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ruthypoo2's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This was a good story for a YA audience and did a really nice job of handling heavy topics like racism, classism, and coming out in a gentle way that might be easier to understand for a younger reader or more palatable for someone resistant to engaging in those topics.
The young tone of the book was well done, but I could barely get past the blatant disregard for correct use of personal pronouns. Yeah, I realize how many people don’t understand (or care) whether they should use me or I, but at least have grammatically correct sentences in popular reading material to help them learn. Of course , this is a personal gripe, but it affected my enjoyment of the story because of how frequently I was annoyed by and grumbling to myself about sentences like, “Me and Jim headed over to the cafeteria.”
Although this story is packed full of teen romcom cliches, it was a good story with mostly interesting characters. With that said, the focus was really on the experiences and emotions of the main character, Liz Lighty, and the other characters were not as fully developed, unfortunately. They seemed to be either stereotypical mean kids, goofy kids, misunderstood kids, and the high school relationships were often complicated by misunderstandings. But at the heart of the book were teens, and some adults, who came through for each other in the end and did not share the prejudices of their elders.
In a nutshell, Liz is going through the familiar teen struggles of dealing with the death of a parent, managing her younger brother’s chronic disease, trying to figure out how to pay for her college education, getting past the racial biases in her high school, developing a romantic crush on the cool girl who’s new in the school, and trying to save friendships with both of her best lifelong friends, all while competing for the coveted role of prom queen. Liz is a bright young lady who’s well-liked, but of course when you want to be prom queen, it can become a cutthroat business. But it is a good premise for creating conflicts and resolutions as everyone’s better angels find a way to surface as usually happens in the best teens stories.
I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator, Alaska Jackson, did an excellent job.
The young tone of the book was well done, but I could barely get past the blatant disregard for correct use of personal pronouns. Yeah, I realize how many people don’t understand (or care) whether they should use me or I, but at least have grammatically correct sentences in popular reading material to help them learn. Of course , this is a personal gripe, but it affected my enjoyment of the story because of how frequently I was annoyed by and grumbling to myself about sentences like, “Me and Jim headed over to the cafeteria.”
Although this story is packed full of teen romcom cliches, it was a good story with mostly interesting characters. With that said, the focus was really on the experiences and emotions of the main character, Liz Lighty, and the other characters were not as fully developed, unfortunately. They seemed to be either stereotypical mean kids, goofy kids, misunderstood kids, and the high school relationships were often complicated by misunderstandings. But at the heart of the book were teens, and some adults, who came through for each other in the end and did not share the prejudices of their elders.
In a nutshell, Liz is going through the familiar teen struggles of dealing with the death of a parent, managing her younger brother’s chronic disease, trying to figure out how to pay for her college education, getting past the racial biases in her high school, developing a romantic crush on the cool girl who’s new in the school, and trying to save friendships with both of her best lifelong friends, all while competing for the coveted role of prom queen. Liz is a bright young lady who’s well-liked, but of course when you want to be prom queen, it can become a cutthroat business. But it is a good premise for creating conflicts and resolutions as everyone’s better angels find a way to surface as usually happens in the best teens stories.
I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator, Alaska Jackson, did an excellent job.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Outing, Homophobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying, Chronic illness, and Racism
tovetott's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Homophobia
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
malloray's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Medical trauma
Minor: Racism
bookishkellyn's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Such a cute cohesive coming-of-age story. It reminded me of ‘Mean Girls’ but with wittier dialogue and a main character you can root for through the entire book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Homophobia, Bullying, and Chronic illness
Minor: Death of parent and Racism
telliot's review
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
4.0
Full of high school ridiculousness and a lovable ensemble of characters, this book was an easy read where I found I didnt want to put it down.
If you liked May the Best Man Win, this has a similar competitive vibe
If you liked May the Best Man Win, this has a similar competitive vibe
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Chronic illness
gracelang_09's review
challenging
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Death of parent, Vomit, and Toxic friendship
avacadosocks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Racism, Death of parent, Outing, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Grief, Chronic illness, and Biphobia
Minor: Transphobia, Car accident, Vomit, and Cancer
kaerene's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
This was so cute and I loved every minute of it. It took a second for me to get invested but as soon as week one started, I was hooked. I loved the characters in this book and the side character one liners and hilarious Indiana sucks comments had me rolling with laughter. I haven’t read a book in a while that made me want to kick my legs up in the air at all the cute romance scenes between Liz and Mack. Ugh I just loved this book so much.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Outing, Racism, and Homophobia
withlivjones's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is a very cute YA sapphic romance! Liz is a really compelling and likeable protagonist, and her struggles with being a minority among her classmates (being a black, queer girl), as well as dealing with severe anxiety, are really well articulated - especially when it comes to dealing with her more privileged peers who mean well but don’t fully understand how much harder Liz has to work for acceptance.
I did find parts of the book pretty cheesy (not that that’s necessarily a bad thing!) and some of the supporting characters felt kind of flat and one-dimensional - I think if I’d read this book when I was 16 i would have eaten it up, but being 22 I didn’t absolutely love it but I enjoyed it nonetheless!
I did find parts of the book pretty cheesy (not that that’s necessarily a bad thing!) and some of the supporting characters felt kind of flat and one-dimensional - I think if I’d read this book when I was 16 i would have eaten it up, but being 22 I didn’t absolutely love it but I enjoyed it nonetheless!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Racism, Homophobia, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death of parent and Terminal illness
torikate7's review
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Racism, Homophobia, Hate crime, Death of parent, Bullying, and Medical content
Minor: Vomit and Blood