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A review by jillkaarlela
Begin Again by Emma Lord
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? Yes
3.75
Taylor Swift songs: “Jump Then Fall (TV)”
This was overall a pretty cute coming of age YA Romcom!! If you want a very clean, heartwarming, quick/easy to read Romcom, Emma Lord is for you. It was pretty much in between the other two Emma Lord books I’ve read, with “You have a Match” being my favorite and “Tweet Cute” being my least favorite (with this one in the middle). This one did have some good character development and dealing with past trauma/healing (trigger warning but not spoiler: grief from parent’s death). It was nice to see Andie grow as a character, learning who she wanted to be instead of who everyone expected her to be, as well as what things and/or people were helping or harming her. Also, the romance and friends/found family in this book were super sweet and heart warming. I really liked all of the main characters and their dynamic as a group.
The ages of the characters was slightly older than the other books (in this one, they were 18-20, or freshman and sophomores in college rather than 16-18) but the maturity or content level stayed the same. Emma Lord’s books are definitely better suited for a younger audience, probably 12+. At some points, it could be a bit cringey and juvenile to me (as a 20 year old). For example, the main character “cussing” by saying her favorite foods as her own different form of exploitive. However, since it is suited for a younger audience, this choice makes sense. I think Emma Lord is on the better side of YA romcoms, because while she makes a Romcom suitable for a younger audience, she still adds a lot of depth and growth to her characters and plots. While there are other YA authors that I think suit my age ratings and preferences more, Emma Lord is still an enjoyable author to read, and I will continue to read her books.
The only thing I didn’t really like was that this book was kind of advertised as a Swiftie book, but there was one mention of Taylor at like 88%, so I feel a little disappointed about that.
Age rating: 12+ (slight language, but no s*xual content)
This was overall a pretty cute coming of age YA Romcom!! If you want a very clean, heartwarming, quick/easy to read Romcom, Emma Lord is for you. It was pretty much in between the other two Emma Lord books I’ve read, with “You have a Match” being my favorite and “Tweet Cute” being my least favorite (with this one in the middle). This one did have some good character development and dealing with past trauma/healing (trigger warning but not spoiler: grief from parent’s death). It was nice to see Andie grow as a character, learning who she wanted to be instead of who everyone expected her to be, as well as what things and/or people were helping or harming her. Also, the romance and friends/found family in this book were super sweet and heart warming. I really liked all of the main characters and their dynamic as a group.
The ages of the characters was slightly older than the other books (in this one, they were 18-20, or freshman and sophomores in college rather than 16-18) but the maturity or content level stayed the same. Emma Lord’s books are definitely better suited for a younger audience, probably 12+. At some points, it could be a bit cringey and juvenile to me (as a 20 year old). For example, the main character “cussing” by saying her favorite foods as her own different form of exploitive. However, since it is suited for a younger audience, this choice makes sense. I think Emma Lord is on the better side of YA romcoms, because while she makes a Romcom suitable for a younger audience, she still adds a lot of depth and growth to her characters and plots. While there are other YA authors that I think suit my age ratings and preferences more, Emma Lord is still an enjoyable author to read, and I will continue to read her books.
The only thing I didn’t really like was that this book was kind of advertised as a Swiftie book, but there was one mention of Taylor at like 88%, so I feel a little disappointed about that.
Age rating: 12+ (slight language, but no s*xual content)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Cursing