To read the synopsis of this book, click the following links for The StoryGraph or Goodreads.
Well, Rachel Lynn Solomon, you’ve done it again. I mean, again for me. I read The Ex Talk at the beginning of February and immediately knew I needed to read your backlist, so I guess I’m working backwards, but yeah. You’ve done it and I’m so happy to have read it.
I love me a good YA love story, and this one was an absolute delight. A classic enemies to lovers with a teenage twist, we watch the school valedictorian and salutatorian join forces to win a senior competition and maybe, just maybe fall in love.
Here are 4 things I loved about this book:
1. Neil and Rowan in general – each of these characters were so well crafted, well rounded, and felt so real to me. I could see a lot of myself in Rowan, too, and I think that made me like her (and occasionally hate her).
2. It was high school, but also NOT high school. These kids just finished up the last day of their senior year, and the book takes place over the course of a day, so we had all the fun of high school aged main characters…but didn’t have to read 6 months of them in high school to get here.
3. The incredibly nostalgic feelings I got while reading it. As someone who fell in love in high school and went on to marry the guy, I just loved the feeling of watching two characters start to do the same.
4. The supporting characters – this is something RLS did really well both in this book and in The Ex Talk. I loved Rowan’s parents, Neil’s little sister, and the relationships that we knew happened off page and got just enough of a hint of on page to know it was real.
And the 1 thing I didn’t like about this book:
1. The ending. Can’t spoil it, but just know I wanted more.
Content warnings:
Antisemitism (moderate)
Bullying (minor)
Mention of domestic abuse (moderate)
Mention of car accident (very minor)
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Jenna, Stop Reading! 