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A review by thebookshelfmonster
She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen
4.0
“I want to get to a place where I’m ready for you,” I whisper. “Just get to a place where you know how wonderful you are,” she whispers back. “They’re one and the same.”
[b:She Drives Me Crazy|52516406|She Drives Me Crazy|Kelly Quindlen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593673607l/52516406._SY75_.jpg|78069267] by [a:Kelly Quindlen|7768490|Kelly Quindlen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1565023590p2/7768490.jpg] was everything I could have asked for and more. It was a fun, wholesome sapphic teen romance with an engaging plot and interesting characters who were imperfect and messy but loveable and easy to root for.
The story is set in a suburban high school with the main character Scottie, a basketball player, navigating her struggle to deal with the rejection of her ex-girlfriend and her own feelings of self-worth in relation to how others view her, while circumstances put her in the path of the girl she considers her nemesis, or so she thought, until she is forced to reckon with her own presumptions and prejudices. It involves some of the most exciting tropes in the genre that I found really well executed - from enemies-to-lovers to fake-dating to opposites-attract.
I liked how character-focused the narrative was and how much the characters' decisions (both good and bad) led the plot. While the story had almost a fairy-tale ending, the journey to that conclusion was complex and full of twists and tensions. The teenage characters were portrayed with both realism and empathy. The main character, in particular, made several ill-advised decisions that costs her heavily which came from a place of pain, confusion and insecurity that is both relatable and understandable. The best part was that the author makes her characters earn them redemption, sometimes even at the cost of the characters' comfort to the point that as I reader, there were moments I wondered what kind of ending her story would have.
This was the first book I have read by Kelly Quindlen and I would definitely read more of her works.
[b:She Drives Me Crazy|52516406|She Drives Me Crazy|Kelly Quindlen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593673607l/52516406._SY75_.jpg|78069267] by [a:Kelly Quindlen|7768490|Kelly Quindlen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1565023590p2/7768490.jpg] was everything I could have asked for and more. It was a fun, wholesome sapphic teen romance with an engaging plot and interesting characters who were imperfect and messy but loveable and easy to root for.
The story is set in a suburban high school with the main character Scottie, a basketball player, navigating her struggle to deal with the rejection of her ex-girlfriend and her own feelings of self-worth in relation to how others view her, while circumstances put her in the path of the girl she considers her nemesis, or so she thought, until she is forced to reckon with her own presumptions and prejudices. It involves some of the most exciting tropes in the genre that I found really well executed - from enemies-to-lovers to fake-dating to opposites-attract.
I liked how character-focused the narrative was and how much the characters' decisions (both good and bad) led the plot. While the story had almost a fairy-tale ending, the journey to that conclusion was complex and full of twists and tensions. The teenage characters were portrayed with both realism and empathy. The main character, in particular, made several ill-advised decisions that costs her heavily which came from a place of pain, confusion and insecurity that is both relatable and understandable. The best part was that the author makes her characters earn them redemption, sometimes even at the cost of the characters' comfort to the point that as I reader, there were moments I wondered what kind of ending her story would have.
This was the first book I have read by Kelly Quindlen and I would definitely read more of her works.