A ridiculously cute, formerly-famous new guy dropping into your life? It's practically every girl's dream.
But not Jules McCallister-Morgan's.
I realize that on paper I look like your standard type-A, neurotic, overachiever. And maybe I am. But I didn't get to be the editor of my school's long-revered newspaper by just showing up*. I have one main goal for my senior year-early acceptance into my first choice Ivy League college-and I will not be deterred by best friends, moms who think I could stand to "live a little," or boys.
At least, that was the plan before I knew about Alex Powell**.
And before Alex Powell betrayed me***.
I know what you're thinking: Calm down, Jules. But you don't understand. This stuff matters. This is my life. And I'm not going down without a fight.
* Okay, I sort of did. But it's a sore subject.
** I mean, I guess everyone knows about Alex Powell? Two years ago, you couldn't go anywhere without hearing about viral video boy band sensation Chaos 4 All. Two years ago, Alex Powell was famous.
***Some people think I'm overreacting. But this. Means. War.
Filled with romance, rivalry, and passive-aggressive dog walking, Amy Spalding delivers a hilariously relatable high school story that's sure to have you falling for The New Guy.
This was a really cute book, but I felt like there were some aspects that felt a little juvenile or unreal.
The relationship between Alex and Jules progressed way too fast since Jules supposedly was completely against boys and not at all interested in Alex. It would have been a lot more fun to see them have a longer period of flirting and of Jules trying not to fall for him. She ended up seeming just a total pushover in his regard; one kiss from him, and she's forgotten all of the reasons she had decided not to kiss him.
I felt like there were a lot of conflicts that just were solved too easily, that in real life would have been blown up a lot bigger and required a lot more discussion and solving than actually happened. If one has a huge conflict with their best friend, simply having dinner doesn't make it all better. I was frustrated by the lack of realism.
The main plot was a conflict over a dying newspaper, but the ending was honestly what I had thought of at the beginning and thus the entire conflict felt much more middle school than high school. I was also surprised by how many characters got involved within the conflict.
This was cute and I think the author has potential, but I felt that there were aspects that could have made it into a stronger YA rom com.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
5
