“Dreams don’t have to be realistic- that’s why they’re dreams. You have to work to make them happen. Or else they would be…realities
*3.5/5
So… I didn’t hate this book BUT I definitely don’t think I loved this book either. I had pretty mixed feelings about this, but overall I can say my reading experience wasn’t bad.
I had a couple big issues with this book. One of them was definitely the romance. I personally don’t think that the romance was written well into the book. It happened way too quickly, and too suddenly, and there weren’t any events that helped to build the relationship. The kiss and what not just suddenly appeared at the end of the book, but there wasn’t any building to this. There was maybe one, extremely subtle moment that hinted their romantic relationship, but nothing else besides that. It sort of ruined the kiss part for me since I really didn’t expect them to have any relationship at all. I also really didn’t like how it happened way at the end, like within the last 20 pages of the book. It just seemed too rushed and too sudden, and there was nothing to hint that this relationship would form. However, I do admit that they do have some chemistry together but there still should’ve been something to hint their relationship.
Another issue I had was the friendships in this book. Again, I felt like the friendships didn’t really have any building to them. The way that the author wrote Sloane into the friend group just didn’t really work. It was kind of like a “love at first sight” but not in a romantic way. Vera just suddenly decides that Sloane would be a good fit for the friend group, but in all honesty, she doesn’t seem to click well with others. I felt like as characters, they seemed to clash more then they fit with each other, and I wish that Sloane had a different personality or she was written into a different style of a friend group.
The actual plot of the story was okay, but I personally think that it wasn’t the main plot. If we were to think of the plot from what the synopsis tells us, we would think it is about Sloane trying to find a painting for her friends. However, I felt like there was another plot that took over the story at times, which about Sloane and the complications she has with her friends and family. I definitely can’t say the synopsis lied, but I felt the author was, at some moments, not following her exact plot.
Besides these issues, I did enjoy several things about this book. The representation is good. We are in 2018, and I feel like if we don’t have any non-straight, or non- white characters, then the author is still writing as if we were in the past. What sets young adult apart from other genres, like classics, is how it is written in modern-day times. If we aren’t including characters other then white and straight people, I don’t think that it is exactly realistic. I did like how the author did include a lesbian couple, and I think it enhanced the character’s personality.
Another thing I enjoyed about this book was definitely the entertainment value. Sometimes, you come across those books where it’s simply gripping, engrossing, and captivating, but everything else is pretty much awful. Now I’m not saying that everything else in this book besides the “interesting factor” was bad, but I do think that it was entertaining as shit. It was extremely intriguing and I couldn’t keep my eyes off the page since I was completely engaged in the story. I enjoyed that, and it definitely bumped my rating up.
I would recommend this book if you are looking for “trashy YA”. It is gripping and engrossing, and that is why I enjoyed this book. It isn’t the best contemporary I have ever read, but it did leave a lasting impression.