A review by marcosbedbooks
Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills

4.0

Claudia has never been the best at socializing with other people at her school; she only has one close friend, Zoe, who attends a different school from her. However, she decides to go to one last party near the end of summer before school starts again. At this party, Claudia accidentally overhears Iris and Paige, the school’s “it couple” breaking up at the party, something she wasn’t meant to hear happen. After being threatened by Iris, Claudia promises not to tell anyone what she heard. Once school starts again, Claudia and Iris are forced to work together for their school’s production of A Midsummer’s Night Dream, which is more difficult than expected. Emma Mills is also the author of THIS ADVENTURE ENDS and FIRST & THEN.

FOOLISH HEARTS was a book that left me extremely surprised. Personally, I have never been the biggest fan of slice-of-life, fluffy, YA contemporary novels that mainly focus on romance and friendship, but this one stood out to me. It’s the perfect fast, fun read that has an adorable romance and the cutest friendships that don’t feel forced at all. Emma Mills does a perfect job at creating interesting and creative characters that still feel extremely authentic. I don’t think I’ve ever read many books that do such an outstanding job at creating deep yet genuine relationships between every single character like this book.

The plot itself isn’t the greatest. After all, this book is a slice-of-life novel that focuses on the friendship between Iris and Claudia, but it still does have some interesting side plots that keep the book going. One of them that was done well was the breakup that happened between Iris and Paige, and all the drama entangled in that. I also thought that the romantic subplot Claudia had throughout the novel was also done well. The way the author executed that part was spot on to the romances that happen in real life in school. I’ve personally seen similar things that happen in the book happen at my school. Not only that, but it’s a romance that I felt attached to and was rooting for all the way, which rarely happens to me.

I found the writing to be easy to digest and fly through. Which is perfect for a novel like this! Not only that, but it was funny! There were many moments where I was surprised by how the book was actually able to make me laugh out loud. There’s a bunch of scenes where Claudia and Iris are first getting to know each other, and the way they interact with each other is hilarious!

I think this is perfect for people looking for something light and fun to read. It still does have some interesting topics that aren’t forced, but overall it’s a fun time that just about everyone will enjoy. In my opinion, FOOLISH HEARTS is the perfect representation of high school students today and is an adorable read. I hope more people pick it up!