Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
book 100 of the year everyone cheer!! and what a cute book!! it kind of put me into a reading slump but that’s fineee i liked it. claudia is so me coded im obsessed with her. i also loved how the book was more focused on friendship than romance it was great!!
I adored Emma Mills' previous books so I had extremely high expectations going into Foolish Hearts but I think the book was just missing that extra something that made Mills' previous books so charming and relatable.
Claudia has been attending the exclusive Prospect-Landower School for Girls ever since freshman year but has never really felt like she's fit in with the rest of the girls, who all come from fairly affluent backgrounds. In fact, the only reason that Claudia is even able to attend the school is because her father teaches her. Claudia has always felt more comfortable gaming online with her two older siblings and with her best friend Zoe, whom she's known ever since childhood.
When Claudia attends a birthday party on the last day of summer right before the start of senior year, she accidentally stumbles into a most awkward situation. Paige and Irene are the cutest couple of the school, the very personification of the cliche opposites attract. Paige is kind and sweet while Irene is easily irritated and cutting. But Claudia just so happens to overhear them breaking up during that unfortunate birthday party and gets into Irene's bad books.
And the situation only becomes worse after Claudia and Irene are paired together for a paper, bomb that paper and end up having to work on a joint production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Despite Irene's prickly appearance, Claudia soon begins a tentative relationship with her as well as brand new obsession with a boyband. And it's also because of this that Claudia gets to re-encounter Gideon Prewitt, a goofy and charming boy that Claudia may just end up developing feelings for.
Let's begin with what I enjoyed about the book: the friendships between the girls were all very sweet, especially between Irene and Claudia because the two of them have such a tense relationship at the start. Irene, in particular, became more of a fleshed-out character as the story progressed as opposed to the caricature of a mean girl at the start. And I liked how Claudia eventually grew to have a close group of friends during her senior year, despite her initial impressions of the school just being made up of spoilt, rich girls.
The flirtation between Gideon and Claudia was also super cute to read about. I've noticed that Emma Mills is consistently great at including a dash of romance in her stories and the central couple is always a pair that you'll want to root for. And it's the exact same case here because I adored Gideon's goofy self, his strange mannerisms and his obvious feelings for Claudia. Gideon was a fun love interest to read about.
However, I do think that there's just something missing in this book. I felt a bit of a disconnect in Foolish Hearts, because I never really felt like I understood Claudia's character. For instance, I didn't get why she was so shy about making friends at her school or why she felt so withdrawn from them. Was it just because of a different society stratum issue? Or because she's a bit more withdrawn by nature?
Also, I think that on Claudia's end, she handled her feelings for Gideon badly.
Claudia has been attending the exclusive Prospect-Landower School for Girls ever since freshman year but has never really felt like she's fit in with the rest of the girls, who all come from fairly affluent backgrounds. In fact, the only reason that Claudia is even able to attend the school is because her father teaches her. Claudia has always felt more comfortable gaming online with her two older siblings and with her best friend Zoe, whom she's known ever since childhood.
When Claudia attends a birthday party on the last day of summer right before the start of senior year, she accidentally stumbles into a most awkward situation. Paige and Irene are the cutest couple of the school, the very personification of the cliche opposites attract. Paige is kind and sweet while Irene is easily irritated and cutting. But Claudia just so happens to overhear them breaking up during that unfortunate birthday party and gets into Irene's bad books.
And the situation only becomes worse after Claudia and Irene are paired together for a paper, bomb that paper and end up having to work on a joint production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Despite Irene's prickly appearance, Claudia soon begins a tentative relationship with her as well as brand new obsession with a boyband. And it's also because of this that Claudia gets to re-encounter Gideon Prewitt, a goofy and charming boy that Claudia may just end up developing feelings for.
Let's begin with what I enjoyed about the book: the friendships between the girls were all very sweet, especially between Irene and Claudia because the two of them have such a tense relationship at the start. Irene, in particular, became more of a fleshed-out character as the story progressed as opposed to the caricature of a mean girl at the start. And I liked how Claudia eventually grew to have a close group of friends during her senior year, despite her initial impressions of the school just being made up of spoilt, rich girls.
The flirtation between Gideon and Claudia was also super cute to read about. I've noticed that Emma Mills is consistently great at including a dash of romance in her stories and the central couple is always a pair that you'll want to root for. And it's the exact same case here because I adored Gideon's goofy self, his strange mannerisms and his obvious feelings for Claudia. Gideon was a fun love interest to read about.
However, I do think that there's just something missing in this book. I felt a bit of a disconnect in Foolish Hearts, because I never really felt like I understood Claudia's character. For instance, I didn't get why she was so shy about making friends at her school or why she felt so withdrawn from them. Was it just because of a different society stratum issue? Or because she's a bit more withdrawn by nature?
Also, I think that on Claudia's end, she handled her feelings for Gideon badly.
Spoiler
She's pretty cruel to Gideon when she rejects his feelings and though I can kinda understand that it may be out of fear, I don't understand how he forgives her so quickly as a result.
A solid 4.5/5 for me.
There are many moving pieces and relationships in this book yet it still seems like a lighter read it.
The book looks at high school relationships and how people are not always the way they seem. How we grow and change for me make a meet new friends. It was such a fun read for me that I read it in like 24 hours. I would definitely recommend.
There are many moving pieces and relationships in this book yet it still seems like a lighter read it.
The book looks at high school relationships and how people are not always the way they seem. How we grow and change for me make a meet new friends. It was such a fun read for me that I read it in like 24 hours. I would definitely recommend.
5 stars.
starting off 2024 strong with a 5 star read? we love to see it. anyways emma mills remains the queen of ya contemporary and i’d read her grocery lists, but what else is new.
starting off 2024 strong with a 5 star read? we love to see it. anyways emma mills remains the queen of ya contemporary and i’d read her grocery lists, but what else is new.
emotional
funny
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
22/07/23 reread
had the time to actually sit and comfortably read the story of claudia wallace and gideon prewitt for the second time <3
had the time to actually sit and comfortably read the story of claudia wallace and gideon prewitt for the second time <3
This book!!!!
I haven’t loved any book this hard in such a long time. It took me back to high school and being so deeply into the Bandom, and being in the school musical and aghhhhh!
Plus the gaming aspect and the concert and, my BTS loving soul was well fed
I haven’t loved any book this hard in such a long time. It took me back to high school and being so deeply into the Bandom, and being in the school musical and aghhhhh!
Plus the gaming aspect and the concert and, my BTS loving soul was well fed
Friendship! Such squishy, wonderful, beautiful friendships. I loved it. Will read again.
