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3.23 AVERAGE
3.23 AVERAGE
I received this as a ARC copy from Netgalley. This book was much heavier than I expected it to be, but I loved every minute of it. This is a great book to adopt into a curriculum because of the issues it deals with. The conflict of the story was very personal for me because I related to the main character, Mare, in many ways. Her character is a character that main young adults would be able to sympathize with and understand. This is a story about finding your voice and finding/learning acceptance. When you are dealing with issues such as religion, I have found, books can be preachy. But, that was not the case with this book. It handled the tough subjects with such care and with a lot of acceptance. This book flew by for me because it was so well written! I was immediately immersed into the world of Mare because of how strong the narrative was and was such a great character study. The reader really got to know her family, friends, school and home environments which were so important for the through line of the story. I will be checking out more books by this author and would recommend this as read for Educators. By the time I finished the book I had felt so many emotions: happiness, sadness, frustration, and anger, it was such a fantastic cathartic read. This is one of those important contemporary stories that everyone needs to pick up!
I love everything Katie Wismer makes and this is no exception. This is reread for me, as I am working on a longer review for it!
I picked up this book after watching Katie on Youtube. I have to say that I overall liked the book. I wish it had gone deeper on a few of the harder-hitting topics instead of covering a lot of hard-hitting topics. I do agree with some of the other reviews that the main character seems younger than 18 in her behavior but I guess I threw that in the "raised in an overly protective religious home". I enjoyed how the romantic relationship was handled and I liked the two main girls' relationships as well. I guess overall I wish the book had just been more, more committed to a focus and maybe a little more adult. I'm glad I read this book and plan to read the next one as well.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Lesbophobia, Outing
I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley.
My favorite thing about this book was that it was definitely a binge-able read. I was hooked the whole time and wanted to find out what was going to happen next. I thought the author did a good job of weaving together the multiple conflicts in Meredith's life into one cohesive storyline and making the character believable.
Meredith's relationship and friendships were wholesome, her family life hard to swallow and a great overarching conflict that led to so many other conflicts, and her high school drama, albeit over the top at times, made the story much more interesting and relatable. I felt like I was watching an early 2000s young adult chick-flick mixed with heist film the whole time because of the wealthy best friend, the over-the-top bullying, and the suspense of the dog fight scene.
I really don't have too many criticisms of this novel because I think it did a great job at what I believe the author was trying to do and with the messages she was trying to get across. I thought the first 1/3 of the book was a bit slow because the anti-virginity pact didn't seem to be playing much of a role in the plot yet, and I would have liked to hear a bit more about Johanna's efforts to sleep with Mr. Graham.
Overall, though, I thought this was a fun read while sometimes also dark and gripping. Would definitely read more of Katie's work in the future.
My favorite thing about this book was that it was definitely a binge-able read. I was hooked the whole time and wanted to find out what was going to happen next. I thought the author did a good job of weaving together the multiple conflicts in Meredith's life into one cohesive storyline and making the character believable.
Meredith's relationship and friendships were wholesome, her family life hard to swallow and a great overarching conflict that led to so many other conflicts, and her high school drama, albeit over the top at times, made the story much more interesting and relatable. I felt like I was watching an early 2000s young adult chick-flick mixed with heist film the whole time because of the wealthy best friend, the over-the-top bullying, and the suspense of the dog fight scene.
I really don't have too many criticisms of this novel because I think it did a great job at what I believe the author was trying to do and with the messages she was trying to get across. I thought the first 1/3 of the book was a bit slow because the anti-virginity pact didn't seem to be playing much of a role in the plot yet, and I would have liked to hear a bit more about Johanna's efforts to sleep with Mr. Graham.
Overall, though, I thought this was a fun read while sometimes also dark and gripping. Would definitely read more of Katie's work in the future.
I'd like to start off by saying thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Okay so, I really wanted to like this book but there were just so many things that caused me to not enjoy it. I felt that topics were crammed together and it left them underdeveloped. The dogfighting side plot seemed out of place in this book and I was confused as to why it was even in it in the first place. The main villain in this book comes back and all of sudden wants to help? By the end of the book, I was left with a few questions.
Okay so, I really wanted to like this book but there were just so many things that caused me to not enjoy it. I felt that topics were crammed together and it left them underdeveloped. The dogfighting side plot seemed out of place in this book and I was confused as to why it was even in it in the first place. The main villain in this book comes back and all of sudden wants to help? By the end of the book, I was left with a few questions.
Really good novel debut! There were definitely a few times my eyebrows rose in a “Damn, okay, this is wild,” way. This was a palette cleanser for me between all the fantasy books I read, and it did not disappoint. Though, I was a little disappointed that Mare and Sam didn’t work things out, even though I know that wasn’t really the point of the book.
This book was so much more and *better* than how the title makes it sound. I read it in one sitting, staying up until 3am because I just couldn't put it down!
This book deals with topics of bullying, religion, sexual assault, animal abuse, anxiety, homophobia, and trauma. You'd think this would be too much packed into one story - but it really worked to create a cohesive, fast-paced, and relatable story.
I think part of why I loved this book is because the MC felt so real and I could relate to her on a few levels. Her character ARC was both dramatic and natural, which was so thrilling to read about.
I'm 100% picking up the next novel Katie writes (whatever it ends up being).
This book deals with topics of bullying, religion, sexual assault, animal abuse, anxiety, homophobia, and trauma. You'd think this would be too much packed into one story - but it really worked to create a cohesive, fast-paced, and relatable story.
I think part of why I loved this book is because the MC felt so real and I could relate to her on a few levels. Her character ARC was both dramatic and natural, which was so thrilling to read about.
I'm 100% picking up the next novel Katie writes (whatever it ends up being).
I really liked this book and I can't wait to read the next one! Also, nice to see an animal shelter in a story!