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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
Kasie West never fails to draw me into her teenage romances. West develops characters in a way that makes the reader feel as though they’re right there beside them, living the story. I found myself loving both sides of the school bully, Cade. As the story developed, and characters got closer, I found myself struggling to put the book down. Now before I continue to hype this book up it is true that the beginning does drag. After you are 75-100 pages in, you’re in for good. There’s no turning back until you find the mysterious writer of the chemistry class love notes.
This was a cute book! the beginning was slow and dragged for a little bit. Some parts were unnecessary but it picked up towards the middle. I can relate to Lily alot because I to, have a big family and canceling last minute was something I could relate to. Obviously I didn't care for Cade in the beginning but through the letters, he became cuter! There were some really cute moments and hilarious moments where I found myself laughing out loud. It's cheesy but what can I say, I can handle cheesy sometimes :)
Quick and easy read, a book I really would have enjoyed as a middle schooler or early teen but definitely not as great as it could’ve been
Please note that I gave this book 3.5 stars and rounded it up to 4 stars on Goodreads.
So all in all I really liked this book. It was cute, and was a great little homage to You've Got Mail, which was a great homage to The Shop Around the Corner. I read this for Romance Bingo 2017 and this fits my Young Adult square.
Told in the first person, we have Lily, a teenage girl who has a chaotic (but loving) home life, and only has one best friend. Lily plays guitar and tries her hand at writing lyrics, but mostly she keeps to herself while clashing with her best friend's ex-boyfriend who treated her badly. After writing song lyrics on her Chemistry desk, she comes back the next day to see that someone has written the next line on the desk, and from there she starts exchanging notes with an unknown boy at her school who she finds gets her, and she really gets.
I liked Lily cause God knows I grew up in a family where I could not get five minutes of myself alone. She's a loner, but has her best friend who she loves and who is always there to cheerlead her on. Lily is a hipster I would say, but an unaware one based on what everyone else says to her. She loves music, indie rock mostly it appears. And she has a guitar and is trying her hand at writing lyrics. When a song writing contest opens up to Lily, she finds herself blocked for a bit until she and her mysterious pen pal start trading back notes to each other. Based on the things he tells her, Lily finds herself writing about the things he makes her feel, but also about his loneliness.
What I thought was smart was that West allows us as readers to see the back and forth between Lily and her mysterious pen pal. You can see why she's falling for this guy (whoever he is) and you see how vulnerable both of them are being while revealing things about themselves. I did laugh at bit here and there though, cause I cannot imagine a teen boy (even if he was anonymous) discussing some of the personal stuff that Lily and him discussed.
I do have to say that some of the secondary characters could have been built up a bit. Lily's best friend (I ashamed I forget her name) was not really there except to be her wise friend and be totally understanding at all times. It pretty much comes out repeatedly that Lily's friend broke up with her ex because he and Lily could not get along. Then there is a complete re-write to the whole thing and just made me roll my eyes.
The mean girl was so one dimensional and "evil" it just made me shake my head. Has high school gotten worse? I can't imagine people like this at all. We had some bullies at school when I was growing up, but thank God the teachers/principal didn't put up with it and made sure those people were suspended and dealt with. Heck two boys I went to school with were flat out expelled for what they were doing to people in class.
The pen pal didn't take long for me to figure out at all. You watch "You've Got Mail" and you can pretty much figure out who it is. What I did like is watching Lily having to cope with finding out who the guy is that she fell in love with via notes.
All the feels. I love Tom Hanks. That is all.
I liked the writing. Lily's family scenes were freaking hilarious at times. The pacing moved okay too, though the end felt rushed as anything. There is a big incident at school and then it felt like it got resolved ten seconds later.
The ending didn't stick the landing though. I would have liked to see what happened with Lily and the song writing contest she entered. Having an epilogue that said six months later would have worked wonders.
So all in all I really liked this book. It was cute, and was a great little homage to You've Got Mail, which was a great homage to The Shop Around the Corner. I read this for Romance Bingo 2017 and this fits my Young Adult square.
Told in the first person, we have Lily, a teenage girl who has a chaotic (but loving) home life, and only has one best friend. Lily plays guitar and tries her hand at writing lyrics, but mostly she keeps to herself while clashing with her best friend's ex-boyfriend who treated her badly. After writing song lyrics on her Chemistry desk, she comes back the next day to see that someone has written the next line on the desk, and from there she starts exchanging notes with an unknown boy at her school who she finds gets her, and she really gets.
I liked Lily cause God knows I grew up in a family where I could not get five minutes of myself alone. She's a loner, but has her best friend who she loves and who is always there to cheerlead her on. Lily is a hipster I would say, but an unaware one based on what everyone else says to her. She loves music, indie rock mostly it appears. And she has a guitar and is trying her hand at writing lyrics. When a song writing contest opens up to Lily, she finds herself blocked for a bit until she and her mysterious pen pal start trading back notes to each other. Based on the things he tells her, Lily finds herself writing about the things he makes her feel, but also about his loneliness.
What I thought was smart was that West allows us as readers to see the back and forth between Lily and her mysterious pen pal. You can see why she's falling for this guy (whoever he is) and you see how vulnerable both of them are being while revealing things about themselves. I did laugh at bit here and there though, cause I cannot imagine a teen boy (even if he was anonymous) discussing some of the personal stuff that Lily and him discussed.
I do have to say that some of the secondary characters could have been built up a bit. Lily's best friend (I ashamed I forget her name) was not really there except to be her wise friend and be totally understanding at all times. It pretty much comes out repeatedly that Lily's friend broke up with her ex because he and Lily could not get along. Then there is a complete re-write to the whole thing and just made me roll my eyes.
The mean girl was so one dimensional and "evil" it just made me shake my head. Has high school gotten worse? I can't imagine people like this at all. We had some bullies at school when I was growing up, but thank God the teachers/principal didn't put up with it and made sure those people were suspended and dealt with. Heck two boys I went to school with were flat out expelled for what they were doing to people in class.
The pen pal didn't take long for me to figure out at all. You watch "You've Got Mail" and you can pretty much figure out who it is. What I did like is watching Lily having to cope with finding out who the guy is that she fell in love with via notes.
All the feels. I love Tom Hanks. That is all.
I liked the writing. Lily's family scenes were freaking hilarious at times. The pacing moved okay too, though the end felt rushed as anything. There is a big incident at school and then it felt like it got resolved ten seconds later.
The ending didn't stick the landing though. I would have liked to see what happened with Lily and the song writing contest she entered. Having an epilogue that said six months later would have worked wonders.
P.S. I loved you.
This book was so cute, it was such an easy and fun read. The characters are so easy to relate to and the romance is there, but not thrown at your face. Cade and Lily were awesome!
So recommend this book if you are looking for a fun not over dramatic story.
This book was so cute, it was such an easy and fun read. The characters are so easy to relate to and the romance is there, but not thrown at your face. Cade and Lily were awesome!
So recommend this book if you are looking for a fun not over dramatic story.
Review link: https://booknerdmomo.wordpress.com/2016/10/13/review-p-s-i-like-you-by-kasie-west/
Thank you to SocialBookCo for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
"Letters were safe. They were words, easy to read if enjoyable and stop reading if hurtful."
I have read so many rave reviews for Kasie West’s books – P.S. I Like You especially. So, when I was offered the chance to review this I jumped on it straight away. Let me tell you, all of those rave reviews were spot on and well deserved.
In this book, we’re following the story of Lily, a girl who is socially awkward (especially when it comes to boys), quirky, and has the perfect (though sometimes misunderstood) sarcastic sense of humor. One day while in Chemistry, she is caught by her teacher writing song lyrics in a notebook rather than paying attention. Because who didn’t dislike Chemistry in high school? It leads to her being banned from having anything in class except for one sheet of paper and something to write with. To spare herself from boredom she writes song lyrics from her favorite band on her desk. What does she find the next day? That someone has replied to those lyrics with the next few lines. Lily finds not only someone she has things in common with but someone who opens up to her and she feels she can open up to. Thus, a beautiful friendship with a mysterious pen pal begins in the form of desk notes and later physical notes that they hide under the desk. Who is the mysterious pen pal? You’ll have to read to find out.
“Shut up,” I said.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Your face did.”
“Really? And what did my face say?”
“You know what your face said.”
P.S. I Like You is hilarious, fluffy, and heartwarming albeit a bit cliché at times. It’s your typical YA high school romance, it even has the typical mean girl side plot, but it doesn’t ever actually feel typical. I adored this book so much that I literally spent the whole day reading because I couldn’t put it down, I didn’t want to put it down. I was invested in the main character and her story and that is when you know a book is good.
“You thought my awkwardness was from preconceived plans to be awkward?”
“Yes, actually”
I laughed. “Well now you know the truth.”
I automatically loved Lily, she was such a relatable character. There is this part where she runs into the guy she has a crush on and completely freezes up to the point of becoming mute. That was me in high school. She is an awkward character who also more often than not finds herself blabbing things uncontrollably because of the simple fact that she is nervous. Who can’t relate to situations like that? At the same time, she is also a character who doesn’t care what anyone else thinks of her and I loved that. I enjoyed her quirky sense of style, her love of music, and her sarcastic sense of humor.
I also really loved her friendship with Isabel. No, it wasn’t perfect. But ultimately I loved the fact that they were there for each other no matter what and that they put their friendship above boys.
Another thing I really enjoyed was the family dynamic woven into this book. Lily has a big and loud family. She has three other siblings - an older sister and two younger brothers. One of those siblings, her older sister, she shares a room with. As you can imagine, there is not a dull moment at Lily’s house and sometimes she gets very overwhelmed by all of the craziness. However, she loves her family to bits even when they make her mad. I adored her parents and how much they embarrassed her. In fact, I think her family was one of my favorite things about this book. I love how Kasie West really brought in the family element that I feel isn’t always present in YA contemporary.
You might be wondering about the mysterious pen pal. I don’t want to give too much away because I want anyone who reads this to have the joy and excitement I felt over trying to figure it out. However, we’re introduced to three possible “suspects”:
Cade, a boy who Lily has known for a while that she considers her enemy for the fact that he gave her a terrible nickname and acts like a complete jerk.
David, a boy who Lily's friend tries repeatedly to set her up with because she feels they have something in common since he is in the school’s band and awkward like her.
Lucas, a boy Lily has had a crush on for the longest time who could be considered the typical rocker boy we all had crushes on in school.
Yes, there is multiple possible love interest in this but don’t let that deter you because Kasie West does this in such a way that it doesn’t ever feel like a bad thing. You’re so involved in the mystery of who her pen pal could be that you want to figure it out through her interactions with each boy.
“My family ignores me, yours is too present. Maybe we can get them all together and somehow they will balance each other out. Maybe we would balance each other out…”
Another thing that was probably my favorite aspect of this book were the letters between Lily and her pen pal. It was beautiful how something so simple grew into something deeper that had each character confiding in each other in a way that they couldn’t with anyone else. It drove home the point that you never really know someone until you know them (If that makes any sense).
And I can stress it enough how adorable this book was. I found myself fangirling so often because I couldn’t get over it! I know I’ve overused the word love in this review but I honestly loved this book. There isn’t a better way to say it.
“It surprised me when his cheeks turned a light shade of pink. I wasn’t sure why that embarrassed him in any way. I was positive he already knew it. He ran one hand through his hair. Then he said, almost too quiet for me to hear, “You’re not every girl.”
Kasie West’s writing is also extremely engaging and witty and probably a big reason why I couldn’t put this book down. I adored her writing and the way she handled the character development. P.S. I Like You was a great introduction to her books for me and I definitely plan on picking up more of them.
This book is perfect for anyone that is looking for a light and fast-paced YA contemporary with a cute romance. I highly recommend it!
Thank you to SocialBookCo for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
"Letters were safe. They were words, easy to read if enjoyable and stop reading if hurtful."
I have read so many rave reviews for Kasie West’s books – P.S. I Like You especially. So, when I was offered the chance to review this I jumped on it straight away. Let me tell you, all of those rave reviews were spot on and well deserved.
In this book, we’re following the story of Lily, a girl who is socially awkward (especially when it comes to boys), quirky, and has the perfect (though sometimes misunderstood) sarcastic sense of humor. One day while in Chemistry, she is caught by her teacher writing song lyrics in a notebook rather than paying attention. Because who didn’t dislike Chemistry in high school? It leads to her being banned from having anything in class except for one sheet of paper and something to write with. To spare herself from boredom she writes song lyrics from her favorite band on her desk. What does she find the next day? That someone has replied to those lyrics with the next few lines. Lily finds not only someone she has things in common with but someone who opens up to her and she feels she can open up to. Thus, a beautiful friendship with a mysterious pen pal begins in the form of desk notes and later physical notes that they hide under the desk. Who is the mysterious pen pal? You’ll have to read to find out.
“Shut up,” I said.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Your face did.”
“Really? And what did my face say?”
“You know what your face said.”
P.S. I Like You is hilarious, fluffy, and heartwarming albeit a bit cliché at times. It’s your typical YA high school romance, it even has the typical mean girl side plot, but it doesn’t ever actually feel typical. I adored this book so much that I literally spent the whole day reading because I couldn’t put it down, I didn’t want to put it down. I was invested in the main character and her story and that is when you know a book is good.
“You thought my awkwardness was from preconceived plans to be awkward?”
“Yes, actually”
I laughed. “Well now you know the truth.”
I automatically loved Lily, she was such a relatable character. There is this part where she runs into the guy she has a crush on and completely freezes up to the point of becoming mute. That was me in high school. She is an awkward character who also more often than not finds herself blabbing things uncontrollably because of the simple fact that she is nervous. Who can’t relate to situations like that? At the same time, she is also a character who doesn’t care what anyone else thinks of her and I loved that. I enjoyed her quirky sense of style, her love of music, and her sarcastic sense of humor.
I also really loved her friendship with Isabel. No, it wasn’t perfect. But ultimately I loved the fact that they were there for each other no matter what and that they put their friendship above boys.
Another thing I really enjoyed was the family dynamic woven into this book. Lily has a big and loud family. She has three other siblings - an older sister and two younger brothers. One of those siblings, her older sister, she shares a room with. As you can imagine, there is not a dull moment at Lily’s house and sometimes she gets very overwhelmed by all of the craziness. However, she loves her family to bits even when they make her mad. I adored her parents and how much they embarrassed her. In fact, I think her family was one of my favorite things about this book. I love how Kasie West really brought in the family element that I feel isn’t always present in YA contemporary.
You might be wondering about the mysterious pen pal. I don’t want to give too much away because I want anyone who reads this to have the joy and excitement I felt over trying to figure it out. However, we’re introduced to three possible “suspects”:
Cade, a boy who Lily has known for a while that she considers her enemy for the fact that he gave her a terrible nickname and acts like a complete jerk.
David, a boy who Lily's friend tries repeatedly to set her up with because she feels they have something in common since he is in the school’s band and awkward like her.
Lucas, a boy Lily has had a crush on for the longest time who could be considered the typical rocker boy we all had crushes on in school.
Yes, there is multiple possible love interest in this but don’t let that deter you because Kasie West does this in such a way that it doesn’t ever feel like a bad thing. You’re so involved in the mystery of who her pen pal could be that you want to figure it out through her interactions with each boy.
“My family ignores me, yours is too present. Maybe we can get them all together and somehow they will balance each other out. Maybe we would balance each other out…”
Another thing that was probably my favorite aspect of this book were the letters between Lily and her pen pal. It was beautiful how something so simple grew into something deeper that had each character confiding in each other in a way that they couldn’t with anyone else. It drove home the point that you never really know someone until you know them (If that makes any sense).
And I can stress it enough how adorable this book was. I found myself fangirling so often because I couldn’t get over it! I know I’ve overused the word love in this review but I honestly loved this book. There isn’t a better way to say it.
“It surprised me when his cheeks turned a light shade of pink. I wasn’t sure why that embarrassed him in any way. I was positive he already knew it. He ran one hand through his hair. Then he said, almost too quiet for me to hear, “You’re not every girl.”
Kasie West’s writing is also extremely engaging and witty and probably a big reason why I couldn’t put this book down. I adored her writing and the way she handled the character development. P.S. I Like You was a great introduction to her books for me and I definitely plan on picking up more of them.
This book is perfect for anyone that is looking for a light and fast-paced YA contemporary with a cute romance. I highly recommend it!
4.5 stars. This was great! The notes between Cade and Lily were really cute, and I always enjoy the You’ve Got Mail set-up of 2 people hating each other in real life (Well, I guess more like 1 person, since Cade appeared to be into Lily even when he was dating her friend and never actually hated her. But still. ) and accidentally falling for each other via letters/emails/etc. And I’m also always into enemies to lovers. My biggest complaint was that it ended up kind of abruptly (we didn’t even get to know if her song won the contest!), but overall this was just really lovely!
Spoiler
I also definitely didn’t think Cade had figured out he was writing to Lily (I assumed, like she did, that he thought it was Sasha when he had visited her class) so it was a nice surprise to find out how long he had known.
Another fantastic book from this author. It reminded me of a YA version of "You Got Mail."
Lily was a free spirit, into indie music, writing her own music and lyrics, but not showing them to anyone.
Bored out of her mind in Chemistry class, she doodles a line from one of her favorite obscure songs. Next day the next line appears underneath hers, and there starts a relationship told in letters hidden under the desk.
Soon they are revealing things to each other they've never told anyone else. They give each other supportive advice about issues in the other one's life. They become important to each other.
I loved Lily and her honesty and free spirit. She had a strength about her that really shined. The possible other letter writers were interesting, but I could help but root for one of them.
Supporting Lily was Isabel, best friend extraordinaire, and Lily's unique family, all who were fun, crazy and lovely.
I appreciated the time spent with Lily and her letter writer after the big reveals. Because of that, I know they both are in good places.
Lily was a free spirit, into indie music, writing her own music and lyrics, but not showing them to anyone.
Bored out of her mind in Chemistry class, she doodles a line from one of her favorite obscure songs. Next day the next line appears underneath hers, and there starts a relationship told in letters hidden under the desk.
Soon they are revealing things to each other they've never told anyone else. They give each other supportive advice about issues in the other one's life. They become important to each other.
I loved Lily and her honesty and free spirit. She had a strength about her that really shined. The possible other letter writers were interesting, but I could help but root for one of them.
Supporting Lily was Isabel, best friend extraordinaire, and Lily's unique family, all who were fun, crazy and lovely.
I appreciated the time spent with Lily and her letter writer after the big reveals. Because of that, I know they both are in good places.