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A review by max_the_lesbrarian
We Got the Beat by Jenna Miller
3.0
I wanted to like this book so badly and am left in a little heart-broken puddle - and for that I'm rounding down from 3.5 stars to 3.
Before I get into it, I want to start with the positive. It was such a fun idea! High-achieving journalism student, chomping at the bit for an editor's position as a junior is let down not only by not getting the position, but she's also put on the girl's volleyball beat. A beat which entails she spends loads of time with her supposed arch-nemesis (and crush *cough cough*). What's not to love about that?
I do want to give kudos to the author; the book was very inclusive in a way that didn't feel too forced - we've all read those YA books that absolutely tokenize marginalized identities in such a way it starts to feel offensive. Plus, for the most part, the adults in the book had actual personalities and motivations and faults, which is always a treat. Overall, I also really liked the way the author wrote the friendship between Jordan and her friends - it felt real and you could tell the three had history, and that's hard to do.
And then there is what really brought me down with this book, and I know I'm not the first reviewer to mention this, but it seems like the author didn't let the book get messy. I love a good messy book, but every time there was a time where there was conflict or miscommunication or any other messiness that's core to YA books, and quite frankly, the entire teenage experience, everyone (Jordan especially) seemed to suddenly act like they had 10 years of therapy and multiple effective communication seminars under their belt.
Conflicts that were either sudden or brewing for most of the book were suddenly wrapped up in a page or two and then we seemed to move on. The book was lacking that catharsis that comes with letting the messiness fester and evolve; the characters weren't given that time to grow and that just feels unrealistic - especially for teenagers. I cannot emphasize that enough - some of these problems were nonsense I had to deal with as a teen and I know I'm apparently an "adult" now but there's no way the teens of today would handle problems so neatly.
Overall, it was a good book and I'm happy I read it, but I am just a bit disappointed in the execution.
Thank you so much to HarperCollins Children's Books for the eARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
Before I get into it, I want to start with the positive. It was such a fun idea! High-achieving journalism student, chomping at the bit for an editor's position as a junior is let down not only by not getting the position, but she's also put on the girl's volleyball beat. A beat which entails she spends loads of time with her supposed arch-nemesis (and crush *cough cough*). What's not to love about that?
I do want to give kudos to the author; the book was very inclusive in a way that didn't feel too forced - we've all read those YA books that absolutely tokenize marginalized identities in such a way it starts to feel offensive. Plus, for the most part, the adults in the book had actual personalities and motivations and faults, which is always a treat. Overall, I also really liked the way the author wrote the friendship between Jordan and her friends - it felt real and you could tell the three had history, and that's hard to do.
And then there is what really brought me down with this book, and I know I'm not the first reviewer to mention this, but it seems like the author didn't let the book get messy. I love a good messy book, but every time there was a time where there was conflict or miscommunication or any other messiness that's core to YA books, and quite frankly, the entire teenage experience, everyone (Jordan especially) seemed to suddenly act like they had 10 years of therapy and multiple effective communication seminars under their belt.
Conflicts that were either sudden or brewing for most of the book were suddenly wrapped up in a page or two and then we seemed to move on. The book was lacking that catharsis that comes with letting the messiness fester and evolve; the characters weren't given that time to grow and that just feels unrealistic - especially for teenagers. I cannot emphasize that enough - some of these problems were nonsense I had to deal with as a teen and I know I'm apparently an "adult" now but there's no way the teens of today would handle problems so neatly.
Overall, it was a good book and I'm happy I read it, but I am just a bit disappointed in the execution.
Thank you so much to HarperCollins Children's Books for the eARC in exchange for an unbiased review.