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dabutkus's review against another edition
5.0
I really love this one and it didn’t disappoint. Emilie is a homeschooled teenager who has epilepsy .... until her mom decides that she needs to be enrolled in a real life in-person high school. There she meets Chatham, the all American boy who is the star of the basketball team. She struggles with fitting in and telling anyone about her epilepsy. The inevitable happens and she’s got to decide how she’s going to handle it. McCall Hoyle is a masterful storyteller and this book was a great read. Highly recommend it.
ajsterkel's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
It was like the author had a checklist of events that commonly happen in YA books, and she tried really hard to check everything off that list.
The story is about Emilie, a teen girl who has been homeschooled for most of her life because she has epilepsy and a dead father. Then, her mother and therapist decide she should try public school. She takes about 5 steps into the school before running into a mean girl and developing a crush on a star athlete. Of course Emilie is a genius, and her crush needs tutoring, so they're forced to hang out. She spends 200 pages dithering about how to tell her classmates about her epilepsy. Then she tells them, and they clap for her. The end.
I realize I'm not the target audience for teen books, but I've read this story so many times that it had no suspense for me. I kept waiting for it to deviate from the script, but it didn't.
I did like the complicated relationship between Emilie and her mother. Emilie is too scared to break out of her comfort zone. Her mother is the opposite. This causes problems in their relationship, but they attempt to work through them, and Emilie learns to see things from her mother's perspective. Life is boring if you never try anything new.
This book wasn't for me, but maybe I would have liked it when I was younger. I've just read too many YA books.
The story is about Emilie, a teen girl who has been homeschooled for most of her life because she has epilepsy and a dead father. Then, her mother and therapist decide she should try public school. She takes about 5 steps into the school before running into a mean girl and developing a crush on a star athlete. Of course Emilie is a genius, and her crush needs tutoring, so they're forced to hang out. She spends 200 pages dithering about how to tell her classmates about her epilepsy. Then she tells them, and they clap for her. The end.
I realize I'm not the target audience for teen books, but I've read this story so many times that it had no suspense for me. I kept waiting for it to deviate from the script, but it didn't.
I did like the complicated relationship between Emilie and her mother. Emilie is too scared to break out of her comfort zone. Her mother is the opposite. This causes problems in their relationship, but they attempt to work through them, and Emilie learns to see things from her mother's perspective. Life is boring if you never try anything new.
This book wasn't for me, but maybe I would have liked it when I was younger. I've just read too many YA books.
asofie's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.25
aishwaryadeengar's review against another edition
1.0
DNF at 50%
This book isn't going anywhere. The characters are so bland and despite handling such a sensitive yet a promising issue the book just had to fit in insta-love with an oh-so-perfect boy the MC met on the first day of school. Also, she is so insufferable and self centered. It's pretty obvious that she didn't need to lie at all.
This book isn't going anywhere. The characters are so bland and despite handling such a sensitive yet a promising issue the book just had to fit in insta-love with an oh-so-perfect boy the MC met on the first day of school. Also, she is so insufferable and self centered. It's pretty obvious that she didn't need to lie at all.
xokristim's review against another edition
4.0
I have never read a book about a main character who is diagnosed with epilepsy, and I feel like this is a great place to start. I feel like I learned a lot about the disease and seeing how she lives with it on a daily basis was very insightful. Each chapter starts off with a gorgeous quote from Emily Dickenson and I thought that was the perfect addition to this wonderful novel.
I absolutely loved the character in the whole book, the romantic prospect was just adorable! I thought the friendships sustained throughout the book were portrayed wonderfully. Hitch is just the BEST, don’t even try to dispute this, it’s a fact! I loved reading about Emilie’s life and seeing how she handled everything that was thrown at her.
Overall this was a beautifully written story and I can’t wait to read more by this author. I loved that the story sucked me in from the beginning and never let me go. My only regret is that I didn’t pick it up sooner.
I absolutely loved the character in the whole book, the romantic prospect was just adorable! I thought the friendships sustained throughout the book were portrayed wonderfully. Hitch is just the BEST, don’t even try to dispute this, it’s a fact! I loved reading about Emilie’s life and seeing how she handled everything that was thrown at her.
Overall this was a beautifully written story and I can’t wait to read more by this author. I loved that the story sucked me in from the beginning and never let me go. My only regret is that I didn’t pick it up sooner.
malaynachang's review against another edition
5.0
MY OPINION: *****
Homeschooled new girl.
Lost parent to cancer.
Can't swim.
This book was so absolutely amazing that I couldn't give it anything but a five star rating! I really loved this so much and I can't believe I never read it before.
I actually got this book for a dollar at a used bookstore and I had it in a huge stack by my bed, just waiting for me to read. I finished the assigned books from school that I had to read and I had nothing left so I was looking for something short: this book seemed interesting so why not?
I grabbed it and started reading and was instantly immersed.
There were so many similarities between me and the main character, Emilie, that I couldn't help but completely connect with her.
1. Both of us were homeschooled at some point in our lives, and put into public school a few years later, though she started in high school and I started at the very end of elementary school. Her experiences at her school were quite different from mine, but more on that later.
2. Neither of us can swim. She has epilepsy; when she started learning how to swim, she seized in the water and never tried again. I don't really have a real excuse other than the fact that I'm not supposed to really be around chlorine, not that I'm allergic but...
3. Both of us have lost a parent. I don't really want to get into that but it's true and we both had to deal with the aftershocks of it, and also the effects of living with a single parent, though I also have a sister and she didn't.
4. Both of us enjoy English, though I do have to say that maybe I do just a little more, considering that I'm ALWAYS writing while Emilie is more just a good writer in general.
One thing that I absolutely scoffed at was this: Chatham.
I'm not going to deny it: I love Chatham! He was the most romantic guy and the way that he was so freely able to show Emilie that he was so desperate for her to date him was amazingly unique and sweet.
However, NOBODY FALLS IN LOVE WITH THE NEW GIRL JUST LIKE THAT.
Sure, maybe it was "meant to be" but no, that doesn't happen in real life. Also, Emilie's reaction to his proposals was really annoying. Yes, you have epilepsy but you're always talking about wanting to be normal so WHY NOT DATE THE BEST GUY EVER. AND MAYBE JUST TELL HIM THAT YOU RANDOMLY GET SEIZURES SO THAT HE DOES NOT GET MAD AT YOU LATER ON FOR "LYING" TO HIM.
Ayla was a great character but I thought that she was kind of always just there and she was a little nagging to Emilie in my opinion. I honestly don't know.
I loved all of the metaphors in this book and the allegorical statements that the author made. I thought that this book was very well-written. I would recommend this book to YA readers.
Main Character: Emilie
Sidekick(s): Chatham, Ayla, Hitch, etc
Villain(s): Epilepsy, lying, Roger *HAHA* etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This was all very real to life.
Homeschooled new girl.
Lost parent to cancer.
Can't swim.
This book was so absolutely amazing that I couldn't give it anything but a five star rating! I really loved this so much and I can't believe I never read it before.
I actually got this book for a dollar at a used bookstore and I had it in a huge stack by my bed, just waiting for me to read. I finished the assigned books from school that I had to read and I had nothing left so I was looking for something short: this book seemed interesting so why not?
I grabbed it and started reading and was instantly immersed.
There were so many similarities between me and the main character, Emilie, that I couldn't help but completely connect with her.
1. Both of us were homeschooled at some point in our lives, and put into public school a few years later, though she started in high school and I started at the very end of elementary school. Her experiences at her school were quite different from mine, but more on that later.
2. Neither of us can swim. She has epilepsy; when she started learning how to swim, she seized in the water and never tried again. I don't really have a real excuse other than the fact that I'm not supposed to really be around chlorine, not that I'm allergic but...
3. Both of us have lost a parent. I don't really want to get into that but it's true and we both had to deal with the aftershocks of it, and also the effects of living with a single parent, though I also have a sister and she didn't.
4. Both of us enjoy English, though I do have to say that maybe I do just a little more, considering that I'm ALWAYS writing while Emilie is more just a good writer in general.
One thing that I absolutely scoffed at was this: Chatham.
I'm not going to deny it: I love Chatham! He was the most romantic guy and the way that he was so freely able to show Emilie that he was so desperate for her to date him was amazingly unique and sweet.
However, NOBODY FALLS IN LOVE WITH THE NEW GIRL JUST LIKE THAT.
Sure, maybe it was "meant to be" but no, that doesn't happen in real life. Also, Emilie's reaction to his proposals was really annoying. Yes, you have epilepsy but you're always talking about wanting to be normal so WHY NOT DATE THE BEST GUY EVER. AND MAYBE JUST TELL HIM THAT YOU RANDOMLY GET SEIZURES SO THAT HE DOES NOT GET MAD AT YOU LATER ON FOR "LYING" TO HIM.
Ayla was a great character but I thought that she was kind of always just there and she was a little nagging to Emilie in my opinion. I honestly don't know.
I loved all of the metaphors in this book and the allegorical statements that the author made. I thought that this book was very well-written. I would recommend this book to YA readers.
Main Character: Emilie
Sidekick(s): Chatham, Ayla, Hitch, etc
Villain(s): Epilepsy, lying, Roger *HAHA* etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This was all very real to life.
bookbos's review against another edition
4.0
A sweet read. Everyone has struggles. Some are easy to see. Some are hidden. When hope flutters inside our struggles become manageable.
jasmine_books342's review against another edition
5.0
I've never read a book like this before. It was amazing. I loved the characters and the whole concept of this book.
hazydazywaffles's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is just one of those books that I liked but am not in love with. The story was pretty good and the characters were ok. I liked the development throughout the story, but I felt like it was more insta love. Nothing against the book, I just prefer slow burns. Overall, a good book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse