Reviews

I got a free copy on NetGalley.

This book centers on Ellie, a writer for a popular teen show set in high school. She loves being a writer but doesn’t love her current project and her writing has started suffering. Her boss finds out that she has an upcoming high school reunion and tells her that she needs to go or she won’t get a promotion. She tells her two closest friends and coworkers about this and they create a list of tasks she must complete while there. Her boss finds out and agrees. The last item on the list involves her high school crush Mark. Which leads to the romance.

I liked Mark just fine but Ellie was not my favorite character. She was pretty mean to just about everyone. The whole conflict centered on her being afraid to face reality and just wanting to live in her fantasy. So thinking about dating Mark was fine but actually trying to date him was not. Instead, she would purposely be mean to him. When she was in high school, fine, but as a 28 year old, it felt super immature of her. I also just don’t really see them together. They felt more like friends to me than romantic interests.

I also didn’t love her ex best friend storyline. Roxy was not a great person and the ‘reasoning’ behind that was the fact that her family life was really bad. I hate when books use the bad upbringing as the reason a person is mean, hateful, etc. to everyone around them. There are so many people that have horrible childhoods that are good people. I think I would’ve enjoyed this book more if Roxy had been left behind in the high school flashbacks.

gailalison's review

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2.0

Even though the quality of the writing is fine and it does have a happy ending, I just found this book depressing. None of the characters are very likeable. The main character’s best friend from high school is troubled, but also just a jerk. This was not a fun, light book, even though it feels like that was the intention. The love interest has been broken up from his fiancé for a week, so even though there’s no cheating going on, it still feels icky. This book could have used some really good editing to change the tone of the story as it seemed initially like an interesting premise. Lastly, I found it odd that this book takes place in 2020 (they’re having the 10 year reunion for the class of 2010), but this book is being published in 2023. It would have made more sense to have them be the graduating class of 2013.
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing access to this eARC for my honest opinion!

saradarling's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

mommysnarksalot's review

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

jax_in_the_books's review

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funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

lizziepagereads's review

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2.0

I love the premise of Ellie is Cool Now. I mean, who hasn’t imagined revisiting your high school days and enjoying it with the perspective you’ve gained in the intervening years? And the way the author uses a “reunion checklist” as the plot device to frame the weekend and drive Ellie’s adventures - it’s clever and entertaining. To be clear, I would have preferred her list (that includes make out with the prom king) came from her friends and not her BOSS (ugh), but okay.

There are parts of the book where the execution is so authentic and spot on that I feel like I’m reliving my HS years alongside Ellie. But there are so many other parts that are pure cringe. Like when the male main character stops kissing Ellie to say “you’re a really good kisser” - WHAT?! It’s so high school and these people are supposed to be GROWN UPS!

Other things that rubbed me the wrong way:
Ellie asks herself, seriously considers, if she loves this guy after kissing him ONE time (cringe)
Ellie is so self righteous - and was in high school too - but it’s not presented by the author as a flaw (another cringe)
The MMC broke off his engagement the week that the story takes place and is still living with his ex-finance, but Ellie still goes for it.
Ellie’s boss’s behavior is SO NOT OKAY. On top of the totally inappropriate list he creates that she has to fulfill to get promoted, he goes behind her back and hires her HS crush. He tells everyone else on staff about him (and they all know what happened between him and Ellie) and purposefully keeps it from Ellie. For some reason, everyone thinks it’s a good idea for him to show up in the middle of a team meeting so Ellie can confront her feelings for him at work with everyone watching. This is presented by the author as a cute way to give them a happily ever after. Again, WHAT?!

TL;DR - I love the concept, but Ellie, her love interest, and her boss all have some major cringe, red flag moments that are present as clever, cool, and funny. Would not recommend.

2 stars

Thanks to Netgalley for the gifted copy. My opinions are (obviously) my own.

smalltownbookmom's review

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3.0

Ellie is forced to attend her high school reunion with a list of tasks to complete in order to get the promotion she's been craving to Executive Produce her own show. I thought this was a cute premise and I liked how Ellie got a chance to fix some of the regrets and relationships she had about high school but overall this was a bit too dramatic and just wasn't my thing. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

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