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3.14 AVERAGE
3.14 AVERAGE
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i really didn’t like the main character and how she talked about the minorities idk it seemed off. the only thing going for this book was how easy it was to read. like it literally took me two hours and also the beach vibes. idk. i expected more from this book but it’s not bad. it was just very average but i enjoyed reading it. but i wish the plot twist occurred later in the book. and also the relationship had a weird age gap.
I really wanted to like this book, but dear lord the characters are so unlikable. The main character. Colette is so bland, she might as well be white toast bread. She's grating every step of the way, and considering we see the book through her eyes (and mind) it's intolerable. The best friend, Sadie, is at best problematic (not a bad thing if properly examined), an at worst a step away from a manipulative psycho.
The plot is paper-thin, and while that wouldn't be a problem with strong characters...these characters are far from strong, and definitely cannot carry the book by themselves. The only reason that I finished the book (aside from boredom and slight hate-reading) was the secret that Sadie was keeping (apparently the reason the two girls stopped talking) and how that impacted Colette's mother. I obviously won't spoil the whole thing, but let's just say that while horrible, the whole thing felt short because of the execution.
Needless to say I didn't really like this book, but if you like romance and the summary caught your interest, be sure to read a short sample first. If it doesn't turn you off, then knock yourself out.
The plot is paper-thin, and while that wouldn't be a problem with strong characters...these characters are far from strong, and definitely cannot carry the book by themselves. The only reason that I finished the book (aside from boredom and slight hate-reading) was the secret that Sadie was keeping (apparently the reason the two girls stopped talking) and how that impacted Colette's mother. I obviously won't spoil the whole thing, but let's just say that while horrible, the whole thing felt short because of the execution.
Needless to say I didn't really like this book, but if you like romance and the summary caught your interest, be sure to read a short sample first. If it doesn't turn you off, then knock yourself out.
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-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:
Yes
Amazingly written book on the trials and tribulations of a 21st century friendship. It made me want to travel a little too much for someone who’s a little too broke, but I’ll get over it.
Sort of spoilers, but I really wish I had known this before reading it, and this doesn't go into plot details.
I honestly expected Coley to be bi or queer or something because I felt like there were hints at that all along the way, but I guess I was wrong. Why does she have to be straight and the gay character is the supporting character who helps the straight kid learn how to be a person? It's just exhausting. There were constant reminders that Coley is into boys!!!!! But I thought that was leading into her confusion about Sadie and realizing there is more than gay and straight. Am I expecting too much? This just wasn't what I want out of this genre.
I honestly expected Coley to be bi or queer or something because I felt like there were hints at that all along the way, but I guess I was wrong. Why does she have to be straight and the gay character is the supporting character who helps the straight kid learn how to be a person? It's just exhausting. There were constant reminders that Coley is into boys!!!!! But I thought that was leading into her confusion about Sadie and realizing there is more than gay and straight. Am I expecting too much? This just wasn't what I want out of this genre.
High points were the portrayals of varying beliefs of the characters and the "nobody is 100% right or wrong" mentality that was pulled off quite well. The last 50ish pages are great, though the first half drags, and it's not a short book. More Greece, less attempted suspense, and it would have been 4 stars or higher--as is, it's still a decent vacation read, and it's always nice to see good YA with gsm characters.
Ok so I have pretty mixed feelings about this book. On one hand it was cute and kind of a coming of age story, but otoh.... Idk I didn't like how Sadie was portrayed so negatively because she was insecure about her sexuality and assumed that Colette knew about it all things considered. I also disliked how Sadie's sexuality was used mostly as a gateway for Colette to have character growth. And I disliked how this was really Colette's story instead of Sadie's story. Sadie's lesbianism felt really like it was an accessory to further Collette's narrative. And I disliked how it was made to seem totally weird and overreacting for Sadie to assume that Collette's weirdness about her sexuality was because she was homophobic.
That's not too say that Sadie didn't get her own development, but given that the book is from Collette's perspective it's hard to really picture this book being ABOUT Sadie in the way it's about Colette.
ALSO Collette's mom was unreasonable about a lot of things but honestly, she found out less than 24 hours before Collette was leaving that she was abandoning her commitment to go to Costa Rica with her church to go to Greece with zero explanation, and her mom expecting her to honor her commitment to Costa Rica wasn't unreasonable in the slightest tbh.
That's not too say that Sadie didn't get her own development, but given that the book is from Collette's perspective it's hard to really picture this book being ABOUT Sadie in the way it's about Colette.
ALSO Collette's mom was unreasonable about a lot of things but honestly, she found out less than 24 hours before Collette was leaving that she was abandoning her commitment to go to Costa Rica with her church to go to Greece with zero explanation, and her mom expecting her to honor her commitment to Costa Rica wasn't unreasonable in the slightest tbh.
http://librarianosnark.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-my-best-friend-maybe.html
Well that took an unexpected twist. Still. This book bothered me. It just felt like "blah blah blah."
(edited 02/02/2017 I just saw this quote and it sums up the book perfectly: "The plot in one sentence: Religious straight girl realises lesbians are people too." -- so fucking true.)
So I was completely lied to regarding this book.
I was told that it was a lesbian story.
It is not.
I wasn't told that the main character, who narrates the story is straight and remains straight throughout the entire novel.
Absolutely disappointing in that regard.
The story does have a lesbian character - the "ex-best friend". But we don't find that out until more than half way through the book. While I suspected, as I guess many readers would have, it doesn't matter until we're told, really.
It just irked me a lot.
I just wanted to read a nice, fluffy summer YA female/female romance to warm me on the first day of Winter, but no. I read this and was super disappointed that I went to bed rather angry.
The story itself is okay, of course.
It does drag on in some places that could have easily been cut out and the story still would have carried on properly.
I spent so long wishing that the main character, Collete, would grow a backbone and actually ask the questions she wanted to ask rather than just sitting there and taking the crap from everyone around her.
She eventually did, ish, which was nice.
I'm just too annoyed by the lie I was told in regards to this being a lesbian romance to actually care about the straight characters.
So I was completely lied to regarding this book.
I was told that it was a lesbian story.
It is not.
I wasn't told that the main character, who narrates the story is straight and remains straight throughout the entire novel.
Absolutely disappointing in that regard.
The story does have a lesbian character - the "ex-best friend". But we don't find that out until more than half way through the book. While I suspected, as I guess many readers would have, it doesn't matter until we're told, really.
It just irked me a lot.
I just wanted to read a nice, fluffy summer YA female/female romance to warm me on the first day of Winter, but no. I read this and was super disappointed that I went to bed rather angry.
The story itself is okay, of course.
It does drag on in some places that could have easily been cut out and the story still would have carried on properly.
I spent so long wishing that the main character, Collete, would grow a backbone and actually ask the questions she wanted to ask rather than just sitting there and taking the crap from everyone around her.
She eventually did, ish, which was nice.
I'm just too annoyed by the lie I was told in regards to this being a lesbian romance to actually care about the straight characters.