delightful. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much. It’s also an ode to fanfiction and a cautionary tale of being careful what you wish for. The characters are real and relatable and perfectly teenagers with their flaws and drama and all that comes with being 16. Plus that cover by Vanessa Kelley is perfection. I’m so glad I picked this one up this weekend, it was the perfect salve for a long, stressful week of being a functional adult to live in an imaginary world for a bit.
lighthearted
slow-paced
I feel like the cover and description of the book don’t really match the plot at all. Also this is the first time I’ve read a YA book that made me feel like I’m too old to read YA. All the characters were way too immature for me. I think other people would enjoy this book, but it definitely isn’t for me.
adventurous
funny
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
I got an arc of this book from a goodreads giveaway. I can't! This book is so good.
Now the beginning is a hard start, ivy not wanting to get rid of Weston was starting to get very annoying by the end.
However the rest of the book was so good, I love a queer representation, as an ex-fanfiction writer I loved that aspect of it. Ivy and Mack just give me all the feels and Henry is like my bestie.
I've never heard of Sophie Gonzales but she is now on my radar
I got an arc of this book from a goodreads giveaway. I can't! This book is so good.
Now the beginning is a hard start, ivy not wanting to get rid of Weston was starting to get very annoying by the end.
However the rest of the book was so good, I love a queer representation, as an ex-fanfiction writer I loved that aspect of it. Ivy and Mack just give me all the feels and Henry is like my bestie.
I've never heard of Sophie Gonzales but she is now on my radar
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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
Thank you NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this story.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW
I would like to preface this review by saying that I have loved Sophie Gonzales books in the past. I've read Only, Mostly Devastated and Perfect On Paper and enjoyed both. I'm too old for the YA genre but after reading the synopsis of the story I thought I'd fall in love with it. It's sapphic (with a bisexual main character and a lesbian Love Interest), it has fanfic tropes, and had the main character bringing her fictional boyfriend to life! That sounded like so much fun in principal but... I didn't like the execution.
I'm sure if I had read this book when I was younger I would've adored it, especially all the fanfic references like coffee shop AU's and the soulmate's first words on your wrist, etc. But reading it in this book felt very awkward like it was being forced onto the reader. There were a lot of scenes too that just didn't work well for me. Specifically the scene where Mack, Henry and Ivy try to write a new fanfic about Weston and they add in ALL these different elements like a TARDIS, dinosaurs, cures for cancer, etc. so that the scenario is completely illogical and made no sense. If they were being serious about testing out a new fanfic idea Ivy should have written something more mundane.
The fights between Mack and Ivy felt really petty too and so unserious. All of Mack's and Ivy's conversations didn't feel like real people talking. Some of the things they said to each other simply made no sense with the context of what they were saying. For example, Mack yelling at Ivy about a "sex dungeon" she had because Mack heard that a boy was over at Ivy's house. It felt so out of left pocket and I didn't enjoy it.
I didn't end up liking either Mack or Ivy by the end of the book. My favorite characters ended up being Henry and Weston. Henry because he was ACTUALLY funny and seemed like a genuinely good person and Weston because even though he was "fake" and was a little scary toward the end he was fun and ended up in funny situations and was so earnest that it was hard not to like him.
I also didn't like the implication that people only write fanfics when they can't face their own reality. That's what it felt like Ivy was saying at the end and as someone who wrote fanfic, that wasn't true for me. I'm sure it's true for some people but it's not true for everyone. It made writing fanfics sound... bad? In a way? Like people should stop doing what makes them happy just because its not real.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW
I would like to preface this review by saying that I have loved Sophie Gonzales books in the past. I've read Only, Mostly Devastated and Perfect On Paper and enjoyed both. I'm too old for the YA genre but after reading the synopsis of the story I thought I'd fall in love with it. It's sapphic (with a bisexual main character and a lesbian Love Interest), it has fanfic tropes, and had the main character bringing her fictional boyfriend to life! That sounded like so much fun in principal but... I didn't like the execution.
I'm sure if I had read this book when I was younger I would've adored it, especially all the fanfic references like coffee shop AU's and the soulmate's first words on your wrist, etc. But reading it in this book felt very awkward like it was being forced onto the reader. There were a lot of scenes too that just didn't work well for me. Specifically the scene where Mack, Henry and Ivy try to write a new fanfic about Weston and they add in ALL these different elements like a TARDIS, dinosaurs, cures for cancer, etc. so that the scenario is completely illogical and made no sense. If they were being serious about testing out a new fanfic idea Ivy should have written something more mundane.
The fights between Mack and Ivy felt really petty too and so unserious. All of Mack's and Ivy's conversations didn't feel like real people talking. Some of the things they said to each other simply made no sense with the context of what they were saying. For example, Mack yelling at Ivy about a "sex dungeon" she had because Mack heard that a boy was over at Ivy's house. It felt so out of left pocket and I didn't enjoy it.
I didn't end up liking either Mack or Ivy by the end of the book. My favorite characters ended up being Henry and Weston. Henry because he was ACTUALLY funny and seemed like a genuinely good person and Weston because even though he was "fake" and was a little scary toward the end he was fun and ended up in funny situations and was so earnest that it was hard not to like him.
I also didn't like the implication that people only write fanfics when they can't face their own reality. That's what it felt like Ivy was saying at the end and as someone who wrote fanfic, that wasn't true for me. I'm sure it's true for some people but it's not true for everyone. It made writing fanfics sound... bad? In a way? Like people should stop doing what makes them happy just because its not real.
I thought the plot was a great idea i. Theory but unfortunately this one just missed the mark.
I felt like these characters vacillated between middle school and high school behavior. I felt like Weston was so bland and he was like a giant baby they had to watch but since they were also babies it was just a Trainwreck.
I thought the fanfic idea was going to be fun but the execution was ABYSMAL.
I felt like these characters vacillated between middle school and high school behavior. I felt like Weston was so bland and he was like a giant baby they had to watch but since they were also babies it was just a Trainwreck.
I thought the fanfic idea was going to be fun but the execution was ABYSMAL.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ivy is a high school junior who spent a year of her life writing fanfic about her favorite show after a disastrous fight left her without her closest friend, Mack.
Now she spends her time with Henry, her new best friend and obsessive fan of the same fantasy show, H-MAD.
Now, she’s got a week at home alone to do as she pleases, which includes hanging with Henry and binge watching her favorite show. Except, after a frightening thunderstorm, she finds Weston, the blue haired main character from H-MAD very much alive and standing in her bedroom.
Somehow that fanfic has brought her version of him very much to life. Ivy quickly realizes she needs help, and between wise cracking Henry and nosy Mack, they’re determined to figure it out…and maybe find their way back to friendship or more.
Here’s what worked for me:
•The book safely explores sexuality and coming out in a way that could be beneficial to kids.
•Henry is a delight.
•The girls have a good, level headed conversation to work out their differences and what led to the end of their friendship.
•It feels very much like a pre-teen novel.
Here’s what didn’t work for me:
•It reads like a book for 10-14 year olds, not 13-18 year olds. I could imagine it, with some edits, as a read aloud for my classroom.
•The characters and their dialog do not seem like juniors in high school. They read much younger.
For what it’s worth, with the fantasy elements, I could see this as a fun graphic novel!
Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the e-ARC to read and review. Available March 26, 2024.