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emiann2023's review
2.0
DNF.
Okay, so, I read a short story of Rahul's in A Thousand Beginnings and Endings (an anthology) and I really liked it, so I wanted to check out more of his work.
This book was...I don't know? Not for me, obviously. But also, I just couldn't sympathize with our MC. She was high-strung to the point of mental disorders. She was cruel and awful and shallow and...I just didn't care. Plus, there was a love triangle. No thanks.
Okay, so, I read a short story of Rahul's in A Thousand Beginnings and Endings (an anthology) and I really liked it, so I wanted to check out more of his work.
This book was...I don't know? Not for me, obviously. But also, I just couldn't sympathize with our MC. She was high-strung to the point of mental disorders. She was cruel and awful and shallow and...I just didn't care. Plus, there was a love triangle. No thanks.
dlberglund's review
4.0
This was a really interesting novel of a diary that poses as a novel. Very meta, all in all. As if having a teen-ager write a diary posing as a novel ( and just to look good on her college apps, not because she wants to be a writer or get into an MFA program) isn't enough, Reshma has a therapist who is an aspiring novelist. Dr. Wasserman frequently injects levity, metaphor, and writing lessons to our narrator.
From the onset, Reshma tells us that she isn't very likeable, and she's not. But she's honest, and unwaveringly self-serving. I don't even love to hate her, as the adage should go; I respect her single mindedness while simultaneously being glad she's not actually in my life.
While I understand that this all seems to be inspired by a "memoir" of a few years ago, I was unaware of that (I guess I slept through 2007?), and took this book on its own.
From the onset, Reshma tells us that she isn't very likeable, and she's not. But she's honest, and unwaveringly self-serving. I don't even love to hate her, as the adage should go; I respect her single mindedness while simultaneously being glad she's not actually in my life.
While I understand that this all seems to be inspired by a "memoir" of a few years ago, I was unaware of that (I guess I slept through 2007?), and took this book on its own.
emtheauthor's review
4.0
I’m your protagonist—Reshma Kapoor—and if you have the free time to read this book, then you’re probably nothing like me
Reshma Kapoor has one goal (well, actually two goals): get into Stanford, and be the best. No matter the consequences and no matter the cost, she will be the best and she will beat everyone. She has been, for practically her entire high school career, despite the competitive school she goes to. But with incredible planning, hard work, and merciless threats, she has managed to stay on top. She'll be valedictorian, be the top of her class, and have all of her extra writing and awards to put on her Stanford application. She just needs a hook—something to separate her completely from the other applicants. And that hook comes when a literary agent emails to praise Reshma's Huffington Post article and says that if she ever writes anything else then to let her know.
Reshma sees her hook and she takes it. She lies and says she's working on a YA novel. The agent is thrilled and asks to work with her on it, so now Reshma has about twenty-seven days to write a novel. She makes a list of things she needs to do (make a friend, go to a party, get a boyfriend, etc) that 'normal' teens do that she hasn't wasted her precious time on. If she does all that and writes it down, she'll have her novel and her ticket into Stanford.
Easy, right? Reshma seems to think so. And in Enter Title Here we get the unedited draft of her novel—the novel she's basing on her experiences—and it creates a book unlike any I have ever read before.
First thing to mention is the style. I've read several books where the main character is actually writing it, whether in letter, novel, journal, or other written form, but I've never found anything quite like this. Reshma practically writes stream of consciousness except for the encounters she writes out like scenes, claiming that when she goes back through for edits—to make it 'pretty'—she'll delete all of her ramblings and ideas and turn it into a coherent novel. But for now, it's just a peek inside her savage mind via a Word doc, and wow...it's intense. She puts the word 'overachiever' to shame. And it's absolutely fascinating to watch how she perceives the world and how she approaches problems and other people, because it is nothing like anyone I've ever met, but we get a front row seat in her show. I loved trying to figure out how much of what she deduced from a person or situation was real and how much it got twisted in her narrative to fit the story she was telling.
Reshma is a brutal narrator. And kind of a brutal person. She's not really redeemable or even all that likable as a character, much less a protagonist, which is a direct contrast from about 99.9% of our YA heroines today (or at least what they try to be). She's blunt, driven, stubborn, cutthroat, and will do absolutely whatever it takes to achieve what she wants. It's kind of scary, honestly, which is a big reason why she has no friends. She isn't out to make friends. She's out to win. I'd like to say she has qualities that make her redeemable, but it's not like that. It wasn't like 'oh she's kind of a terrible person but she tries so I'll root for her anyways.' I don't like Reshma and I don't really root for her—maybe kind of respected her drive?—but somehow I couldn't put the book down and was kinda hoping everything worked out. I just had to know what would happen, how far she would take it. And she takes it dang far. Holy crap. This girl is borderline a monster. But there are hints of times when a hurting girl peeks out underneath the monster, even if Reshma herself doesn't realize it, and the contrast and psychology of her makes for a really compelling story.
The cast of characters are also diverse and add depth to Reshma's story, especially since we only get to see them through Reshma's eyes (which explains why the nicest girl was always portrayed as fake and venomous, and the therapist as spineless and supremely useless). I especially loved the dynamic between her and her parents—so complex and real—her 'fake friendship for the book but maybe kinda real friendship for life' with Alex, and her romantic endeavors with the boys she finds for her novel (but maybe for more, Reshma isn't sure because she's never had time to make relationships, let alone care about someone other than herself). The people all make her fight harder as well as question herself to the point of near self-destruction, and it's painful to watch at parts but I just couldn't stop.
And Reshma can't stop either. Her drive to end up on top is terrifying as it is oddly respectable, and it takes her places she never considered going before. I'd like to say that she gets her grand character arc where she realizes everything she's done wrong and sees the truth of life, and turns everything around...but that's not what happens. Reshma's story breaks all the rules, and I think that's what makes me love it most.
It's real, honest, and raw, and I enjoyed the refreshing angle of someone falling from greatness into madness without much redemption, and having to learn to settle with mediocrity.
Rated 4.3/5 for Reshma's style, voice, and story, and for daring to be different
Reshma Kapoor has one goal (well, actually two goals): get into Stanford, and be the best. No matter the consequences and no matter the cost, she will be the best and she will beat everyone. She has been, for practically her entire high school career, despite the competitive school she goes to. But with incredible planning, hard work, and merciless threats, she has managed to stay on top. She'll be valedictorian, be the top of her class, and have all of her extra writing and awards to put on her Stanford application. She just needs a hook—something to separate her completely from the other applicants. And that hook comes when a literary agent emails to praise Reshma's Huffington Post article and says that if she ever writes anything else then to let her know.
Reshma sees her hook and she takes it. She lies and says she's working on a YA novel. The agent is thrilled and asks to work with her on it, so now Reshma has about twenty-seven days to write a novel. She makes a list of things she needs to do (make a friend, go to a party, get a boyfriend, etc) that 'normal' teens do that she hasn't wasted her precious time on. If she does all that and writes it down, she'll have her novel and her ticket into Stanford.
Easy, right? Reshma seems to think so. And in Enter Title Here we get the unedited draft of her novel—the novel she's basing on her experiences—and it creates a book unlike any I have ever read before.
First thing to mention is the style. I've read several books where the main character is actually writing it, whether in letter, novel, journal, or other written form, but I've never found anything quite like this. Reshma practically writes stream of consciousness except for the encounters she writes out like scenes, claiming that when she goes back through for edits—to make it 'pretty'—she'll delete all of her ramblings and ideas and turn it into a coherent novel. But for now, it's just a peek inside her savage mind via a Word doc, and wow...it's intense. She puts the word 'overachiever' to shame. And it's absolutely fascinating to watch how she perceives the world and how she approaches problems and other people, because it is nothing like anyone I've ever met, but we get a front row seat in her show. I loved trying to figure out how much of what she deduced from a person or situation was real and how much it got twisted in her narrative to fit the story she was telling.
Reshma is a brutal narrator. And kind of a brutal person. She's not really redeemable or even all that likable as a character, much less a protagonist, which is a direct contrast from about 99.9% of our YA heroines today (or at least what they try to be). She's blunt, driven, stubborn, cutthroat, and will do absolutely whatever it takes to achieve what she wants. It's kind of scary, honestly, which is a big reason why she has no friends. She isn't out to make friends. She's out to win. I'd like to say she has qualities that make her redeemable, but it's not like that. It wasn't like 'oh she's kind of a terrible person but she tries so I'll root for her anyways.' I don't like Reshma and I don't really root for her—maybe kind of respected her drive?—but somehow I couldn't put the book down and was kinda hoping everything worked out. I just had to know what would happen, how far she would take it. And she takes it dang far. Holy crap. This girl is borderline a monster. But there are hints of times when a hurting girl peeks out underneath the monster, even if Reshma herself doesn't realize it, and the contrast and psychology of her makes for a really compelling story.
The cast of characters are also diverse and add depth to Reshma's story, especially since we only get to see them through Reshma's eyes (which explains why the nicest girl was always portrayed as fake and venomous, and the therapist as spineless and supremely useless). I especially loved the dynamic between her and her parents—so complex and real—her 'fake friendship for the book but maybe kinda real friendship for life' with Alex, and her romantic endeavors with the boys she finds for her novel (but maybe for more, Reshma isn't sure because she's never had time to make relationships, let alone care about someone other than herself). The people all make her fight harder as well as question herself to the point of near self-destruction, and it's painful to watch at parts but I just couldn't stop.
And Reshma can't stop either. Her drive to end up on top is terrifying as it is oddly respectable, and it takes her places she never considered going before. I'd like to say that she gets her grand character arc where she realizes everything she's done wrong and sees the truth of life, and turns everything around...but that's not what happens. Reshma's story breaks all the rules, and I think that's what makes me love it most.
It's real, honest, and raw, and I enjoyed the refreshing angle of someone falling from greatness into madness without much redemption, and having to learn to settle with mediocrity.
Rated 4.3/5 for Reshma's style, voice, and story, and for daring to be different
sophia_readrebelliously's review against another edition
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
storytimed's review
4.0
Ugh, so good. Loooove the shitty high school supervillain overachiever protagonist. Plot got a little convoluted towards the end, spinning its wheels with no real direction, and even though that's realistic I would've preferred a slightly more streamlined narrative. However Reshma rules 100%. Love her.
resslesa's review
4.0
I enjoyed the arc of an unlikable narrator into one who becomes more self-aware and also more forgiving of herself and others. Definitely the story of a perfectionist brought down and then brought up again.
ruleone's review
1.0
Pretentious book with a main character I wanted to physically bitch slap for many reasons. Couldn't even finish the book.
pikasqueaks's review
I read this book because everyone told me I would hate this book.
I did not hate this book, but I also didn't think it was particularly memorable enough to hate. It was entertaining, but didn't leave me feeling anything. I think I'm Not Your Manic Pixie Dreamgirl was a more entertaining version of this type of story.
I did not hate this book, but I also didn't think it was particularly memorable enough to hate. It was entertaining, but didn't leave me feeling anything. I think I'm Not Your Manic Pixie Dreamgirl was a more entertaining version of this type of story.
ckcolet's review
5.0
If you are an incoming freshman in college, this book is a must read. This book made me realize that you should think about the goals you set for yourself and evaluate if they are worth pursuing.
bayy245's review
1.0
I can't do it. I DNfed at 10%. She's so awful and soulless. She's really annoying and all she cares about is getting into Stanford. She looks down upon everyone else who doesn't solely focus on school work. I was in the top ten percent at my high school. I know how this works. There's no way you don't have at least one friend. Like come on. She really didn't have a soul. Like she was kind of a robot and she only did things to get ahead. She was rude to her mom and she was just flat. Like why was she going to all these lengths to write her novel in 27 days just to get into Stanford? Spoiler alert there's other Ivy Leagues. You're not entitled to Stanford because you say so. Ugh. So bad.