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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
Maybe more 3.5? I liked this book, but I feel like message was kinda skewed. Analee was a pretty complex character and while the other characters were not one dimensional, they weren't multi faceted either. I wish we understood Seb more and spend more time with Harris and the online gaming thing. I feel that that part of the story was like she's a Gomer who likes her online persona better then her real life one, but that didn't happen in the book?
I liked the ending, cause she SPOILER didn't end up with anyone and Seb seemed to crawl back to Chloe (who told him she wanted to get back together when he was with Analee? Talk about a bitch move! And also slept with him!! Idk not cool).
I didn't like the you have to fix yourself and be ok with yourself before you date thing it seemed to push, cause you can work on yourself and be in a relationship. If you want till youre perfect to be with someone, youll never be with anyone. I wish it had been more I'm not ready to be with you, but the whole time Analee talked about how she wished she could be with him but needed to work on herself. Idk rubbed me the wrong way.
Also I cried like 200 times cause if you even mention a dead parent to me in any context or media I will cry. Now my eyes hurt. Rude af tbh.
I liked the ending, cause she SPOILER didn't end up with anyone and Seb seemed to crawl back to Chloe (who told him she wanted to get back together when he was with Analee? Talk about a bitch move! And also slept with him!! Idk not cool).
I didn't like the you have to fix yourself and be ok with yourself before you date thing it seemed to push, cause you can work on yourself and be in a relationship. If you want till youre perfect to be with someone, youll never be with anyone. I wish it had been more I'm not ready to be with you, but the whole time Analee talked about how she wished she could be with him but needed to work on herself. Idk rubbed me the wrong way.
Also I cried like 200 times cause if you even mention a dead parent to me in any context or media I will cry. Now my eyes hurt. Rude af tbh.
A quick, cute, funny read with a refreshing ending. Glad I picked this one up.
Review copy: Digital ARC via publisher
(Please note that this book includes brief, non-graphic descriptions of sexual assault. Analee also deals with a lot of body-related self-esteem issues, including unfavorably comparing her body to that of her stepmother, and there are several passages of diet/health fad talk, where she is often disdainful of her future stepmother’s eating habits.)
Since I enjoyed Janelle Milanes’s previous novel, The Victoria in My Head, I was excited to see she had another book out this year, once again starring a Cuban-American teenage girl. I’m happy to say that Analee, In Real Life lived up to my expectations.
One of the things I appreciated most about this book is how it focused on Analee and her self-esteem and self-perception. Her romantic plots with Seb and Harris were supporting roles for her personal journey. Analee has a lot to deal with, from the death of her mother, her father’s impending remarriage, and the broken relationship with her best friend, and early on she spends much of her time trying to escape or avoid conflict in her day-to-day life. The slow, steady growth of her character throughout the book is a delight.
Analee’s fake relationship with Seb and her undefined-online relationship with Harris are interesting foils for each other. Both boys allow Analee to experience different upsides—and downsides—of relationships, including the push and pull of expectations versus reality. In this, Seb is the stronger character, though I appreciated what Harris represented to Analee despite wishing for more screen time with his character. Milanes did a great job throughout the novel of showing the messiness of feelings and—most importantly to me—rejecting the idea that romance with The One will magically “fix” everything that’s difficult or wrong in a person’s life. For those reasons, I was particularly happy with the ending of this book, though I’m sure others will disagree with me.
Analee’s conflicts with her father, soon-to-be stepmother, and soon-to-be stepsister were frequently just as—if not more—interesting as her romance plots. I haven’t read many YA novels where the protagonist has a blended family, and Analee’s attempts to navigate all these relationships with the memory of her mother always lurking in the background were thought-provoking and honest. There are ugly feelings and sudden empathy and grief galore, and I appreciated Analee’s snark and anger as much as her softer moments. I was particularly happy that Milanes included parenting conflicts over dating philosophies alongside the more heartwarming moments of unity.
Recommendation: Get it soon, especially if fake dating is your thing. The true heart of Analee, In Real Life is not the romantic shenanigans, but rather Analee’s emotional journey. While there are some occasional missteps and moments I wish had worked out differently, Analee, In Real Life is a solid contemporary book.
(Please note that this book includes brief, non-graphic descriptions of sexual assault. Analee also deals with a lot of body-related self-esteem issues, including unfavorably comparing her body to that of her stepmother, and there are several passages of diet/health fad talk, where she is often disdainful of her future stepmother’s eating habits.)
Since I enjoyed Janelle Milanes’s previous novel, The Victoria in My Head, I was excited to see she had another book out this year, once again starring a Cuban-American teenage girl. I’m happy to say that Analee, In Real Life lived up to my expectations.
One of the things I appreciated most about this book is how it focused on Analee and her self-esteem and self-perception. Her romantic plots with Seb and Harris were supporting roles for her personal journey. Analee has a lot to deal with, from the death of her mother, her father’s impending remarriage, and the broken relationship with her best friend, and early on she spends much of her time trying to escape or avoid conflict in her day-to-day life. The slow, steady growth of her character throughout the book is a delight.
Analee’s fake relationship with Seb and her undefined-online relationship with Harris are interesting foils for each other. Both boys allow Analee to experience different upsides—and downsides—of relationships, including the push and pull of expectations versus reality. In this, Seb is the stronger character, though I appreciated what Harris represented to Analee despite wishing for more screen time with his character. Milanes did a great job throughout the novel of showing the messiness of feelings and—most importantly to me—rejecting the idea that romance with The One will magically “fix” everything that’s difficult or wrong in a person’s life. For those reasons, I was particularly happy with the ending of this book, though I’m sure others will disagree with me.
Analee’s conflicts with her father, soon-to-be stepmother, and soon-to-be stepsister were frequently just as—if not more—interesting as her romance plots. I haven’t read many YA novels where the protagonist has a blended family, and Analee’s attempts to navigate all these relationships with the memory of her mother always lurking in the background were thought-provoking and honest. There are ugly feelings and sudden empathy and grief galore, and I appreciated Analee’s snark and anger as much as her softer moments. I was particularly happy that Milanes included parenting conflicts over dating philosophies alongside the more heartwarming moments of unity.
Recommendation: Get it soon, especially if fake dating is your thing. The true heart of Analee, In Real Life is not the romantic shenanigans, but rather Analee’s emotional journey. While there are some occasional missteps and moments I wish had worked out differently, Analee, In Real Life is a solid contemporary book.
4.25 stars
I’m a little upset by that ending, but I get why it had to happen :’)))
maybe rtc?
I’m a little upset by that ending, but I get why it had to happen :’)))
maybe rtc?
“There are no rules for happiness. You’ll be happy, then you’ll be sad, then you’ll be happy again. Enjoy the happiness when you have it. When you don’t have it, remember: It will come again. You just have to be open to it.”Analee, In Real Life is a feel-good story about family, finding your confidence, and growing up. Analee Echevarria is most comfortable in an online world as the fierce Kiri in an online game and is secretly crushing on her long distance best friend, Harris. When she’s paired with popular jock Seb in biology, he suggest they pretend to date to make others jealous. And so many fantastically tropey things follow that I was just sucked in!
The chapters were so quick, I was pulled into the story and I flew through it. It was so easy to read and there were so many fantastic tropes that I eat up. It was like this book was a compilation of cliches and plot points designed to make me happy. Analee and Harris’ banter and generally interactions were so great and made me love their relationship. And seeing the buildup for the friends-to-lovers potential was great. And the fake dating between Seb and Analee - I mean what’s not to love. Seb and Analee had so many cute moments from encouraging each other to cute faux dates. I just liked them a lot. And I really appreciated seeing Analee and Harlow’s relationship develop through the story. Harlow started as just Analee’s stepmom, but we really get to know her as a person and see their relationship grow. And I really liked seeing Analee’s Cuban culture highlighted and how important it was to her and her mom’s memory.
While I liked so many parts of this story, some things just didn’t work for me. I thought that all of the romantic moments that happen after about the halfway point felt really unsatisfying after the buildup of both relationships. And that was disappointing to me because I was invested in both of them for different reasons. I don’t mind that romance wasn’t the focus of the story, but the resolutions felt unfinished. I also thought that the resolution to Analee’s Dad and Harlow’s fight was so distractingly stupid. It was just out of left field weird and made no sense.
Analee, In Real Life was an entertaining read that’s perfect to read when you just want to relax and enjoy reading. And even though there’s a lot of things to love, the story doesn’t lack in heart or well developed relationships, particularly with Analee and her father. Like The Victoria in my Head, Analee, In Real Life showcases relatable characters growing into themselves and learning to love and accept who they are.
I received a copy of the book from Simon Pulse via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I LOVED SO MUCH ABOUT THIS BOOK. Analee was such a complex and fantastic character and I loved getting to spend a few weeks in her life. The only reason that I'm giving this a 4 and not a 5 is because, while I *get* why it ended the way it did, I still wanted it to go differently. BUT STILL. THIS BOOK WAS GREAT. IT HAS ONLINE DATING. IT HAS THE FAKE DATING TROPE. IT IS GREAT. PLEASE READ THIS BOOK. Thank u for coming to my ted talk
TW: death of a parent, cancer
TW: death of a parent, cancer
I NEED A SEQUEL IN MY LIFE. The ending just didn't feel complete! That doesn't mean I didn't love the book. I very much enjoyed it, and I can't believe it took me seven months to take it off my shelf and finally dive into it. This was a great story about a girl who loves gaming, a blended family, and dealing with the loss of a friendship and a parent. It hit on so many topics, and it was perfect.
Spoiler review below:
Honestly, I loved almost everything about this book. I totally felt for Analee and how she struggled with her soon-to-be stepmom. I can't imagine ever having to deal with a stepparent. I'm very lucky that my parents are both alive and still married to each other. If someone else came along, I think I'd be just as resistant as Analee started off. Especially if I had to deal with a new stepsibling as well.
Analee and Seb's relationship in this book was everything to me. I'm so disappointed that there was no resolution, and even though I was so angry with Seb when I read about him needing to have sex with Chloe to figure out if he was really over her. I know his and Analee's relationship was fake up until that point, but honestly. What a stupid male move. Despite that, I still loved him. He didn't remind me of Peter Kavinsky at all, although the book itself did remind me a little of To All the Boys. I could always use more fake dating books in my life. They're my favorite.
I'm also fine that Analee and Lily made up, but I almost wish they hadn't. Not all friendships recover, and I think it might have been better if they hadn't. This book could have been a comfort for girls who have gone through friendship breakups that never recovered. On the other hand, some friendships do recover. So it wasn't unrealistic, at least. I would have rather Analee reconciled with Seb instead. I think maybe I just got to know Seb better throughout the story and I just got more attached to him than I did to Lily. Maybe I'm also just bitter about my own friend breakups and so I didn't have any sympathy for Lily.
My absolute favorite part of the book was the first time Analee and Seb kissed. I totally related to Analee with the levels and everything, because I had similar anxieties when I was inexperienced. Let me know what your favorite part was!
Spoiler review below:
Spoiler
Honestly, I loved almost everything about this book. I totally felt for Analee and how she struggled with her soon-to-be stepmom. I can't imagine ever having to deal with a stepparent. I'm very lucky that my parents are both alive and still married to each other. If someone else came along, I think I'd be just as resistant as Analee started off. Especially if I had to deal with a new stepsibling as well.
Analee and Seb's relationship in this book was everything to me. I'm so disappointed that there was no resolution, and even though I was so angry with Seb when I read about him needing to have sex with Chloe to figure out if he was really over her. I know his and Analee's relationship was fake up until that point, but honestly. What a stupid male move. Despite that, I still loved him. He didn't remind me of Peter Kavinsky at all, although the book itself did remind me a little of To All the Boys. I could always use more fake dating books in my life. They're my favorite.
I'm also fine that Analee and Lily made up, but I almost wish they hadn't. Not all friendships recover, and I think it might have been better if they hadn't. This book could have been a comfort for girls who have gone through friendship breakups that never recovered. On the other hand, some friendships do recover. So it wasn't unrealistic, at least. I would have rather Analee reconciled with Seb instead. I think maybe I just got to know Seb better throughout the story and I just got more attached to him than I did to Lily. Maybe I'm also just bitter about my own friend breakups and so I didn't have any sympathy for Lily.
My absolute favorite part of the book was the first time Analee and Seb kissed. I totally related to Analee with the levels and everything, because I had similar anxieties when I was inexperienced. Let me know what your favorite part was!