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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this. It was super fun to read and I liked all of the characters. The protagonists are in high school, and I can see some older folks getting all curmudgeony about it. I thought I'd get curmudgeony about it, but I didn't.
I think the author handled what could have been a super tired, cliched plot device with a creative hand. I especially liked the honesty part, and who ended up having the notebook. Obviously, anyone with a modicum of life experience knows the notebook is a very bad idea and a huge risk, so too, will anyone with life experience do some eye rolling at the love... square, but seriously, the author handles all of this with a pretty fresh-feeling take.
Diversity isn't represented in this book. I think all characters are hetero normative, most read white. The best friend might be Asian, I can't remember if it's specified, or if we're just allowed to read into it.
Spalding's easy banter, especially in regard to each character's self doubt is hilarious and witty. I liked our protagonist and found her realistic and fairly relateable. Although we go from apparently zero interest from the opposite sex to *kablam* three guys who are really into her all at once. That certainly wasn't my teenage experience, though hey, I was not a drummer in a garage band, so.
I do wish our MC was a little less "I'm different and therefore cool and special, and all other regular girls who want to go to high school dances are stupid and dumb." Because I don't like the idea of trading one "this is how girls should be" for another. But I think Spalding manages to inject enough insecurity and "Am I cool? Is he cool?" doubt into our MC that it's acceptable if not super great. (But also realistic... what teenager doesn't have some level of pride that he/she is better in some way than his/her peers?)
Well, I had to throw in a little curmudgeon, didn't I? Wait, here's a bit more, because I think my mom reads my reviews:
If you're conservative or are evaluating for teens:
There are some swears and some underage drinking. On the whole, the teens are all fairly responsible school-attenders and homework do-ers, but our main character has some pretty lax parents (no curfew and such). These are teenagers so there is a lot of preoccupation with sex, kissing, and making out. Sex does occur (not at all graphic). They are safe about it thanks to a health fair at school.
I think the author handled what could have been a super tired, cliched plot device with a creative hand. I especially liked the honesty part, and who ended up having the notebook. Obviously, anyone with a modicum of life experience knows the notebook is a very bad idea and a huge risk, so too, will anyone with life experience do some eye rolling at the love... square, but seriously, the author handles all of this with a pretty fresh-feeling take.
Diversity isn't represented in this book. I think all characters are hetero normative, most read white. The best friend might be Asian, I can't remember if it's specified, or if we're just allowed to read into it.
Spalding's easy banter, especially in regard to each character's self doubt is hilarious and witty. I liked our protagonist and found her realistic and fairly relateable. Although we go from apparently zero interest from the opposite sex to *kablam* three guys who are really into her all at once. That certainly wasn't my teenage experience, though hey, I was not a drummer in a garage band, so.
I do wish our MC was a little less "I'm different and therefore cool and special, and all other regular girls who want to go to high school dances are stupid and dumb." Because I don't like the idea of trading one "this is how girls should be" for another. But I think Spalding manages to inject enough insecurity and "Am I cool? Is he cool?" doubt into our MC that it's acceptable if not super great. (But also realistic... what teenager doesn't have some level of pride that he/she is better in some way than his/her peers?)
Well, I had to throw in a little curmudgeon, didn't I? Wait, here's a bit more, because I think my mom reads my reviews:
If you're conservative or are evaluating for teens:
There are some swears and some underage drinking. On the whole, the teens are all fairly responsible school-attenders and homework do-ers, but our main character has some pretty lax parents (no curfew and such). These are teenagers so there is a lot of preoccupation with sex, kissing, and making out. Sex does occur (not at all graphic). They are safe about it thanks to a health fair at school.
My thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers via Netgalley for the free review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
Did I like this book?
This book was pretty cute, and that's a good thing, but I don't think it was exactly my cup of tea. The writing style felt juvenile to me, and the narration became annoying after Riley spoke in all caps the first ten or so times. I was expecting a bunch of laugh-out-loud moments, but I didn't find "Kissing Ted" to be all that funny. Most of the instances where I probably should have laughed just seemed silly. All I can conclude is that I'm too old to appreciate this type of young adult read.
I did, however, enjoy the fact that Riley and her friends are all somewhat unique. Riley herself is not exactly academically inclined, but she's passionate about music and her band. Her friend, Reid, is ridiculously insecure and quite shy around every girl aside from his band mates, which is refreshing to see and, in my opinion, very realistic. The tension between Riley and her best friend, Lucy, also struck a chord with me. I remember all too clearly what it was like to be the one left behind by my boyfriend-wielding friends! You can still be friends, but it never really feels the same as PB (pre-boyfriend), does it?
I also enjoyed watching Riley get to know some other boys. Milo and Garrick were great, in their own ways, and it was fun to see Riley work out the pros and cons of her relationships with them. And really, isn't that a realistic part of growing up, too? Not always (or even ever) are you going to find your soulmate in your first boyfriend, but that's exactly what all these YA romances expect us to believe. Sometimes a guy is great in every way, but there's just no chemistry, or there's plenty of chemistry, but something else is off. It's nice to see a book that recognizes that fact and forgoes the instalove that is all too prevalent in this genre.
Will you like this book?
This book reads a lot like how I imagine a teenage diary would read. If the thought of that appeals to you on any level, definitely give it a shot. If, however, you wrote your own diary as a teenager and the thought of reading it now makes you cringe, then I suggest you say, "Been there, done that!" and call it a day.
Will I read more by this author?
Um, probably not, although I wouldn't rule it out completely. I think I would be more tempted to try this author again if she wrote something geared toward adults.
This book was pretty cute, and that's a good thing, but I don't think it was exactly my cup of tea. The writing style felt juvenile to me, and the narration became annoying after Riley spoke in all caps the first ten or so times. I was expecting a bunch of laugh-out-loud moments, but I didn't find "Kissing Ted" to be all that funny. Most of the instances where I probably should have laughed just seemed silly. All I can conclude is that I'm too old to appreciate this type of young adult read.
I did, however, enjoy the fact that Riley and her friends are all somewhat unique. Riley herself is not exactly academically inclined, but she's passionate about music and her band. Her friend, Reid, is ridiculously insecure and quite shy around every girl aside from his band mates, which is refreshing to see and, in my opinion, very realistic. The tension between Riley and her best friend, Lucy, also struck a chord with me. I remember all too clearly what it was like to be the one left behind by my boyfriend-wielding friends! You can still be friends, but it never really feels the same as PB (pre-boyfriend), does it?
I also enjoyed watching Riley get to know some other boys. Milo and Garrick were great, in their own ways, and it was fun to see Riley work out the pros and cons of her relationships with them. And really, isn't that a realistic part of growing up, too? Not always (or even ever) are you going to find your soulmate in your first boyfriend, but that's exactly what all these YA romances expect us to believe. Sometimes a guy is great in every way, but there's just no chemistry, or there's plenty of chemistry, but something else is off. It's nice to see a book that recognizes that fact and forgoes the instalove that is all too prevalent in this genre.
This book reads a lot like how I imagine a teenage diary would read. If the thought of that appeals to you on any level, definitely give it a shot. If, however, you wrote your own diary as a teenager and the thought of reading it now makes you cringe, then I suggest you say, "Been there, done that!" and call it a day.
Um, probably not, although I wouldn't rule it out completely. I think I would be more tempted to try this author again if she wrote something geared toward adults.
This was a cute, quick read. I laughed out loud several times. I liked the story line, the characters, and the way the story unfolded. If you're into high school books, I would recommend it.
I didn't quite connect with the characters in this book, but it did make me laugh and smile a lot, and I had feel-good feelings all the way through. This felt like something more suited to younger teens than I (especially with the amount of times they said "doing it") but really anyone could read this. Super cute, light-hearted and funny. I enjoyed it.
Uhhhh... What am I suppose to say? I didn't like Riley, she was selfish and boy-crazy. She had strong feelings for Ted but still flirted with all those other guys (and made out with them).
But what more could I expect? It was all there on the title to begin with. I wanted to know more about Reid though.
Oh! And I didn't like the fact that Riley and Reid were kind of snobbish when it came to their love of music. I mean hello? Just because a person doesn't have the same taste in music as you doesn't mean they're uninteresting.
So yeah, not a really big fan of this one. It wasn't insightful or fun for me. Great cover though.
But what more could I expect? It was all there on the title to begin with. I wanted to know more about Reid though.
Oh! And I didn't like the fact that Riley and Reid were kind of snobbish when it came to their love of music. I mean hello? Just because a person doesn't have the same taste in music as you doesn't mean they're uninteresting.
So yeah, not a really big fan of this one. It wasn't insightful or fun for me. Great cover though.
This book was hysterical and I couldn't get enough of it. The best part was how realistically hilarious the story was. There' no really serious drama or angst. Sometimes friends don't get along and have strong feelings for or against each other and it's normal. When there's conflict it's realistic and not blown way out of proportion the way it normally is in young adult novels with stories similar to this.
It's also a great relief that although Reid was trying really hard to find a girlfriend, he was not a 'nice guy' that once complained about the 'friendzone'. It's a little sad how amazing that was, but it made me love this book even more.
Riley is HYSTERICAL. I loved her. She was flawed for sure, but I laughed at everything she said or thought or did. It's one of my new favorites and I think everyone should read it. It's perfectly light-hearted and funny without being too shallow. (If Parks and Rec were a teen love story, it would be this book)
It's also a great relief that although Reid was trying really hard to find a girlfriend, he was not a 'nice guy' that once complained about the 'friendzone'. It's a little sad how amazing that was, but it made me love this book even more.
Riley is HYSTERICAL. I loved her. She was flawed for sure, but I laughed at everything she said or thought or did. It's one of my new favorites and I think everyone should read it. It's perfectly light-hearted and funny without being too shallow. (If Parks and Rec were a teen love story, it would be this book)
