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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
OMG SO FUCKING GOOD!! all the characters were so lovable and the relationship development for both claudia & gideon and claudia & iris were literally EVERYTHING!!!
4.5 stars
That was just such wonderful, happy-making fluff! Honestly, this is exactly what I want from a summer read: it's light, not too complicated, and it has so many moments that just put a goofy smile on your face.
To me, the highlight of this book, above the cute romance between Claudia and Gideon is actually the friendship between Claudia and Iris. Honestly, Iris is a perfectly flawed character. She's complicated, and has some autistic-like habits and behaviors. It pushes people away, because, honestly, why would you want to spend time with someone who seems to always be looking for something to insult or get annoyed with?
Okay, I'm gonna get real with you guys, but I identified with Iris quite a bit. Putting your foot in your mouth, saying things that come off way too harsh, and thereby pushing people away... I have been known to do all of those things. But Claudia is so patient and kind to her. She's honest and pushes back when necessary to make Iris aware of her behavior, but she doesn't run off. She sees the good and quirky charm in Iris and that makes their friendship so endearing. I honestly loved it. So so so much.
Gideon was adorable as well, it must be noted. I love his goofy habits, his space alien quirks. And I LOVED how he and Claudia got closer through (among other things) the MMORPG. I am so in love with fantasy MMORPGs, this was just catnip for my geekiness.
Anyway. This was all just really enjoyable: the romance, the friendships, the family scenes, the unabashed boyband fandom, the geeky gamer habits, the high school theater production... But I would read it all again just for Claudia and Iris. Seriously. So much love.
That was just such wonderful, happy-making fluff! Honestly, this is exactly what I want from a summer read: it's light, not too complicated, and it has so many moments that just put a goofy smile on your face.
To me, the highlight of this book, above the cute romance between Claudia and Gideon is actually the friendship between Claudia and Iris. Honestly, Iris is a perfectly flawed character. She's complicated, and has some autistic-like habits and behaviors. It pushes people away, because, honestly, why would you want to spend time with someone who seems to always be looking for something to insult or get annoyed with?
Okay, I'm gonna get real with you guys, but I identified with Iris quite a bit. Putting your foot in your mouth, saying things that come off way too harsh, and thereby pushing people away... I have been known to do all of those things. But Claudia is so patient and kind to her. She's honest and pushes back when necessary to make Iris aware of her behavior, but she doesn't run off. She sees the good and quirky charm in Iris and that makes their friendship so endearing. I honestly loved it. So so so much.
Gideon was adorable as well, it must be noted. I love his goofy habits, his space alien quirks. And I LOVED how he and Claudia got closer through (among other things) the MMORPG. I am so in love with fantasy MMORPGs, this was just catnip for my geekiness.
Anyway. This was all just really enjoyable: the romance, the friendships, the family scenes, the unabashed boyband fandom, the geeky gamer habits, the high school theater production... But I would read it all again just for Claudia and Iris. Seriously. So much love.
*kinda spoiler-ish but not really*
this was really, really cute!
the characters were sooo relatable and absolutely brilliant, i literally know a guy at my school who pretty much exactly matches the description of Gideon (god bless his sweet heart), and the romance was absolutely adorable. i love the fact that, for once in the history of YA, we got a healthy sibling relationship, and i love that the LGBTQ+ side of the story easily slipped in without seeming forced, plus no one seemed to care that Iris and Paige were lesbian/bi/whatever they are.
now i have to admit something: i may have gone into this book thinking that Iris and Claudia were going to get together. i'm not sure why i thought that, i just did, and so i was waiting like the whole book for that. but then i realised that was NOT the way this story was going to flow, and i still loved it! Gideon was the cutest cutie out there and completely perfect for Claude, and Iris and Paige were super sweet together. i also just loved Iris in general, not to mention the wonder that is her obsession with a boy band in the book.
i really, really, really appreciated the fact that this book said that people who are obsessed with bands aren't necessarily crazy, psycho, teenage girls that want to marry the boys in whatever band. most people think that (warning: storytime) just because i love BTS (a k-pop band) means that i want to hunt them down and date them. I DON'T. AND NEITHER DOES IRIS. the author literally put in the acknowledgements that this book was dedicated to people who loved bands, and i really appreciated that. just because i love a band doesn't mean i want them all to myself. i want, as Iris stated in the book, for the members of BTS to just be happy, healthy and safe. i just want to protect them, and honestly, be their best friend. so thank you to Emma Mills for slipping in that fangirls aren't insane and shouldn't be hated so much.
basically i loved this book! super sweet.
PS. sorry for the mild BTS rant above ahah
this was really, really cute!
the characters were sooo relatable and absolutely brilliant, i literally know a guy at my school who pretty much exactly matches the description of Gideon (god bless his sweet heart), and the romance was absolutely adorable. i love the fact that, for once in the history of YA, we got a healthy sibling relationship, and i love that the LGBTQ+ side of the story easily slipped in without seeming forced, plus no one seemed to care that Iris and Paige were lesbian/bi/whatever they are.
now i have to admit something: i may have gone into this book thinking that Iris and Claudia were going to get together. i'm not sure why i thought that, i just did, and so i was waiting like the whole book for that. but then i realised that was NOT the way this story was going to flow, and i still loved it! Gideon was the cutest cutie out there and completely perfect for Claude, and Iris and Paige were super sweet together. i also just loved Iris in general, not to mention the wonder that is her obsession with a boy band in the book.
i really, really, really appreciated the fact that this book said that people who are obsessed with bands aren't necessarily crazy, psycho, teenage girls that want to marry the boys in whatever band. most people think that (warning: storytime) just because i love BTS (a k-pop band) means that i want to hunt them down and date them. I DON'T. AND NEITHER DOES IRIS. the author literally put in the acknowledgements that this book was dedicated to people who loved bands, and i really appreciated that. just because i love a band doesn't mean i want them all to myself. i want, as Iris stated in the book, for the members of BTS to just be happy, healthy and safe. i just want to protect them, and honestly, be their best friend. so thank you to Emma Mills for slipping in that fangirls aren't insane and shouldn't be hated so much.
basically i loved this book! super sweet.
PS. sorry for the mild BTS rant above ahah
It was so adorable. It made me smile so much, uuuugh I can’t even begin to describe how much I love it !
I will definitely reread it, it made me feel so happy ! <3
I will definitely reread it, it made me feel so happy ! <3
4.5/5 Read this book because i heard gideon was like wes from better than the movies. tbh yeah i see it they give the same vibes. i thoguht jt was gonna be more romance but this was a book more about friendship and it was really good. I thought it was cute and fun. it was a happy book.
This book. I got it in my December Owlcrate and read the summary and was like, "Ugh not another high school drama trope." I skillfully avoided it until I ran out of books to read at home, and then I decided to suck it up and give it a shot. There were definitely times I found those cliche high school drama things I was super over, but they were well balanced by the rest of the book. I loved Emma Mill's writing style and absolutely loved this story. It was cute and relatable (even though there were times when Claudia's awkwardness would cease being relatable to me) and just the cute romance I needed. Can't wait to get my hands on another of her books!
I prefer a balance when reading YA books with strong romance lines, specifically homosexual relationships. I find it distasteful when authors portray teens in very adult scenarios. That's just my opinion so I was worried this book might be too much for me based on the premise of the book and how the storyline forms. However, most of the book is about other relationships, virtual, family, friends, romantic, and fandom. I would recommend this title to fans on classic YA fiction that aren't too reserved to read any story that involves non-traditional relationships. The dialog, I feel, is spot on for teens today including the drama built around misunderstandings.
My guilty pleasure is cute little ya books that have something to do with theater.
4.5
I am so happy I finally read this book!! What lovely ya contemporary - definitely one of the best I've read in the past few years.
I truly adored the characters, Claudia was a great narrator and I really felt like she captured what it felt like to be an average teen in high school. Iris was such a fun character and it was nice that she had an arch without overly having to change herself. Gideon was delightful from start to finish - such a great love interest and well rounded character in his own right. This book just felt so realistic to me - none of the conflicts were that serious, people acted dumb but it felt reasonable and nothing was too high stakes. These are all things I personally love in a ya contemporary. As someone who was on stage crew I always love seeing the behind the scenes of the play. But honestly what spoke to me most was the boy band - Emma Mills so perfectly captured the overwhelming feeling of love that a teen girl feels to the first boy band she really becomes obsessed with. I saw myself so much in Iris and Claudia's love for this is our now - all the cringe included.
I am so happy I finally read this book!! What lovely ya contemporary - definitely one of the best I've read in the past few years.
I truly adored the characters, Claudia was a great narrator and I really felt like she captured what it felt like to be an average teen in high school. Iris was such a fun character and it was nice that she had an arch without overly having to change herself. Gideon was delightful from start to finish - such a great love interest and well rounded character in his own right. This book just felt so realistic to me - none of the conflicts were that serious, people acted dumb but it felt reasonable and nothing was too high stakes. These are all things I personally love in a ya contemporary. As someone who was on stage crew I always love seeing the behind the scenes of the play. But honestly what spoke to me most was the boy band - Emma Mills so perfectly captured the overwhelming feeling of love that a teen girl feels to the first boy band she really becomes obsessed with. I saw myself so much in Iris and Claudia's love for this is our now - all the cringe included.