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nancyboy's review against another edition
3.0
honestly this book gave me so many flashbacks to highschool bc i lowkey was a bit of an ariel, (obsessed with getting the best marks) and it really reminded me of how much highschool broke me
nancyboy56's review against another edition
3.0
honestly this book gave me so many flashbacks to highschool bc i lowkey was a bit of an ariel, (obsessed with getting the best marks) and it really reminded me of how much highschool broke me
the_berries_books's review against another edition
2.0
Felt like I was reading something from Wattpad but gets a star just for Rabbi Solomon
ciuli's review against another edition
4.0
4/5
CW: anxiety and anxiety attacks
I enjoyed this book so much! I was looking for a book to speed through and which would take me out of my slump and I definitely made the right choice with this one!
Ariel is a senior in high school and this final year it's proving to be harder to get through than he thought. He's aiming for Harvard and to get accepted he needs perfect grades, perfect attendance, a perfect application and interview. Everything has to be perfect. So when he unexpectedly fails the first Math quiz of the semester, his world start to crumble and the walls around him seem to be closing in. So he throws himself into studying, figuring that he just has to push through until the end of the year, and then all the sacrifices he's making will be worht it once he's got into Harvard. But, will they?
This book has such good representation in it, both in terms of sexualities, cultures and religions, but also in terms of portraying what high-schoolers go through. His anxieties were so real and relatable, it was almost painful to read.
Ariel is bisexual and Jewish; Amir is gay and Muslim, and he is of pakistani origins; Sook, Ariel's best friend, is lesbian and korean and I think there were probably others I'm forgetting, but the cast of characters was very diverse and I really liked it.
Altogether it was a nice read, I liked the slow pace at the beginning but I found it to be a little bit too rushed toward the end, and I also could have used less Harry Potter references. They were a tad too much.
I think the summary of this story misdirected me and had me expect something that wasnt actually the main focus of the book. Let me explain. If you read the summary, I think you would be expecting a meet-cute coming of age story, where the romance between the main characters is the main part of the novel. So when you get into a book with these expectations, it would seem like you got let down when the romance is not the main focus of the plot. It's part of it but not everything revolves around it.
However, after finishing he book I gave myself some time to think it through, and I realized that the romance was just something that happened in Ariel's life alongside the other stuff that was going on.
What this book wants to highlight is the stress and the difficulties this school system puts on teenagers. It wants to shed a light on the impossible expectations they're supposed to meet when they are just 16/17 years old. It wants adults, teachers, to realize that sometimes what they ask of their students is literally impossible because they have no actual time to do those tasks. I mean yeah, I could write a 20-page essay as extra credits for my grade, but I would also like to have a social life and sleep for more than 3 hours per night. Ariel's sister ending up in hospital because of school-related stress is something that happens in real life too. This is the real representation teenagers need. They need to see that they're not alone in their struggles, in their anxieties, that no has their shit together even though they put on a facade and pretend to do so.
Very much recommended, especially if you're in high school and are experiencing the same struggles that Ariel is going through, I think it will help you see this from a different perspective!
CW: anxiety and anxiety attacks
I enjoyed this book so much! I was looking for a book to speed through and which would take me out of my slump and I definitely made the right choice with this one!
Ariel is a senior in high school and this final year it's proving to be harder to get through than he thought. He's aiming for Harvard and to get accepted he needs perfect grades, perfect attendance, a perfect application and interview. Everything has to be perfect. So when he unexpectedly fails the first Math quiz of the semester, his world start to crumble and the walls around him seem to be closing in. So he throws himself into studying, figuring that he just has to push through until the end of the year, and then all the sacrifices he's making will be worht it once he's got into Harvard. But, will they?
This book has such good representation in it, both in terms of sexualities, cultures and religions, but also in terms of portraying what high-schoolers go through. His anxieties were so real and relatable, it was almost painful to read.
Ariel is bisexual and Jewish; Amir is gay and Muslim, and he is of pakistani origins; Sook, Ariel's best friend, is lesbian and korean and I think there were probably others I'm forgetting, but the cast of characters was very diverse and I really liked it.
Altogether it was a nice read, I liked the slow pace at the beginning but I found it to be a little bit too rushed toward the end, and I also could have used less Harry Potter references. They were a tad too much.
I think the summary of this story misdirected me and had me expect something that wasnt actually the main focus of the book. Let me explain. If you read the summary, I think you would be expecting a meet-cute coming of age story, where the romance between the main characters is the main part of the novel. So when you get into a book with these expectations, it would seem like you got let down when the romance is not the main focus of the plot. It's part of it but not everything revolves around it.
However, after finishing he book I gave myself some time to think it through, and I realized that the romance was just something that happened in Ariel's life alongside the other stuff that was going on.
What this book wants to highlight is the stress and the difficulties this school system puts on teenagers. It wants to shed a light on the impossible expectations they're supposed to meet when they are just 16/17 years old. It wants adults, teachers, to realize that sometimes what they ask of their students is literally impossible because they have no actual time to do those tasks. I mean yeah, I could write a 20-page essay as extra credits for my grade, but I would also like to have a social life and sleep for more than 3 hours per night. Ariel's sister ending up in hospital because of school-related stress is something that happens in real life too. This is the real representation teenagers need. They need to see that they're not alone in their struggles, in their anxieties, that no has their shit together even though they put on a facade and pretend to do so.
Very much recommended, especially if you're in high school and are experiencing the same struggles that Ariel is going through, I think it will help you see this from a different perspective!
jay_the_notorious's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
4.25
I read this in high school while exploring my sexuality. I found it comforting to find a character I could relate to who struggled to keep academic standing and handle the pressure.
matthiasdj's review against another edition
5.0
that was awesome!!! such an underrated book
4.5/5 stars
4.5/5 stars
shiqingxuan34's review against another edition
3.0
okay so this book made me wanna go back to high school and do things better and also made me guilty for not trying hard enough to talk n hang out w my friends
mcayers316's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Ariel is in his senior year of high school, and thinks he has it all figured out. He's set to be the valedictorian, with his perfect grades (6 AP classes), and plays first chair violin. His interview with Harvard is all set, and he's ready to take on the school year. Things start to deteriorate as the school year begins, and Ariel's workload is threatening to overwhelm him. He's not sleeping, barely eating, and missing events left and right in order to tackle his ever-growing assignment list. He fails his first AP Calculus test, and he has no choice but to get a tutor. He asks Amir (a family friend) to help him study, and begins to realize that he might want to be more than “just friends” with Amir. But just when Ariel thinks he’s got it all under control, things start to crack all around him.
I enjoyed this book quite a bit, although it did bring back some stress memories from my own high school experience. The academic pressure and self-imposed stress brought back vivid memories, and my own experience was in many ways very similar to Ariel’s. I think this book will resonate very strongly with many of the teens I work with in my current job. I see every day how stressed they are, how many extra things they are piling on in their already busy schedules, struggling to compete for those coveted college spots.
The characters felt authentic to me, and I enjoyed the relationships in the book. I thought the friendships in particular were well-crafted, and captured the dizzying array of emotions from high school. The one main issue I had with the book, was that the ending tied up too neatly, and didn’t feel as authentic to me. Without spoiling anything, I thought that Ariel should have come to the realization about his mental health and stress on his own, without that realization coming through the filter of another person. The story ended on a positive note, but the ending felt a little rushed and unrealistic to Ariel’s character. Ariel’s drive and competitiveness throughout the book made me think that his choices at the end of the book would have been forced on him, not something he would decide easily on his own.
Overall it was still a great book, and one I will be handing to as many teens as I can, as I think it has a valuable message.
I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
I enjoyed this book quite a bit, although it did bring back some stress memories from my own high school experience. The academic pressure and self-imposed stress brought back vivid memories, and my own experience was in many ways very similar to Ariel’s. I think this book will resonate very strongly with many of the teens I work with in my current job. I see every day how stressed they are, how many extra things they are piling on in their already busy schedules, struggling to compete for those coveted college spots.
The characters felt authentic to me, and I enjoyed the relationships in the book. I thought the friendships in particular were well-crafted, and captured the dizzying array of emotions from high school. The one main issue I had with the book, was that the ending tied up too neatly, and didn’t feel as authentic to me. Without spoiling anything, I thought that Ariel should have come to the realization about his mental health and stress on his own, without that realization coming through the filter of another person. The story ended on a positive note, but the ending felt a little rushed and unrealistic to Ariel’s character. Ariel’s drive and competitiveness throughout the book made me think that his choices at the end of the book would have been forced on him, not something he would decide easily on his own.
Overall it was still a great book, and one I will be handing to as many teens as I can, as I think it has a valuable message.
I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
freadomlibrary's review against another edition
5.0
I am the literal personification of the heart eyes emoji after finishing this book!