e-ARC, 384 pages
Release Date: September 25, 2018Published by: Simon Pulse
Read from: September 27-28,2018Stand-AloneSource: Edelweiss (I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)TW: Cheating (in School and on a significant other)
For fans of: Verse, Contemporary, Romance, Diverse MC, Diverse Characters, YANic Chen refuses to spend her senior year branded as the girl who cheated on her charismatic and lovable boyfriend. To redefine her reputation among her Ivy League–obsessed classmates, Nic begins writing their college admissions essays.
But the more essays Nic writes for other people, the less sure she becomes of herself, the kind of person she is, and whether her moral compass even points north anymore.
*MY THOUGHTS*
When I added this to my TBR I didn’t know it was a novel in verse. When I found out it was, I wasn’t exactly thrilled. I’m not a fan of novels in verse, but I think 2018 is trying to tell me to give these books a try. Almost every one I’ve read this year (this one included) I’ve really loved.
“Hope sat/ On a back burner, in a teakettle,/ warming/ but never boiling./ Never screaming. / Never wailing. / Only mildly percolating. “9%
Nic Chen hasn’t had an easy summer, so she tries to take her name back and not become the girl who JUST cheated on her boyfriend. To do so, she has the idea to help all her classmates get into Ivy League schools by writing their college admission essays. But the more she helps people, the more she sees that everything isn’t what she thought it would turn out to be.
“Everyone has beauty.“14%
Although I liked this one, I wasn’t sure a novel in verse was the best way to tell this story. It kind of felt a little choppy, like I was missing parts of the story. That’s the main reason I don’t really care for novels in verse. I always feel like there’s some part of the story that I’m missing. I didn’t really hold it against it because it may be just me and how I feel about novels in verse.
“I am telling stories/ that we are too afraid to tell, because to/ tell them/ is to relive them, / and sometimes it hurts/ too much.“28%
As for the plot, I really enjoyed this one. Although I didn’t get the gut punch emotions that I should’ve gotten from a story like this, I still thought it was an interesting story to tell. And it was not at all like I expected it to go. But, that’s what I loved most about it.
“We forget that race exists- Because it’s/ so much easier to pretend/ it’s not there./ […]/ But it’s there./ […]/ we keep on driving, distancing, ourselves/ from what makes us uncomfortable. “39%
I also really loved the diverse cast of characters. There were all different ethnicities and even some poverty rep as well. I loved that this book was able to capture the true meaning of diversity in high school. There was some of everyone in this book and it was glorious. I don’t remember the last time I read something that had captured everyone.
“Death doesn’t give a fuck. Death doesn’t care./ who is left behind./ Death doesn’t care/ if apologies were ever issued. Death doesn’t care/ about the status of your relationship./ Death will just happen. But so will LIFE. / LIFE will just happen. “89%
This wasn’t something I was expecting to love so much, so it almost flew under my radar. I’m glad I gave it a chance and didn’t look over it because it wasn’t something I “usually” read. Sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone is scary. In this case, Juleah’s debut was well worth it.
Overall, I give this
