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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
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
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Wren really does ruin it all/He is a very unlucky unlikable whiny character who apparently hates the Valentine Day dance for two reasons, a waste of money and the romance/raging hormones of his classmates because he is asexual. But here is the thing his asexuality is mentioned a couple of times but never done well for you to understand what asexual is if this is their first time reading about ace spectrum.
Wren complains, that his dad for his likes and ways, hates all holidays it seems (every holiday brought up he had a reason not to like it), and is self-centered. His grand idea of being school president is to end the most beloved dance and then because of the Buddy App being used to fund the dance he wants to ask someone to go to the dance so on top of everything he is, you can add hypocrite.
At least I am done with this audiobook. The narration was on par but can not save the wren.
Wren complains, that his dad for his likes and ways, hates all holidays it seems (every holiday brought up he had a reason not to like it), and is self-centered. His grand idea of being school president is to end the most beloved dance and then because of the Buddy App being used to fund the dance he wants to ask someone to go to the dance so on top of everything he is, you can add hypocrite.
At least I am done with this audiobook. The narration was on par but can not save the wren.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Yes
It's so sweet and cutesie. There are so many laugh out loud moments, that you shouldn't read it before sleeping, because it gives you energy from reading it.
There is one plottwist and it was a surprise but also kind of expected.
i feel like the author expects us to know who Buddy Boy is, because to me it was quite obvious that Leo is BB. And i think that it's more of a plottwist for the characters themselves. But i enjoyed it nevertheless. :)
There is one plottwist and it was a surprise but also kind of expected.
*SPOILERS AHEAD!*
This was another bookstagram/good reads made me do it! I’ve been seeing this book everywhere and initially wasn’t going to bother with it, after not enjoying the author’s debut. But then the audio popped up on Libby, so I thought I’d give it a try. And it was fine.
I quite disliked Wren Martin for the entire book, he was not a likeable or sympathetic character. Part of this could be that I’m just really over YA, so I have zero time for mean, whiny protagonists who don’t see much development over the course of the book. Wren is still mean and whiny at the end of the book. I also thought that he treated Leo quite badly, including intentionally embarrassing him in front of their friends with PDA. Like, that seems mildly dubcon to me.
I also didn’t like that he really seemed to dislike his dad. Like, constantly making snide jokes and comments about his dad’s OCD (NOT FUCKING COOL) and lifestyle choices. Maybe it was meant to be more of a stereotypical *all high schoolers hate their parents* thing? But it just added to Wren’s overall unlikeability.
Also, bad chicken rep. At one point Wren has been cleaning their coop for an hour and is a disgusting mess, which just wouldn’t happen. To clean a coop for five chickens should take 10-15 minutes MAX, and if you’re filthy afterwards, you are doing something very wrong. Also, Wren should have been getting just as filthy (but likely more so) sitting with the chickens while he did his homework and having them sit on him, than he would cleaning their coop.
And again, as with DeWitt’s first book, I don’t entirely get the point of the asexuality part. Like, it plays virtually no role in the overall story, which is disappointing. At most Wren uses it as an excuse to not date, which is not asexuality, that is aromanticism. And I know it’s not up to me to be any sort of asexuality police, it’s a spectrum and is experienced differently, but to me it feels like it’s just stuck in there to make the character more interesting (maybe?), and not as an actual part of the character. Like, *I’m asexual so I don’t date and hate Valentines dances!*, but then behaviourally there is nothing there to indicate Wren’s aceness. I guess I wanted more from the character being ace, and maybe that’s because I’ve read other books with asexual protagonists that were excellent, and this one just fell flat.
And lastly, did everyone else figure out who Buddy Boy was almost immediately? Was it supposed to be some sort of big reveal?
Okay, I think I’ve actually talked myself down a star rating over the course of writing this review…
This was another bookstagram/good reads made me do it! I’ve been seeing this book everywhere and initially wasn’t going to bother with it, after not enjoying the author’s debut. But then the audio popped up on Libby, so I thought I’d give it a try. And it was fine.
I quite disliked Wren Martin for the entire book, he was not a likeable or sympathetic character. Part of this could be that I’m just really over YA, so I have zero time for mean, whiny protagonists who don’t see much development over the course of the book. Wren is still mean and whiny at the end of the book. I also thought that he treated Leo quite badly, including intentionally embarrassing him in front of their friends with PDA. Like, that seems mildly dubcon to me.
I also didn’t like that he really seemed to dislike his dad. Like, constantly making snide jokes and comments about his dad’s OCD (NOT FUCKING COOL) and lifestyle choices. Maybe it was meant to be more of a stereotypical *all high schoolers hate their parents* thing? But it just added to Wren’s overall unlikeability.
Also, bad chicken rep. At one point Wren has been cleaning their coop for an hour and is a disgusting mess, which just wouldn’t happen. To clean a coop for five chickens should take 10-15 minutes MAX, and if you’re filthy afterwards, you are doing something very wrong. Also, Wren should have been getting just as filthy (but likely more so) sitting with the chickens while he did his homework and having them sit on him, than he would cleaning their coop.
And again, as with DeWitt’s first book, I don’t entirely get the point of the asexuality part. Like, it plays virtually no role in the overall story, which is disappointing. At most Wren uses it as an excuse to not date, which is not asexuality, that is aromanticism. And I know it’s not up to me to be any sort of asexuality police, it’s a spectrum and is experienced differently, but to me it feels like it’s just stuck in there to make the character more interesting (maybe?), and not as an actual part of the character. Like, *I’m asexual so I don’t date and hate Valentines dances!*, but then behaviourally there is nothing there to indicate Wren’s aceness. I guess I wanted more from the character being ace, and maybe that’s because I’ve read other books with asexual protagonists that were excellent, and this one just fell flat.
And lastly, did everyone else figure out who Buddy Boy was almost immediately? Was it supposed to be some sort of big reveal?
Okay, I think I’ve actually talked myself down a star rating over the course of writing this review…
funny
hopeful
fast-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
lighthearted