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A review by mishale1
Can't Say it Went to Plan by Gabrielle Tozer
3.0
This book was an interesting mix of light and heavy. I got it on NetGalley ages ago as an early ebook edition. I was in the mood for a light read, so I finally picked it up. I was surprised to find it contained some heavier issues. I’m not marking this as containing spoilers only because everything is front and center within the first few pages and if you read an excerpt, you’d know all of this. But just incase you want to go in with only the description of the book jacket then I’d stop reading here.
Ok, still with me?
This book is about a few groups of teenagers who recently graduated high school. They are taking a kind of spring break like trip. They all different reasons for going.
Zoe worked so hard all through high school and is trying to go to college pre-med. The trip is with her cousins, they were all born so close together that they are more like siblings. Zoe is definitely much closer to her cousins than to her actual,older, “perfect” sister.
At the last minute, Zoe’s parents freak out about the trip and say she can’t go. Given that she’s a legal adult and also paid for the trip herself she decides to go anyway. She sneaks out.
Dahlia is going with her group of friends. Their story is tough. Their best friend died from cancer about a year earlier. She wanted her best friends to take a trip in her memory and leaves money behind for them to take this trip.
The girls are trying to live for her too.
Samira is going with a group of friends and her boyfriend. She hasn’t known any of them that long because she moved to the school during senior year.
She puts all the time and effort into planning the trip and gets no appreciation for it. Her boyfriend dumps her immediately before they leave. She realizes quickly that she’s only really friends with one of the girls. And that girl finds a guy soon after arriving and Samira is kind of left on her own.
I liked how each of these groups was there for a different reason. I will say that I am not great at recalling names so it got hard to keep track of all of the girls and all of their friends.
I am an adult many years past highschool. But I’ll be honest with you, I was never someone who wanted to go on any version of a wild spring break trip. If the teenage drinking might bother you, it’s worth remembering that the characters are probably legal and able to drink at 18 in their country. And honestly, I think it was shown in a light that’s like saying “be careful out there kids”. I don’t know if that sounds corny but I thought the author did a good job of showing these characters on the verge of adulthood, with some big heavy stuff on their shoulders, trying to have fun with their friends without losing control.
Ok, still with me?
This book is about a few groups of teenagers who recently graduated high school. They are taking a kind of spring break like trip. They all different reasons for going.
Zoe worked so hard all through high school and is trying to go to college pre-med. The trip is with her cousins, they were all born so close together that they are more like siblings. Zoe is definitely much closer to her cousins than to her actual,older, “perfect” sister.
At the last minute, Zoe’s parents freak out about the trip and say she can’t go. Given that she’s a legal adult and also paid for the trip herself she decides to go anyway. She sneaks out.
Dahlia is going with her group of friends. Their story is tough. Their best friend died from cancer about a year earlier. She wanted her best friends to take a trip in her memory and leaves money behind for them to take this trip.
The girls are trying to live for her too.
Samira is going with a group of friends and her boyfriend. She hasn’t known any of them that long because she moved to the school during senior year.
She puts all the time and effort into planning the trip and gets no appreciation for it. Her boyfriend dumps her immediately before they leave. She realizes quickly that she’s only really friends with one of the girls. And that girl finds a guy soon after arriving and Samira is kind of left on her own.
I liked how each of these groups was there for a different reason. I will say that I am not great at recalling names so it got hard to keep track of all of the girls and all of their friends.
I am an adult many years past highschool. But I’ll be honest with you, I was never someone who wanted to go on any version of a wild spring break trip. If the teenage drinking might bother you, it’s worth remembering that the characters are probably legal and able to drink at 18 in their country. And honestly, I think it was shown in a light that’s like saying “be careful out there kids”. I don’t know if that sounds corny but I thought the author did a good job of showing these characters on the verge of adulthood, with some big heavy stuff on their shoulders, trying to have fun with their friends without losing control.