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A review by ohtoasty
Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I wish I could read more of this book. I would've easily taken another hundred pages. If the author wanted to throw in another problem for the main characters to sort through and figure out, I would've loved to see it.
I was intrigued at the fact the book pretty much ended when Phoebe and Grace had sorted out why they were consistently confused at one another's actions and then decided to formerly date. I think this was a cute play on the misinformation trope, the idea that Phoebe was convinced they were already dating (in all honestly, kind of far fetched because they never clarified like okay we're girlfriends?) was humorous. I was kind of surprised the book didn't take a "oh no we got caught kissing in public and now we have to deal with that fallout" kind of direction, that was what I expected. I partially missed it because I felt like it would have fit the characters perfectly, and yet simutanously I was happy it didn't fall into a trope. Maybe I'm just hard to please.
Grace's character was interesting to get to know as a reader. She's a stereotypical quiet reserved type, but overall she's very kind and thoughtful and tuned in to the people around her. It was cute to see her start to realize that she didn't always want to be alone, she liked how Phoebe taked up space, etc. I think her character growth ws incredibly satisfying though, it is nice to see someone shift in a way that they still love their sport or job or passion or whatever, but she wants to do it in a different way. She no longer is going to do what is simply expected of her. I loved it.
Phoebe was a fun character, charismatic and charming, everyone loves her. I loved the ADHD representation, the conversations around it. Grace definitely pushes it in a slightly concerning way, but considering the speed of the book, it's understandable. I loved the moment where Grace expresses she's not interested and Phoebe instantly is like "oh okay, I'm sorry" and promptly stops flirting and advances. It was nice to read and acknowledge the respect her in that way and to give time to that conversation around consent.
Overall I enjoyed it very much please give me a sequel.
Grace's character was interesting to get to know as a reader. She's a stereotypical quiet reserved type, but overall she's very kind and thoughtful and tuned in to the people around her. It was cute to see her start to realize that she didn't always want to be alone, she liked how Phoebe taked up space, etc. I think her character growth ws incredibly satisfying though, it is nice to see someone shift in a way that they still love their sport or job or passion or whatever, but she wants to do it in a different way. She no longer is going to do what is simply expected of her. I loved it.
Phoebe was a fun character, charismatic and charming, everyone loves her. I loved the ADHD representation, the conversations around it. Grace definitely pushes it in a slightly concerning way, but considering the speed of the book, it's understandable. I loved the moment where Grace expresses she's not interested and Phoebe instantly is like "oh okay, I'm sorry" and promptly stops flirting and advances. It was nice to read and acknowledge the respect her in that way and to give time to that conversation around consent.
Overall I enjoyed it very much please give me a sequel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content