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happylilkt's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't read this author's previous book, so can't say how it compares, but this one absolutely has Mean Girl vibes. There's a LOT of underage drinking and while the main character annoyed me a bit with her obsession to fit in, you do get to see some character growth. I saw through the plot almost immediately but I still read it one sitting, so...there it is. It reminded me of Tweet Cute in some ways, though I didn't like this quite as much as that one. I did like it better than You Have a Match, though. Overall a fun fluffy YA / teen beach read if you don't mind the typical Hollywood "high school party" content.
Wouldn't recommend to teens really, even though the main characters are in high school, though it probably depends on the teen.
Contains: profanity, bullying mean girls style, underage drinking, lying to parents. Also, there is a feeling like the author tried to hit some bare minimum of diversity standard while still writing about a bunch of white kids. One of the main characters is Asian and some side characters are LGBTQ+. It worked for the main character but the others felt a little too much like tokenism. I don't mind reading about white kids or diverse kids but tokenism can be distracting.... No sex scenes. No drugs.
Wouldn't recommend to teens really, even though the main characters are in high school, though it probably depends on the teen.
Contains: profanity, bullying mean girls style, underage drinking, lying to parents. Also, there is a feeling like the author tried to hit some bare minimum of diversity standard while still writing about a bunch of white kids. One of the main characters is Asian and some side characters are LGBTQ+. It worked for the main character but the others felt a little too much like tokenism. I don't mind reading about white kids or diverse kids but tokenism can be distracting.... No sex scenes. No drugs.
hannah_rose300's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
emp15's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
This book was so much fun and so adorable. Childhood "enemies" fake dating you can't go wrong. I really like Penny character development and Kai is such cutie, really liked as couple. If you like YA read this.
reeyabeegale's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first YA I've read since the year started and I'm definitely not as used to how things usually play out in that genre anymore. But I had a good experience with this book.
Sadly, I don't like the dual-timelines throughout the entire book. It makes sense why it was written in that way, and I did understand the story better following both the present and the happenings that led them to the now . I'm still not a big fan of that, but it's not exactly a big deal.
This book involves cheating, which is something I avoid in the books I read. However, how it was handled and used to play out the story was excellent. This book really showed the repercussions of cheating -- it's about making mistakes, learning from them and growing up. The message of maturity and being comfortable with yourself is hidden behind petty arguments and actual mistakes.
I enjoyed seeing these characters undergo growth, some major and some not as remarkable but in real life, growing up doesn't happen overnight, so that's okay.
To be honest, I do not like Kai [but that might be preference based only]. He's not a typical swoon-y YA hero; he definitely made mistakes also. He's not entirely a flat character but I wish he had more depth; I wanted more emotions out of him, on top of how he's trying to always call out Penny for caring so much about how the world perceives her.
Overall, it's a good book and I'm glad it's not the usual (or at least the old school kind of dramatic) YA. This genre is no longer for me, but I do appreciate this story and how it can shine light on the things some of the younger [and even older] generation tend to care about.
Sadly, I don't like the dual-timelines throughout the entire book. It makes sense why it was written in that way, and I did understand the story better following both the present and the happenings that led them to the now . I'm still not a big fan of that, but it's not exactly a big deal.
This book involves cheating, which is something I avoid in the books I read. However, how it was handled and used to play out the story was excellent. This book really showed the repercussions of cheating -- it's about making mistakes, learning from them and growing up. The message of maturity and being comfortable with yourself is hidden behind petty arguments and actual mistakes.
I enjoyed seeing these characters undergo growth, some major and some not as remarkable but in real life, growing up doesn't happen overnight, so that's okay.
To be honest, I do not like Kai [but that might be preference based only]. He's not a typical swoon-y YA hero; he definitely made mistakes also. He's not entirely a flat character but I wish he had more depth; I wanted more emotions out of him, on top of how he's trying to always call out Penny for caring so much about how the world perceives her.
Overall, it's a good book and I'm glad it's not the usual (or at least the old school kind of dramatic) YA. This genre is no longer for me, but I do appreciate this story and how it can shine light on the things some of the younger [and even older] generation tend to care about.
marieintheraw's review against another edition
4.0
Overall, a really smart way to do so many common tropes. Plus, I really enjoyed Cameron Lund's writing. I am going to have to go back for that debut now.
I received an ecopy of this book through Netgalley; however, my opinions are my own.
I received an ecopy of this book through Netgalley; however, my opinions are my own.
clp34's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
indigoivee's review against another edition
4.0
Oh my life.
There are very few books that I’ve read that honestly portrayed the toxic ideology of high school and high school friendships (especially between girls) the way this book did, because damn.
Because, yes, while our girl Penelope may not have been the best character she was at least aware that she wasn’t perfect but her downfall was that she continued to strive for the elusive perfect for that Instagram-worthy life that is only ever really seen in movies. But let me tell you, that friendship group, that shift of dynamic and the fall are things that are very very real in the high school hierarchy society.
But the drama? the angst?? the romance??? the heartbreak???? Babes this book had me at the end of my seat, reading every chapter like it was my lifeline! I swear, as dishonourable as Kai’s initial intentions were he was super sweet, wholesome and romantic. There is no amount of arguing that could convince me that Kai wasn’t pretending to be in love with her. I think their banter and their hate made the romance even more passionate and complete. I mean it had spice, it gave what it needed to give.
And while yes, it all started with Penelope’s need for friends, for popularity, for a boyfriend and social standing. I loved how she was unapologetically a girl and how she also started to realise who she was and what she actually wanted to be and made that change. she stood up for herself in the end, made real friends, made amends with her family and worked things out. I loved her character development more than anything.
Honestly, such a great read!
There are very few books that I’ve read that honestly portrayed the toxic ideology of high school and high school friendships (especially between girls) the way this book did, because damn.
Because, yes, while our girl Penelope may not have been the best character she was at least aware that she wasn’t perfect but her downfall was that she continued to strive for the elusive perfect for that Instagram-worthy life that is only ever really seen in movies. But let me tell you, that friendship group, that shift of dynamic and the fall are things that are very very real in the high school hierarchy society.
But the drama? the angst?? the romance??? the heartbreak???? Babes this book had me at the end of my seat, reading every chapter like it was my lifeline! I swear, as dishonourable as Kai’s initial intentions were he was super sweet, wholesome and romantic. There is no amount of arguing that could convince me that Kai wasn’t pretending to be in love with her. I think their banter and their hate made the romance even more passionate and complete. I mean it had spice, it gave what it needed to give.
And while yes, it all started with Penelope’s need for friends, for popularity, for a boyfriend and social standing. I loved how she was unapologetically a girl and how she also started to realise who she was and what she actually wanted to be and made that change. she stood up for herself in the end, made real friends, made amends with her family and worked things out. I loved her character development more than anything.
Honestly, such a great read!
atrailofpages's review against another edition
4.0
This story is about Penny, a girl who is best friends with Olivia the most popular girl in school, that makes a mistake one night at a party and kisses Olivia's boyfriend Kai. This causes a rift between the friends and between Penny and her boyfriend. Penny is determined to put everything to right by fake-dating Kai so that Penny's ex-boyfriend and Olivia will be jealous and want her and Kai back.
This book gave me such Mean Girl vibes it was crazy! I mean we have Olivia and her circle of friends who do everything she wants and agree with everything she says, they never disagree with her or state their own opinions, a lot like Regina and her circle of friends in Mean Girls. Then Penny is like Lohan's character where she didn't fit in at first, was considered odd and bottom of the barrel, and one day happened to do something nice for Olivia and instantly became best friends with Olivia and became a part of her circle. Penny becomes popular and is so determined to stay that way that she doesn't even realize how shallow her friendships are or how shallow her relationship is with her boyfriend. It takes fake-dating Kai and being away from Olivia to realize how pathetic their relationships were and how awful of a person Penny had become.
I love Mean Girls, it's an hilarious movie, but it is so sad to see how awful kids can be and how cliquey they can be, rating people to see where they fit in the social circle of school. It's sad because that's how it is in school, and I mean I did NOT like Penny until the end of the book when she realized how awful of a person she had become and decided to make changes and become a better person. It took the whole book for her to really realize it, but it was neat to see her growth and to learn the hard way most of the time of what she had become and to make those needed changes in her life, both in her social life, but also in her family life.
I've been in quite the fake-dating kick, this is like the third book I've read with this trope, and I've been enjoying it. This one is probably my least favorite so far only because I just cannot stand a lot of the characters in this book, and how shallow most of them were. I know it's a true reflection of what kids are like in the real world, but doesn't mean it's easy to read. I give this a 3.5-4 star rating in the end.
This book gave me such Mean Girl vibes it was crazy! I mean we have Olivia and her circle of friends who do everything she wants and agree with everything she says, they never disagree with her or state their own opinions, a lot like Regina and her circle of friends in Mean Girls. Then Penny is like Lohan's character where she didn't fit in at first, was considered odd and bottom of the barrel, and one day happened to do something nice for Olivia and instantly became best friends with Olivia and became a part of her circle. Penny becomes popular and is so determined to stay that way that she doesn't even realize how shallow her friendships are or how shallow her relationship is with her boyfriend. It takes fake-dating Kai and being away from Olivia to realize how pathetic their relationships were and how awful of a person Penny had become.
I love Mean Girls, it's an hilarious movie, but it is so sad to see how awful kids can be and how cliquey they can be, rating people to see where they fit in the social circle of school. It's sad because that's how it is in school, and I mean I did NOT like Penny until the end of the book when she realized how awful of a person she had become and decided to make changes and become a better person. It took the whole book for her to really realize it, but it was neat to see her growth and to learn the hard way most of the time of what she had become and to make those needed changes in her life, both in her social life, but also in her family life.
I've been in quite the fake-dating kick, this is like the third book I've read with this trope, and I've been enjoying it. This one is probably my least favorite so far only because I just cannot stand a lot of the characters in this book, and how shallow most of them were. I know it's a true reflection of what kids are like in the real world, but doesn't mean it's easy to read. I give this a 3.5-4 star rating in the end.