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A review by lisaluvsliterature
Finally Fitz by Marisa Kanter
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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
4.5
This story had so much that was perfect for representing how things feel for you as a teenager, but also totally incorporated today’s social media issues, as well as having fun with social media aspects as well. It also had so much nostalgia for me in that it reminded me of the times I visited my younger sister when she moved to NYC. The subway fun, walking around and feeling alone when even surrounded by other people, but not in a bad way necessarily! All the places, the High Line, the parks, you name it. And the wonderful food choices! Even Fitz’s relationship with her sisters was something that was real and emotional. I have had my own times when I felt like my sisters were doing things without me. Although for me it was the opposite, because it was my two younger sisters.
This book has a lot of different things going on, but in such a good way, it was real, like life is. And when it is a teenager dealing with a lot of this, it makes things seem even bigger more disastrous at times. We had the fake dating trope, but also there was the aspect of how social media can become such a part of a teen’s life (or anyone these days) and cause relationship issues or even in Fitz’s case, issues with how she saw herself and what she thought she had to do in order to be successful or “perfect”. As I mentioned above there was even family issues for Fitz, feeling left out with her older sisters, her parents not seeming to realize she was serious about the fashion and not going to eventually go into something more “serious” like medicine or teaching, etc.
And oh did I adore Levi! I was so frustrated that Fitz couldn’t see he was actually interested in more than just the fake dating, and how she didn’t even get that when she talked to his ex the one time. Of course I know this is a teen story, and teens don’t always see what’s right in front of them. To be fair I don’t always see that either, lol. But Levi, his planty-nerdiness, was just so adorable! And I totally get why she was swooning over it, even if she was only doing it in her own head and not sharing it with him. It frustrated me at how Dani treated her and yet she still kept thinking there was a chance with her. Again, yeah, I know, teen, drama for a story, actually was realistic.
This was a really great story, one I can’t wait to share with my students. As it has so much in it. Besides what I’ve mentioned above, it also has the LGBTQ+ representation with both Fitz and Levi being bi. Dani being a lesbian, as well as I believe one of Fitz’s sisters also has a partner that is a woman. I liked how Fitz always referred to characters as first as they in her thoughts until there was a clear statement of their pronouns and from then on she would switch to those if they happened to be a she/her or he/him, or stick with the they/them as appropriate. I also enjoyed her time at the Pride Parade at the beginning of the story, and getting a bit of an inside glimpse at that from her being there and what she saw even as she searched for Dani to try to fix things.
This book has a lot of different things going on, but in such a good way, it was real, like life is. And when it is a teenager dealing with a lot of this, it makes things seem even bigger more disastrous at times. We had the fake dating trope, but also there was the aspect of how social media can become such a part of a teen’s life (or anyone these days) and cause relationship issues or even in Fitz’s case, issues with how she saw herself and what she thought she had to do in order to be successful or “perfect”. As I mentioned above there was even family issues for Fitz, feeling left out with her older sisters, her parents not seeming to realize she was serious about the fashion and not going to eventually go into something more “serious” like medicine or teaching, etc.
And oh did I adore Levi! I was so frustrated that Fitz couldn’t see he was actually interested in more than just the fake dating, and how she didn’t even get that when she talked to his ex the one time. Of course I know this is a teen story, and teens don’t always see what’s right in front of them. To be fair I don’t always see that either, lol. But Levi, his planty-nerdiness, was just so adorable! And I totally get why she was swooning over it, even if she was only doing it in her own head and not sharing it with him. It frustrated me at how Dani treated her and yet she still kept thinking there was a chance with her. Again, yeah, I know, teen, drama for a story, actually was realistic.
This was a really great story, one I can’t wait to share with my students. As it has so much in it. Besides what I’ve mentioned above, it also has the LGBTQ+ representation with both Fitz and Levi being bi. Dani being a lesbian, as well as I believe one of Fitz’s sisters also has a partner that is a woman. I liked how Fitz always referred to characters as first as they in her thoughts until there was a clear statement of their pronouns and from then on she would switch to those if they happened to be a she/her or he/him, or stick with the they/them as appropriate. I also enjoyed her time at the Pride Parade at the beginning of the story, and getting a bit of an inside glimpse at that from her being there and what she saw even as she searched for Dani to try to fix things.