Tag: young adult contemporary

ARC Book Review: Change of Plans by Sarah Dessen

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Rating: ★★★.5
Audience: YA Contemporary
Length: 368 pages
Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: February 11th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From acclaimed and #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah Dessen comes a romantic coming-of-age novel about an unassuming girl who learns to stand on her own while falling in love during a life-changing summer.

Finley has always felt most comfortable in someone else’s shadow. Fortunately, she’s got Colin, her magnetic boyfriend, who sweeps her along for activities, friendships, and future plans. Then she goes on a last-minute trip with her distant mom to a family vacation house that Finley didn’t know existed and is now about to be sold.

Her mom was estranged from her own parents and siblings since leaving home for college, and it’s a novelty for Finley to see her aunts and cousins, and to meet the handful of teens who work at the Egg, her aunt’s diner, and make up a found family of their own—including undeniably handsome guitarist Ben.

Then her relationship with Colin goes into freefall, and Finley’s roadmap for life after high school is gone. She has no choice but to live, for the first time, without plans. The longer Finley stays, the closer she gets to the truth about why her mother stayed away—and why she’s brought Finley here now.

And the closer she grows to new friends at the Egg, the more she starts to fall for charmingly awkward, soulful Ben and to realize how much of herself she’s been missing. By the end of the summer, nothing will be the same—for this community or for Finley herself.

Thank you Simon Teen for the gifted ARC.

DIFFERENT BUT GOOD.

It was a lot of fun to dive back into a Sarah Dessen book. I’ve read multiple of them and can appreciate what themes this story held. While I know I gave it 3.5 stars I can say that I think it’s a genuine young adult book that I would be comfortable with my [future] teens reading. And that is so hard to find these days so credit is due on that fact alone.

What I struggled with was the ending. I felt like one critical scene was skipped over and would have done wonders in showing how far Finley had come over the summer. And then within the closing pages it was just abrupt. There were multiple other threads that weren’t wrapped up and I wanted more from the closing pages.

I thought this held a lot of good moments around cell phone use and being present. I liked seeing Finley adapt and self reflect over her time out in a small town with family. I adored all of the side characters and how much everyone added to the plot. I loved the progression of Finley’s relationship with her mom. The vibes of this book were genuinely solid. The romance is much more in the background and I think added a soft element that was sweet too.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Content warnings: a parent with cancer

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Book Review: Jane Stays Dreaming by Britnee Meiser

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Britnee Meiser
Publisher: Aladdin
Release Date: September 30th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Reality and fiction collide when a shy aspiring writer uses her larger-than-life anonymous blog to sabotage a budding relationship between the new girl in school and her childhood friend in this irresistible rom-com that takes notes from Jane Austen’s Emma for the social media age.

Shy, introverted Jane lives out a fantasy life in her online blog, where she writes elaborate posts about a teen girl with a glamorous life and a gorgeous boyfriend—two things Jane definitely doesn’t have. She only has her writing and her BFFs Camila and Leo, who she shares everything with—except the fact that she’s leading a double life online. Jane’s real life and her online life do not mix.

Then a new girl named Brynn, who Jane has had a rough start with, begins cozying up to Leo. Jane knows Brynn’s totally wrong for him, so when she finds out Brynn follows her blog, Jane does something She starts using her blog to get her way in real life. But when the lines between fact and fiction start to blur, what does that mean for Jane’s anonymity, and the real-life relationships at stake?

Thank you Simon Kids for the gifted copy.

A GOOD TEEN READ.

This wasn’t on my radar until it came in a book box and I read it to see if it was okay for my kids to read [eventually]. And I did really appreciate the genuine young adult vibes of this one. While young YA isn’t generally my jam anymore I can acknowledge that this is a book I could hand to that age group and not worry about language or spice in places it doesn’t belong.

There’s a soft friends to lovers romance intermixed with Jane’s character arc. I didn’t love that she had a hidden online life but I liked how thematically that worked out in the end for her. Where realizations and boundaries came into play in regards to online lifestyles. I also liked the parental conflict with Jane and her brother. It’s relatable and I thought well placed for the story too.

The kids in this book are around 15, and like I mentioned, the content is good for that age group too.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary + Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses

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Book Review: ASAP (XOXO #2) by Axie Oh

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Axie Oh
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 6th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

New York Times bestselling author Axie Oh’s ASAP is the much anticipated companion novel to beloved romance XOXO, following fan favorites Sori, the wealthy daughter of a K-pop company owner, and Nathaniel, her K-pop star ex-boyfriend, in a swoon-worthy second chance love story.

Sori has worked her whole life to become a K-pop idol, until she realizes she doesn’t want a life forever in the spotlight. But that’s not actually up to Sori—she’s caught between her exacting mother’s entertainment company and her father’s presidential aspirations. And as the pressure to keep her flawless public image grows, the last person she should be thinking about is her ex-boyfriend.

Nathaniel is off limits—she knows this. A member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world and forbidden from dating, he isn’t any more of an option now than he was two years ago. Still, she can’t forget that their whirlwind romance was the last time she remembers being really happy. Or that his family welcomed her into their home when she needed it most. . . .

So when Nathaniel finds himself rocked by scandal, Sori offers him a hideaway with her. And back in close quarters, it’s hard to deny their old feelings. But when Sori gets an opportunity to break free from her parent’s expectations, she will have to decide: Is her future worth sacrificing for a second chance at love?

VERY FRUSTRATING.

I adored XOXO and this was a big letdown. I felt like a lot of this book happened around the main character and she was on the sidelines. Sori was helping everyone else and doing things for other people while she was standing still. I would have loved to see her more involved in the plot.

And the second chance romance was on the eh side too. The third act conflict about had me throw my phone across the room. The level of unnecessary drama to drag out the story made much of it feel like filler plot lines rather than a cohesive novel.

The audio narrator was fantastic and that had me holding on. Otherwise this book left a lot to be desired for me.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door

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ARC Book Review: Nothing Like the Movies (Better Than the Movies #2) by Lynn Painter

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: NA Contemporary Romance
Length: 440 pages
Author: Lynn Painter
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: October 1st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this highly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling Better than the Movies, Wes and Liz struggle to balance their feelings for each other with the growing pains of being a college student.

For a few beautiful months, Wes had his dream girl: strong-willed girl-next-door Liz. But right as the two were about to set off to UCLA to start their freshman year together, tragedy struck. Wes was left dealing with the fallout, which ultimately meant losing Liz in the process.

Flash forward months and months later and Wes and Liz find themselves in college, together. In a healthier place now, Wes knows he broke Liz’s heart when he ended things, but he is determined to make her fall back in love with him.

Wes knows Liz better than anyone, and he has a foolproof plan to win her back with the rom-com worthy big gestures she loves. Only…Liz will have none of it. Wes has to scheme like a rom-com hero to figure out how to see her. Even worse, Liz has a new friend…a guy friend.

Still, Wes won’t give up, adapting his clever plans and going hard to get Liz’s attention and win back her affection. But after his best efforts get him nowhere, Wes is left wondering if their relationship is really over for good.

Thank you Simon Teen for the gifted ARC.

SMITTEN.

I enjoyed this story so dang much. I love Wes and Liz and I loved seeing how their relationship progressed through this book. It’s messy and complicated, has a bit of drama and struck many chords of life in college and figuring things out. I loved watching the character growth for both Wes and Liz. Each had some tough truths to learn and adapt from and I love that they found their way back to each other in the end.

And this is a subtle baseball romance?? Heck yes. I could not get enough of the baseball content and I loved Liz’s college job! I think it worked perfectly for this story and added to the necessity of some good ol’ forced proximity moments that I crave.

The side characters were fantastic too. I loved all of Wes’s teammates (and please tell me we might get more stories from this UCLA crew??). Liz’s roommates were also so fun and it really reminded me of the joy that being on a college campus can bring.

Bonus points if you catch the little Taylor Swift references throughout. I loved all of the song lyric additions and gosh dang am I obsessed with a good argument scene, bring me all of the passionate confessions. This truly did read like a movie for me and I would watch it in a heartbeat.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: high and present throughout
  • Romance: kisses
  • Content Warnings: loss of a parent (heart attack), grief depiction, panic attacks

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