Reviews

She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen

morganchamberlin'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? Yes

3.0

jayrosew's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

if you’re looking for a cute queer romance, this is it! i would have liked a bit more development on both of the main characters personalities, but other than that, i liked it! :)

juliettehamelle's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

3.75

blairlarks's review against another edition

3.0

3.5/5

cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 stars

This book has a lot of positive attributes but I wasn't completely in love it like previous Kelly's work. Still totally enjoyable and cute read.

nitwhit88's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

juliabruiz's review

this book drove me crazy

fatimaelf's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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

4.5

This being the second book I’ve read by her, I can confidently say Kelly Quindlen is the master of YA romance, at capturing the whimsy, drama, and realism of high school. And the fact that it’s a queer, well written, well conceived romance — well, let’s just say I had read this in high school it would have changed my whole life.

The book was sweet, verging on cheesy. Every character felt like we had a good understanding of who they were and where they came from, and why they wanted what they wanted. Because it’s high school, at times they acted immaturely, but in way that felt believable instead of contrived for plot purposes. I love how Quindlen treats her teenage characters as if they’re intelligent (because teenagers are) but that sometimes they have lapses in judgement or sometimes they act irrationally (because they do). 

Scottie was our POV character, and while I think she was mostly great, and completely understood where she was coming from, she was also difficult to root for sometimes. Not that anything she did or said was necessarily horrible or untrue to who she was, she just went about things in ways that made it harder to get through certain chapters because it was frustrating. I think this book could’ve worked well as a split POV (preferably, as always, in this person, though first person would have worked as well). I think we got to know Irene very well through Scottie’s eyes, but she would have balanced Scottie’s neuroticism in ways that would have allowed the room to breathe a bit more. 

The first half of the book was the stronger half: the tension and banter between Scottie and Irene was done perfectly, and I loved their dynamic. Quindlen really showed us who they were as characters in the way they interacted, and it felt believable, the way they shifted from enemies to allies to sort-of-friends to oops-now-I-have-a-crush, and it genuinely was a joy to follow. 

Though I don’t wholly approve of the way the fake dating occurred —

despite the fact that it was categorically not blackmail, it felt a whole lot like coercion, which isn’t really much better

— I’m not knocking the book for it because it felt like something a high schooler would cook up. 

The second half of the book was slightly bogged down by the exploration of toxic relationships and the recovery of such. We get that in the beginning a fair amount, so it doesn’t come out of nowhere (and I do like that it wasn’t so much a “third act breakup” as it was a third act exploration), but because that’s what almost a quarter of the book is devoted to in the latter half, it does feel like a little much. Not in a way that I think took away majorly from the enjoyment of the book, and I do appreciate it’s an important topic to address — especially since healing isn’t linear — but I think it could have been structured differently to allow for the healing in conjunction with something else, to balance the moods out. 

The thing I was torn on, too, were the grand gestures, especially the last one. I didn’t feel it was necessary? And I’m not too sure it felt completely in character, both for Scottie to attempt it and Irene to accept it. If I stretch my imagination the tiniest bit more, I can buy that their actions in the end are a result of their growth as characters, but not one hundred percent. A big part of me liked the scene, though, and enjoyed picturing it, and it was super fun, but not totally earned. 

Still, every character in this book was an absolute joy. Scottie’s relationship with her sisters, Thora and Daphne, and her parents (and Mrs. Zander) was fantastic and wholesome, and her relationships with her best friend, Danielle, and her friends Keith and Gunther were sweet and realistic. Though the book is definitely focused on the budding romance of Scottie and Irene, these relationships were also at the heart of the novel and elevated it beyond just romance. Tally and Charlotte were suitable antagonists, in a way that all petty high school girls are. Sometimes they felt a little too cartoonishly mean, but sometimes high school girls are cartoonishly mean, so it tracks. 

(Side note: I really liked that this book seemed to celebrate small towns. Irene makes a point of saying that she enjoyed growing up in a small town, and outside of one character, nobody tears down Grandma Earl and most actually seem to celebrate it. It’s a nice difference in pace from people wanting nothing more than to escape their small towns for the wider world.) 

I’m not saying that this book made me miss high school, but I am saying it got me close, and that’s a huge accomplishment. Quindlen writes high school like she just left its halls, with all the good and the bad that can be wrapped up in the social and educational components of the experience. 

Overall I have a feeling I’ll likely remember most of the plot and characters for this book — which is a whole lot more than I can say for many romance books. A+ in my book, all the way.

gyuricky's review against another edition

1.0

Siento que lo hubiera disfrutado más si Scottie no se hubiera pasado más de la mitad del libro hablando y mencionando a su ex, es un poco lamentable que un personaje como ella tuviera más potencial y que se perdiera en hacer de su ex su completa personalidad.

En general, los personajes se sentían demasiado superficiales, al igual que todas las relaciones. ¿Las interacciones de Scottie con sus papás o sus hermanas? Medias cringey y muy poco realistas.

Por otro lado, amé el personaje de Irene y también sus interacciones con Scottie.

A ratos era exasperante leer el punto de vista de Scottie, la narración estuvo regular y muchas de las cosas que pasaban no era tan graves como las hacían a ver. En resumen, no sé si este es el estilo de la autora o si simplemente fue un libro con una trama mal planeada.

Y por encima de todo, a lo largo del libro la palabra LESBIANA no es mencionada ni una sola vez y sólo se usa la palabra gay para referirse a las personajes sáficas.

valetparkering's review against another edition

3.5

Teared up a bit at the end, pretty cute