Scan barcode
sarahmreads's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.75
I received a copy of this book as an e-ARC through NetGalley. Any and all thoughts are my own.
Can't Say it Went to Plan follows the lives of three different girls: Samira, Dahlia, and Zoe, all on a week long vacation for senior week. There are highs and there are lows, and through it all there is hope as their stories find each other in ways they didn't expect.
Unfortunately, this story did not leave up to its expectations. First, this story felt very middle grade to me. Everything was kind of simplified and didn't make sense at most parts. It almost felt a bit childish to me, and as a result it really drove me away from the story.
The characters were... okay. I felt I related the most to Samira because she goes through a whole arc realizing that her friends and boyfriend are really bad for her, which felt a little rushed to me. But I've had a similar scenario happen, especially when I planned a lot of my own trip and lost some friends from it. So I related the most to Samira, and also a little bit of Dahlia due to her anxiety. I do think the romance from Dahlia's story was pretty good as well and very positive, which you don't really see a lot of in stories these days. However, I will say that Dahlia was almost completely defined by her attachment to her friend Stevie that passed away prior to the events of the story. It really pulled me away from her in that regard.
Zoe for me was the weakest of the bunch. Her story had almost zero plot to it and a lot of the characters from her story were mostly forgettable. I think I only really liked one scene from her story and that was it. I felt like this story would have been improved upon if her story either had an actual plot to it, like the others, or if it was removed entirely.
The story overall had some good messages, but it felt a lot more for a younger audience, like don't let your monsters overtake you and live life to the fullest, so it didn't really stick for me. The entire story, it felt more like I, as the reader, was completely separate from this world and never once found myself truly immersed. Whether that's because of the characters, the plot (or lack of it), or the writing style I can't really tell.
Can't Say it Went to Plan is a good starter contemporary with hopeful messages, but a lackluster plot and some forgettable characters.
Can't Say it Went to Plan follows the lives of three different girls: Samira, Dahlia, and Zoe, all on a week long vacation for senior week. There are highs and there are lows, and through it all there is hope as their stories find each other in ways they didn't expect.
Unfortunately, this story did not leave up to its expectations. First, this story felt very middle grade to me. Everything was kind of simplified and didn't make sense at most parts. It almost felt a bit childish to me, and as a result it really drove me away from the story.
The characters were... okay. I felt I related the most to Samira because she goes through a whole arc realizing that her friends and boyfriend are really bad for her, which felt a little rushed to me. But I've had a similar scenario happen, especially when I planned a lot of my own trip and lost some friends from it. So I related the most to Samira, and also a little bit of Dahlia due to her anxiety. I do think the romance from Dahlia's story was pretty good as well and very positive, which you don't really see a lot of in stories these days. However, I will say that Dahlia was almost completely defined by her attachment to her friend Stevie that passed away prior to the events of the story. It really pulled me away from her in that regard.
Zoe for me was the weakest of the bunch. Her story had almost zero plot to it and a lot of the characters from her story were mostly forgettable. I think I only really liked one scene from her story and that was it. I felt like this story would have been improved upon if her story either had an actual plot to it, like the others, or if it was removed entirely.
The story overall had some good messages, but it felt a lot more for a younger audience, like don't let your monsters overtake you and live life to the fullest, so it didn't really stick for me. The entire story, it felt more like I, as the reader, was completely separate from this world and never once found myself truly immersed. Whether that's because of the characters, the plot (or lack of it), or the writing style I can't really tell.
Can't Say it Went to Plan is a good starter contemporary with hopeful messages, but a lackluster plot and some forgettable characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Death
More...