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wormofbookkind 's review for:
Dear Wendy
by Ann Zhao
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
omg omg this book was so sweet and comforting! i was definitely not expecting to enjoy it as much as i did, and the narration was amazing (i really liked the way different ppl talked when they narrated the social media and texting parts too!) this book is such an accurate portrayal of college life, with the roommate interactions, everyone being so unknowingly connected, fights over which side of campus is better, begrudgingly eating the dining hall food, identity crises, dorm movie nights—it all just made me miss my college friends that much more. even though the book is at times over-explanatory in the way YA books tend to be, in this case i can completely understand why the author felt the need to write like that, as aroace identities and related discourse is definitely not as well understood as it should be. i also really appreciated the way sophie’s and other queer bipoc character’s intersections of identities and relationships with their immigrant family were so accurately portrayed, and the random chinese thrown in the narration when sophie’s mom was talking was a bit too close to home (also it really makes me wonder how much of those conversations could be understood by a non-mandarin-speaking reader but i digress). jo’s struggles with self-confidence, thinking herself worthy of love and believing her friends love her, and her worries about being forever alone while her friends couple off was only all too real, even as a non aroace reader. the side characters in this book are also well-developed and lovable, the online feud was so dramatic and silly, the portrayal of dealing with the pain of friendship break-ups, the sibling dynamics…i can’t even keep ranting abt all the unexpected ways this book charmed me.
however, the diagloue was sometimes awkwardly written and a bit forced, and the characters did not need to be “bursting into laughter” as often as they did 💀 esp when nothing was that funny. NONETHELESS, i loved this book, will def be reading more of natalie naudus’ narrations, and i also give it many extra points for mentioning The Half of It, one of my all-time favorite movies (seriously i yelped in excitement when i heard that jo and sophie were watching that movie). thank you to this book for another reminder a great friendship can also be an epic romance, in its own way <3
however, the diagloue was sometimes awkwardly written and a bit forced, and the characters did not need to be “bursting into laughter” as often as they did 💀 esp when nothing was that funny. NONETHELESS, i loved this book, will def be reading more of natalie naudus’ narrations, and i also give it many extra points for mentioning The Half of It, one of my all-time favorite movies (seriously i yelped in excitement when i heard that jo and sophie were watching that movie). thank you to this book for another reminder a great friendship can also be an epic romance, in its own way <3