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lydalbano's review
5.0
okay okay okay. lots of thoughts. I’m just gonna list them in no particular order and try not to forget things!
1. my favorite thing about this book was that it was Edie’s story. the romance was great, but it’s a story about Edie and I love the author of that. it’s about college, about her struggle to maintain normalcy despite a disability that many people don’t even validate, her fashion dreams and her work ethic and her drive for Paris against all odds, and her friendships (of which there were plenty so it felt totally real but not so many that you didn’t actually get to know them - the perfect balance). I just loved that it followed every aspect of Edie’s life and as a result I was cheering her on.
2. Hudson is super cute, duh. I like that he was flawed- he did mess up sometimes, and he acted like a normal person and wasn’t perfect but as a result, he was so real and I loved him.
3. the french! ahh! makes me want to take it up again so I can reread and understand more of it! also makes me want to go back to Paris soooo badly. also makes me want to take up fashion design again and learn to sew... okay I’ll stop.
4. umm I’m back to the supporting characters; I don’t even want to call them that. they fleshed the whole thing out so well, from friends to family to school faculty.
5. I loved learning about APD which I was quite unaware of until this author brought it to my attention. also, Melinda Grace writes so casually that this was a really easy read, so what a lovely way to digest new information!
6. that last scene. another reviewer already said “cinematic” and that’s the best word for it. I won’t spoil it, but yeah- let’s just say if anyone ever wants to set that up for me, consider me swooning.
4.
1. my favorite thing about this book was that it was Edie’s story. the romance was great, but it’s a story about Edie and I love the author of that. it’s about college, about her struggle to maintain normalcy despite a disability that many people don’t even validate, her fashion dreams and her work ethic and her drive for Paris against all odds, and her friendships (of which there were plenty so it felt totally real but not so many that you didn’t actually get to know them - the perfect balance). I just loved that it followed every aspect of Edie’s life and as a result I was cheering her on.
2. Hudson is super cute, duh. I like that he was flawed- he did mess up sometimes, and he acted like a normal person and wasn’t perfect but as a result, he was so real and I loved him.
3. the french! ahh! makes me want to take it up again so I can reread and understand more of it! also makes me want to go back to Paris soooo badly. also makes me want to take up fashion design again and learn to sew... okay I’ll stop.
4. umm I’m back to the supporting characters; I don’t even want to call them that. they fleshed the whole thing out so well, from friends to family to school faculty.
5. I loved learning about APD which I was quite unaware of until this author brought it to my attention. also, Melinda Grace writes so casually that this was a really easy read, so what a lovely way to digest new information!
6. that last scene. another reviewer already said “cinematic” and that’s the best word for it. I won’t spoil it, but yeah- let’s just say if anyone ever wants to set that up for me, consider me swooning.
4.
aryawolf's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jprice94's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
jctur2's review
2.0
I was keen to read this book because I'm currently in grad school for educational psychology, and I have a project coming up where I need to write a fictional case study for auditory processing disorder.
After reading a sample on ibooks, I was motivated to make the purchase. As someone with a hearing impairment that had experiences very similar to what Edie described (not being able to tell what people are saying in loud situations, looking at their lips while they speak, trying to connect the dots after the fact to figure out what they'd said instead of what I heard), my interest was piqued.
First the good. Here are some things I liked:
- the celery-stalk joke
- the romantic planetarium date
- some of the one-liners, Ts and As, the exotic dancer
- Edie's single-minded ambition (I appreciate that she has her priorities straight.)
- Edie isn't infallible, she messes up and screws guys around. She's a little bit inconsistent because she's ambivalent.
- Pairing fashion-savvy lady with a fashionably challenged man. I liked that she used him as her muse and fantasised dressing him up.
Now the bad:
I was a bit disappointed with how CAPD was represented in the book, because it seemed (other than needing a mic in class) like Edie's CAPD seemed only to appear when there needed to be a punchline (or an inside joke to be referred to on the cover). There were a lot of situations where I imagine Edie might have had a very hard time understanding people (like the volleyball games).
Also, I'm not so sure people notice you looking at their lips as much as Edie is alluding to.
But I don't have CAPD, so I can only speak, as someone with a similar problem, about how it looks to me. I went to read up on Melinda Grace to see if she has CAPD. I'm interested in knowing if people with CAPD would feel that this book rings true.
As far as the content goes, I did feel Edie's annoyance at Hudson in the beginning of the book was manufactured, like the author wanted to do a hate becomes love trope, but didn't quite pull it off. If Edie is outraged about Hudson "outing" her disability (for me, I'm always telling people upfront I have something so they don't think I'm rude or get frustrated), why is she okay with her friends teasing her about it later in the book? If you're outraged about something as mild as that, surely you'd take offense to someone making fun of your disability later.
In general there was a lot of manufactured dialogue, particularly between the minor characters. I think there were a few members of the posse that only made an appearance once or twice in the book? Not even enough for me to tell the difference between them.
Ehhh... I wasn't feeling it.
After reading a sample on ibooks, I was motivated to make the purchase. As someone with a hearing impairment that had experiences very similar to what Edie described (not being able to tell what people are saying in loud situations, looking at their lips while they speak, trying to connect the dots after the fact to figure out what they'd said instead of what I heard), my interest was piqued.
First the good. Here are some things I liked:
- the celery-stalk joke
- the romantic planetarium date
- some of the one-liners, Ts and As, the exotic dancer
- Edie's single-minded ambition (I appreciate that she has her priorities straight.)
- Edie isn't infallible, she messes up and screws guys around. She's a little bit inconsistent because she's ambivalent.
- Pairing fashion-savvy lady with a fashionably challenged man. I liked that she used him as her muse and fantasised dressing him up.
Now the bad:
I was a bit disappointed with how CAPD was represented in the book, because it seemed (other than needing a mic in class) like Edie's CAPD seemed only to appear when there needed to be a punchline (or an inside joke to be referred to on the cover). There were a lot of situations where I imagine Edie might have had a very hard time understanding people (like the volleyball games).
Also, I'm not so sure people notice you looking at their lips as much as Edie is alluding to.
But I don't have CAPD, so I can only speak, as someone with a similar problem, about how it looks to me. I went to read up on Melinda Grace to see if she has CAPD. I'm interested in knowing if people with CAPD would feel that this book rings true.
As far as the content goes, I did feel Edie's annoyance at Hudson in the beginning of the book was manufactured, like the author wanted to do a hate becomes love trope, but didn't quite pull it off. If Edie is outraged about Hudson "outing" her disability (for me, I'm always telling people upfront I have something so they don't think I'm rude or get frustrated), why is she okay with her friends teasing her about it later in the book? If you're outraged about something as mild as that, surely you'd take offense to someone making fun of your disability later.
In general there was a lot of manufactured dialogue, particularly between the minor characters. I think there were a few members of the posse that only made an appearance once or twice in the book? Not even enough for me to tell the difference between them.
Ehhh... I wasn't feeling it.
misterintensity's review
1.0
Edie has a learning disability which contributes to her difficulties with French 102. When her professor refuses to accommodate her disability, Hudson, a teaching assistant offers to help her. Things get complicated when she starts falling for him. This novel is most effective when it focuses on Edie fighting to find fair accommodations for her Central Auditory Processing Disorder to help her pass French 102. Also her role as the cheering squad for her friends' volleyball team was also a highlight. Unfortunately once the novel starts to focus on her relationship with Hudson it starts to fall apart. Hudson comes across as a person who does not respect someone's boundaries. He spends the first part of the book essentially stalking Edie, making sure he is everywhere she is at. Once they get together every time Edie places a boundary on their relationship he pushes back against it. Grace might intend for all this to be cute but really it is just creepy. The confident, self-reliant Edie of the early chapters is lost once she starts dating Hudson. He's just a toxic, manipulative boyfriend who only wants the relationship on his terms.
There are so many other YA romances that promote healthy, non-toxic relationships, this book is not one of them.
There are so many other YA romances that promote healthy, non-toxic relationships, this book is not one of them.
gabbytriestoread's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
taysreads_'s review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
tuktuk's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
jeniecegoellner's review
3.0
The relationship was cute, but there was no substance. There was no good indication of what life beyond discovering love would really look like. And I felt like our main character really did compromise herself too much. I did like the neurodiversity and how it was handled. Overall it was just a bit of fluff, enjoyable fluff, but fluff nonetheless.