abbygdickerson's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book and it was really sweet. Some religious ideas sprinkled in but not a lot. It totally made me cry at the end.
sc104906's review against another edition
5.0
I received this as an eARC through Edelweiss.
Wendy Boychuck's story is one of endings and redemption. The school that all of the women in her family have attended will be closing at the end of the year. Her father is serving time in prison for crimes he committed while he was a police officer. His crimes have tarnished Wendy's name and she is constantly fighting against those who want to punish her for his actions. Wendy found the most basic girls in school, so she could have a surface level relationship with them and protect herself. These coping mechanisms are no longer working, when Wendy begins to reflect on her life with the closing of AHS. Wendy begins to take the steps to become the person she wants to be, instead of what she has become.
The writing, characters and overall development of this novel make it one of the few on my shortlist for this year's award winners. I was taken in by the realness of this story and character interactions. I found Wendy's adventures through Chicago to be something I want to replicate.
Wendy Boychuck's story is one of endings and redemption. The school that all of the women in her family have attended will be closing at the end of the year. Her father is serving time in prison for crimes he committed while he was a police officer. His crimes have tarnished Wendy's name and she is constantly fighting against those who want to punish her for his actions. Wendy found the most basic girls in school, so she could have a surface level relationship with them and protect herself. These coping mechanisms are no longer working, when Wendy begins to reflect on her life with the closing of AHS. Wendy begins to take the steps to become the person she wants to be, instead of what she has become.
The writing, characters and overall development of this novel make it one of the few on my shortlist for this year's award winners. I was taken in by the realness of this story and character interactions. I found Wendy's adventures through Chicago to be something I want to replicate.
notlikethebeer's review against another edition
3.0
Some definite mixed feelings towards this book, and the heat plus lack of sleep have not put me in a good place to explain, so I will try bullet points.
• The writing style was a little annoying and difficult to follow at the start of the book; either it got better, or I got used to it, so by the end I couldn't even tell you what it was I disliked!
• It was FRUSTRATING, and that's part of what made it so good. It really encapsulated being a teenager, making choices that make other people want to scream. At the same time, it did so well at delving into the thought process behind that, and the ensuing difficulties, particularly when Wendy made her first attempt at changing things.
• I think the plot twist was completely unnecessary and got somewhat dropped from the plot afterwards?! I know it didn't get completely forgotten about, but the impact definitely seemed... less than one might expect.
• The action Kenzie took towards the end did not really seem to be explored or fully resolved, particularly with regards to how Wendy's mum (and dad) reacted. There's no way that even Aunt Kathy managed to keep that away from them?!
• I really liked the exploration of religion!
• The writing style was a little annoying and difficult to follow at the start of the book; either it got better, or I got used to it, so by the end I couldn't even tell you what it was I disliked!
• It was FRUSTRATING, and that's part of what made it so good. It really encapsulated being a teenager, making choices that make other people want to scream. At the same time, it did so well at delving into the thought process behind that, and the ensuing difficulties, particularly when Wendy made her first attempt at changing things.
• I think the plot twist was completely unnecessary and got somewhat dropped from the plot afterwards?! I know it didn't get completely forgotten about, but the impact definitely seemed... less than one might expect.
• The action Kenzie took towards the end did not really seem to be explored or fully resolved, particularly with regards to how Wendy's mum (and dad) reacted. There's no way that even Aunt Kathy managed to keep that away from them?!
• I really liked the exploration of religion!
giraffekidd's review
4.0
I didn't know what to expect going into this book. I bought it at the dollar store based on the beautiful cover art alone. It was what I was hoping for and so much more. Jessie Ann Foley was able to capture so much emotion in these pages. Wendy started with a broken heart and grew into such an amazing inspiration. I chuckled and I cried many times while reading this book. I would definitely recommend it and speak very highly of it to fellow book lovers.
stenaros's review
5.0
This book is about female friendship when friends are used as armor, rather than people you deeply care about. There's also really great Catholic girls' school stuff and some good commentary about tattoos.
Jessie Ann Foley writes books I want to keep reading, even after they are done.
Jessie Ann Foley writes books I want to keep reading, even after they are done.
asalic's review
5.0
What an amazing coming-of-age story. Also, Wendy's Aunt Kathy is a gem of a character.
rooskooijman's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
renatasnacks's review against another edition
3.0
I'm always so interested in Mean Girl Reform stories and I liked the different complications here. I was also interested to read a book from the POV of a character who actually likes her single-sex Catholic school since almost always YA characters do not like that. This is the kind of YA novel that can be a hard sell because it doesn't really have a good hook, it's just kind of a meandering realistic coming of age story with a dose of weepiness. But I liked it, and so will a certain kind of reader looking for this kind of thing.
tjlcody's review against another edition
3.0
Best aspect of this book was probably the characters. They were a pretty good group of well-developed people.
Otherwise, I felt like this book was a bit... Aimless? Like, the summary doesn't do an especially good job at laying out what the overall plot of the book is, and I think that's because the book doesn't really have a cohesive plot. We know where we are at the beginning, but no earthly idea where we're supposed to be going; and the story hops around to so many different people and side-plots that it doesn't help in figuring out what the ultimate POINT is.
Not bad, but not great either.
Otherwise, I felt like this book was a bit... Aimless? Like, the summary doesn't do an especially good job at laying out what the overall plot of the book is, and I think that's because the book doesn't really have a cohesive plot. We know where we are at the beginning, but no earthly idea where we're supposed to be going; and the story hops around to so many different people and side-plots that it doesn't help in figuring out what the ultimate POINT is.
Not bad, but not great either.