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A review by charmaineac
Freshers by Tom Ellen, Lucy Ivison
5.0
Hold the phone, I actually — surprisingly! — loved this book!!??! It's SO British, and so fun. Of course I would have loved a certain pairing to end up together, but this is definitely realistic. I can live with this ending.
Ahh, freshers. As I'm now getting into my last year of university, I can't help but reminisce those times. We call it "frosh week" in Canada, but the essence is the same. The FEELING is the same. You're nervous and scared, and what if you don't get on with your floor? What if you don't make any friends in your classes? Or any friends at all?! And you can't find people to live with, and the things you're good at don't cut it....... honestly, this book captures the zeitgeist P E R F E C T L Y. Straight up. I wish maybe things were a little more difficult for Phoebe (am I terrible?), because things were ROUGH for Luke. And in comparison, Phoebe was going around finding her people, and you can just tell that Frankie/Josh/Negin are the kind of friends that are going to be around for life. I felt a lot more like Luke in first year. Perhaps Phoebe could've struggled with academics or something? I know that's a Big Deal to a lot of people when they start university, but then again, it also doesn't matter at all to a bunch of others.
Luke Taylor, you dreamboat and charmer. I am SO GLAD we got to read from your perspective. It really put things in perspective, har har. There are multiple ways to remember an event, or even a period in life altogether.
And can we talk about Josh and Will? I guess we got closure on the second one there, but I have trouble reconciling that with the sweet guy from the beginning of the book. I really wanted him to be a good guy. And what's up with Josh? I mean, I THINK it's obvious what could happen there, but everything was left far too open ended.
I don't know how this book managed to be so gossipy, serious, emotional, and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time. Initiation (preach bud). The haze and ridiculousness of week one. The random hookups. The cookie cutters (awww). The mattresses. THE CHEESE! THE NIGHT WITH FRANKIE'S CALL TO MUMMY!! Oh my goodness, the moments are absurd and I love every second. It almost makes me wish I had a Conor at my residence in first year, although I can also imagine that being super awful. Maybe I would've loved Frankie's floor. REGARDLESS: I congratulate these two authors for seamlessly putting together realistic, heartwarming (and heartbreaking) protagonists and making me want to live in their world. Great story.
Ahh, freshers. As I'm now getting into my last year of university, I can't help but reminisce those times. We call it "frosh week" in Canada, but the essence is the same. The FEELING is the same. You're nervous and scared, and what if you don't get on with your floor? What if you don't make any friends in your classes? Or any friends at all?! And you can't find people to live with, and the things you're good at don't cut it....... honestly, this book captures the zeitgeist P E R F E C T L Y. Straight up. I wish maybe things were a little more difficult for Phoebe (am I terrible?), because things were ROUGH for Luke. And in comparison, Phoebe was going around finding her people, and you can just tell that Frankie/Josh/Negin are the kind of friends that are going to be around for life. I felt a lot more like Luke in first year. Perhaps Phoebe could've struggled with academics or something? I know that's a Big Deal to a lot of people when they start university, but then again, it also doesn't matter at all to a bunch of others.
Luke Taylor, you dreamboat and charmer. I am SO GLAD we got to read from your perspective. It really put things in perspective, har har. There are multiple ways to remember an event, or even a period in life altogether.
And can we talk about Josh and Will? I guess we got closure on the second one there, but I have trouble reconciling that with the sweet guy from the beginning of the book. I really wanted him to be a good guy. And what's up with Josh? I mean, I THINK it's obvious what could happen there, but everything was left far too open ended.
I don't know how this book managed to be so gossipy, serious, emotional, and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time. Initiation (preach bud). The haze and ridiculousness of week one. The random hookups. The cookie cutters (awww). The mattresses. THE CHEESE! THE NIGHT WITH FRANKIE'S CALL TO MUMMY!! Oh my goodness, the moments are absurd and I love every second. It almost makes me wish I had a Conor at my residence in first year, although I can also imagine that being super awful. Maybe I would've loved Frankie's floor. REGARDLESS: I congratulate these two authors for seamlessly putting together realistic, heartwarming (and heartbreaking) protagonists and making me want to live in their world. Great story.