Reviews

Smash It! by Francina Simone

Only show reviews with written explanations

lilacs4b's review

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emotional lighthearted 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

4.0

jess_mango's review against another edition

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4.0

Smash It! is a modern day reimagining of Shakespeare's Othello set at a Florida high school. It all starts at a Halloween party, where Olivia realizes she just kind of lets life happen to her and that she isn't going for stuff and putting herself out there. She mostly just hangs out with her two best friends Eli and Dre and doesn't really have any female friends. She's also been secretly in love with Eli for awhile. After a few comments from people at the Halloween party, Olivia decides to make a F*ck It List about things she is going to change. One of her decisions is to stop being so shy and try out for the school's production of Othello the Musical.

This was a fun read and Olivia was a likable character that while she does make some mistakes along the way in the end, she redeems herself.

What to listen to while reading...
Everything is Everything by Ms. Lauryn Hill
I'm Coming Out by Diana Ross
Q.U.E.E.N. by Janelle Monae
Teenage Love Affair by Alicia Keyes
Good as Hell by Lizzo
Make it Better by Anderson. Paak
You Gotta Be by Des'ree

I won a copy of this book in a goodreads giveaway!

tatyanavogt's review against another edition

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4.0

Vlog: https://youtu.be/3pIbyhFoAeo

This is a sex positive coming of age YA contemporary with a romance aspect. I did like the relationships but my favorite part was her coming out of her shell and trying new things. I'm always amazed at how much I can still enjoy a good YA, and although there are still parts of this that bother me (why can't people just TALK to each other, lol), but overall I think it was done really well and touched on some important conversations. I really appreciated the way the book handled the topic of sex, I was not at all uncomfortable and I felt like this is a great book for young adults to read.

heidi1313's review against another edition

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5.0

This book was more than 5 stars for me - the book itself plus the audible narrator made it 5+! This could be described as a teen romance novel and while it does contain such content, it is as the main character says at the end of the book, a story of loving herself which resonates with every age group!

readmoreyall's review against another edition

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4.0

I really loved the subtle and not so subtle Shakespeare connections. I loved the messiness of al the relationships. I loved the cast of side characters. Great high school read. 16+ (at least in Florida schools ;) )

d_ollarama's review against another edition

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3.0

2.5

emily_houston's review against another edition

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4.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the #ownvoices rom-com with wonderfully flawed characters and sex-positive message
MINUS ⭐️ for a handful of microaggressions that don’t get explicitly called out by characters = ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ total