You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was interested in this as soon as I read that it revolved around a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream so was thrilled to get a got from OwlCrate in December. It did not disappoint. I loved Claudia as a MC. I enjoyed the various relationships around her and seeing how they developed and changed over the course of the book. Especially her friendship with Iris. I loved the elements of fandom thrown in-playing Battle Quest and fangirling over boy band TION. It all seemed very real and relatable to me and very fun to read.
This was a pretty cute book and also had absolutely no substance :P. Hannah compared it to a CW show and it really really is. I loved the characters though, and like I said, it was cute. A short handful of things I liked:
● Iris and everything about her. Especially her complete obsession with a boy band. Beauty.
● An LGBT side story with a happy ending!
● The idea that fandom is better when you share it
● A Warcraft-like game that the characters play
● The idea that sometimes forgiveness is easy and sometimes it isn't (a rather profound message for this book lol)
● The lack of drinking that takes place in a book full of private schools and rich kids
● The different kids of love and how it was shown by all the characters
● Boys showing emotions!
So yes. Even though I could no tell you the plot of this book, I really enjoyed the characters.
● Iris and everything about her. Especially her complete obsession with a boy band. Beauty.
● An LGBT side story with a happy ending!
● The idea that fandom is better when you share it
● A Warcraft-like game that the characters play
● The idea that sometimes forgiveness is easy and sometimes it isn't (a rather profound message for this book lol)
● The lack of drinking that takes place in a book full of private schools and rich kids
● The different kids of love and how it was shown by all the characters
● Boys showing emotions!
So yes. Even though I could no tell you the plot of this book, I really enjoyed the characters.
Very very very cute. Wholesome content. And surprisingly funny!
Review at a Glance: a great coming-of-age story with a strong focus on friendship and finding things that interest and delight you.
Review: I think Emma Mills has superpowers. She's able to make some of the most resonant, real-feeling realistic fiction I've picked up in the past few years. I'm not much of a realistic fiction reader because I haven't encountered much that feels really familiar. (Ironically this isn't a problem I tend to have with speculative fiction but I have... no idea why that is).
Foolish Hearts is a quick read, and overall pretty light (which was welcome, coming off of reading the entire Harry Potter series in a week). It's a really nice story about being passionate about things, and about figuring out how to be invested in things and just... it's just nice, I guess? There's a lot of emphasis on relationships, old and new, or all kinds.
Arguably the new relationship that forms a backbone of the story is Claudia's friendship with Violet- it's more a story about falling in friendship than one falling in love- which is often the main plot of these kinds of contemporary stories... not necessarily a bad thing but seeing a friendship be the focus is always refreshing. It isn't just the relationships but how Emma Mills constructs them, in a way that feels really organic, which is kind of an extension of how she creates characters (similarly organic).
The relationships in this book shift and change over the course of the story, which are both shape and are shaped by the changes in the characters themselves. These are very evident in Claudia's relationships with her friends and family, but also Iris (particularly the friendship between the two of them, but also Iris's relationship with her (ex)-girlfriend). The romances in the story have a very strong friendship component as well, which is always wonderful to see (because you know. You should be friends with the person you're dating. Otherwise why bother?) Emma Mills starts with some reasonably familiar character archetypes, and breathes new life into them, partly by adding character traits and partly by changing the interactions between the characters, and it winds up working really well. The result is a quiet, personal, and engaging story.
Also having read all three of Emma Mills's books I wonder if she like... knew at least one extremely charismatic person when in high school? Because there's always at least one in each book. I could be totally wrong maybe it's just a thing with her writing but... wondering if it comes from somewhere? Anyway. Not the point. Well, maybe a side-point, but not the main point.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one! Emma Mills writes what I guess are my favourite contemporary coming of age stories. I really like the way she builds friendships and the details of character's lives. I'm looking forward to whatever she puts out next!
Review: I think Emma Mills has superpowers. She's able to make some of the most resonant, real-feeling realistic fiction I've picked up in the past few years. I'm not much of a realistic fiction reader because I haven't encountered much that feels really familiar. (Ironically this isn't a problem I tend to have with speculative fiction but I have... no idea why that is).
Foolish Hearts is a quick read, and overall pretty light (which was welcome, coming off of reading the entire Harry Potter series in a week). It's a really nice story about being passionate about things, and about figuring out how to be invested in things and just... it's just nice, I guess? There's a lot of emphasis on relationships, old and new, or all kinds.
Arguably the new relationship that forms a backbone of the story is Claudia's friendship with Violet- it's more a story about falling in friendship than one falling in love- which is often the main plot of these kinds of contemporary stories... not necessarily a bad thing but seeing a friendship be the focus is always refreshing. It isn't just the relationships but how Emma Mills constructs them, in a way that feels really organic, which is kind of an extension of how she creates characters (similarly organic).
The relationships in this book shift and change over the course of the story, which are both shape and are shaped by the changes in the characters themselves. These are very evident in Claudia's relationships with her friends and family, but also Iris (particularly the friendship between the two of them, but also Iris's relationship with her (ex)-girlfriend). The romances in the story have a very strong friendship component as well, which is always wonderful to see (because you know. You should be friends with the person you're dating. Otherwise why bother?) Emma Mills starts with some reasonably familiar character archetypes, and breathes new life into them, partly by adding character traits and partly by changing the interactions between the characters, and it winds up working really well. The result is a quiet, personal, and engaging story.
Also having read all three of Emma Mills's books I wonder if she like... knew at least one extremely charismatic person when in high school? Because there's always at least one in each book. I could be totally wrong maybe it's just a thing with her writing but... wondering if it comes from somewhere? Anyway. Not the point. Well, maybe a side-point, but not the main point.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one! Emma Mills writes what I guess are my favourite contemporary coming of age stories. I really like the way she builds friendships and the details of character's lives. I'm looking forward to whatever she puts out next!
4.5
Pretty much the only thing I didn’t like about this was all the video game references
Pretty much the only thing I didn’t like about this was all the video game references
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
Yes
» QUICK OVERVIEW «
Stars: ★★★☆☆
Plot: ★★★☆☆
Readability: ★★★★☆
Characters: ★★★☆☆
Writing: ★★★☆☆
Recommend: ✗
Plot: ★★★☆☆
Readability: ★★★★☆
Characters: ★★★☆☆
Writing: ★★★☆☆
Recommend: ✗
» PLOT «
After Claudia accidentally overhears her school's most popular couple, Paige and Iris, break up, her life becomes intertwined with that of Iris's. Forced to participate in their school's production of <i>A Midsummer Night's Dream</i>, they must learn to work with each other. But as time goes on, Claudia realizes theres much more behind the facade Iris puts up.
This was very slice-of-life like, and that's not bad, just nothing major happens. Literally, barely anything major occurs. (Not that that's a bad thing, it just means you really need to rely on having good characters.)
Something I didn't pick up on, there is a lot of references to gaming and fan culture. I hate it. I don't mind one or two references, but a whole explanation of the game or even multiple references or celebrities makes me so uncomfortable.
» READABILITY «
This book was pretty slowish paced, especially since nothing happens.
» CHARACTERS «
The characters are okay, but for a character driven story, they could be better. I don't hate or love anything of them. All of the characters are too artificial or perfect, like they were manufactured or something. They're just so bland, and have no motivation.
» WRITING «
The writing is pretty average, nothing special.
» OVERALL «
Halfway though the book, I realized that this really isn't a true romance book. It's a contemporary book that just so happens to have a hint of romance.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5/5 stars - only because of when Claudia rejected Gideon's confession, it just broke me yeah. Also it was a stupid reason, and wasn't executed very well... I mean? Like? It's literally the only reason I'm cautious about contemporary ya. They always have to make some kind of trust issue so the protagonist can reject the love interest the first time but ends up realising it's totes fine to trust and happy ever after. Ugh. It bugs me so much.
But mannnn do I love this book. I love all the characters!!!! I love Claude, Zoe, Iris, Gideon, Noah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it is INSANELY FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't go reading two pages without laughing out loud :D The friendships, the diversity, the dialogue. All perfection (except for the thing I mentioned first, but with contemp ya, you just gotta deal with that).
And I could not force myself to put this book down. I started reading this last night and stayed up until 1am to finish it :')
But mannnn do I love this book. I love all the characters!!!! I love Claude, Zoe, Iris, Gideon, Noah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it is INSANELY FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't go reading two pages without laughing out loud :D The friendships, the diversity, the dialogue. All perfection (except for the thing I mentioned first, but with contemp ya, you just gotta deal with that).
And I could not force myself to put this book down. I started reading this last night and stayed up until 1am to finish it :')
This was a fun and light contemporary YA book. I loved that one of the main characters is gay. I love that there aren't any exaggerated "mean girls" (or guys) in the book--these are realistic characters. I liked that it involved the theater. Still, it fell a little flat for me, I enjoyed her first book more. It's a little hard to believe how clueless the main character is about her developing romance. And the details about gaming seemed kind of extraneous to the story. I do think that teens who like Rainbow Rowell, or John Green will probably like this.