Sandy Hall’s A Prom to Remember follows a pretty realistic, diverse, and extensive friend group as they prepare for their final days of high school and their senior prom. As far as plot goes, there isn’t a lot going on other than the overall point of going to prom, and the minutia that a school dance entails. Instead, this story focuses more on the different relationships amongst the group, be they romantic or friend based.

Overall, I think the story was really lighthearted and fluffy. The characters were all very diverse which was nice to read about. There are people of color, LGBTQ relationships, and even the point of contention that yes; boys and girls can be JUST friends.

The only issue I really had with the book was that there were just SO many characters and names to keep track of, it was hard to remember who was better friends with who, and what person knew what about someone else’s relationship. I also wasn’t a big fan of a small piece of the formatting. There are text message conversations that take place throughout the book, and I loved that aspect, however their formatting was not great, and I’m hoping this is only an issue in the ARC, and that maybe it will be corrected in the published version. The text bubbles don’t flow like they normally would on a phone screen, and one characters texts often switch sides of the conversation if a paragraph of normal text interrupt, making the conversation difficult to follow.

A Prom to Remember is a really cute contemporary read, perfect for any high school student getting ready for their own Prom.

*Thank you to Swoon Reads and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

This book perfectly captures lots of different perspectives of prom from realistic high school characters. I found this book to be fun and interesting and highly enjoyable.

Going live on my blog on 4/26/18

A lot of you know that Contemporary is a genre that I'm still getting comfortable with and learning what I do and don't like. So I go into every book with no expectations whatsoever, which is really helping me figure out what I do and don't like in contemporary novels. This one is definitely on my really like/love

This one is realistic for the most part, some parts were a little rom-com, but they were so good! Yes, this book does have a ton of main characters, but each one got the same amount of time, and they all connected which made this work so well.

Paisley and Henry had one of my favorite friendships of this book and this one had a lot of great ones. Henry is extremely shy and introverted and is a baseball player. While Paisley is on the prom committee and works at potato restaurant, and calls him telling all the gossip she learns while being on the job.

Cora has been in a relationship with Jamie since childhood and they are now the 'perfect high school sweetheart' couple. But, things are about to change as graduation gets closer and the rest of there lives looms closer and closer.

Otis was a character that was also one of my favorite. His relationship problems were so realistic and it was nice to see them being talked about in a book.

Lizzie portions of the book were so fun and full of mystery!

Cameron was one that I was a little meh about at first, but the more we learned about him the more I liked him and was so happy to see how things ended.

Jacinta has kind of just been in the background for most of high school, but she's determined to make the last few months memorable.



Overall I loved this story. Realistic contemporary is truly becoming one of my favorite types of contemporary. Not only does this book feel very realistic and high school. It also dealt with more difficult topics without making them be the only thing about that person like a lot of books tend to do. I cannot recommend this book enough for an easy read!

I can't wait to read another book by this author. Any recs for which one I should start with?

Possible Spoilers

Otis is a gay young man in a relationship and I loved how it was written in this book. (please let me know if it wasn't a good representation)

Prom to remember has characters in the following spectrums: LGBTQIA, expectations from parents/friends, anxiety, family issues, all weights (this was mentioned during prom dress shopping).

I feel like these last two months have just been me being disappointed by books I was excited about, and this fall into that category of books.
There were many ways that this book fell flat for me, one of them was the many POV's. When it comes to POV's, I prefer there to be only one, but depending on the story there are times where I think having more than one works. This was not one of those books. I honestly lost count of the amount of POV's this book had, and while I think in concept having so many characters come together for the Prom is a good idea, it just did not work in my opinion. At the very beginning it was changing so quickly between them that it was really hard to form connections to the character, and that was how I ended up feeling for all of the book. Maybe people who really enjoy reading multiple POV's can find enjoyment in it, because it does make this a fast paces story at certain times, but it hurt the story more than helped it for me.
Maybe this comes partially from me not really caring about the characters, but there were points where I felt like certain plot lines were, well I think pointless is not quite the right word, but kind of pointless in that there didn't feel like there were any real consequences to problems. Any time a conflict came up there was either a very easy solution or all of the characters would be completely fine with whatever bad thing happened and there wouldn't be any tension. Near the end when things like people breaking up happened, I wasn't even worrying about it because I knew there wouldn't be made into a big deal.

This book is so cute. There are about a million main characters, and they're all so different and so great in a wide variety of ways. I am torn if I love Paisley and Henry or Lizzie and Cameron most. Jacinta is also great. Oh, and so is Cora. And also Otis and Luke. And Madison, LOL. …Dangit.

This is told from the point of view of a bunch of different seniors in high school starting when they get back from spring break at the end of April all the way up to their prom night on June 1. (Thankfully NOT in the first person POV, or I'd have gone bonkers trying to follow it…) Normally I'd be a little put off by how MANY "main" characters there are, but they're all such individuals and so interesting. Jacinta feels like a side character in her own life, Paisley and Henry clearly have some social/mental issues (Man, is Paisley fantastic), Cora has been with her boyfriend basically since 7th grade and is just realizing she needs space to discover who she is, Cameron is adjusting to life after closing himself off after his mom remarried, Otis is feeling his way through what it means to be gay in high school with his boyfriend Luke (and what Luke getting a hotel on prom night means for their relationship), Lizzie is a plus-sized worker at a food court restaurant that only sells baked potatoes and has a "double-blind" relationship with someone that she communicates with using only a shared classroom laptop. Who am I forgetting? :D

This book is so light-hearted and fun, like fizzy champagne bubbles and that gooey cheese on bowling alley pizza. That is how this book is. (Yes, I'm aware the description makes little to no sense. Just go with it.) The ending left me smiling a big, dorky grin and wishing I could relive my own prom experience (which involved driving a bunch of friends in my parents' big ugly blue conversion van, and making up dances we called things like "The Giraffe Dance" and "The Llama Dance"). Read this book for a light-hearted, fun, low-angst, quasi-drama-filled read that will leave you feeling all gooey and bubbly.

Cute Romance great characters!!! Another great romance from Sandy Hall

This book felt like the prom version of the movie Love Actually. You read from the perspective of different characters and find out how they all intertwine on Prom night. A light, cute, fun read if you enjoy the YA contemporary genre.

“A Prom to Remember” follows seven teenagers who are about to graduate and live the biggest night of their adolescent lives.

PROS

Diversity. Sandy Hall always knows how to write a story for everyone. In “A Prom to Remember”, the author offers the reader a cast of diverse characters (from ethnic groups to sexual orientations). This book represents everyone!

All the fluffiness. Hall’s writes the cutest contemporaries. Her novels are always so freaking cute! If you’ve never read “A Little Something Different” you should do it right away. It also has multiple points of views (one belongs to a squirrel). Anyway, Hall’s books are super adorable.

CONS

Seven point-of-views. There were so many characters (and side characters) that it was difficult to keep up with all the story lines and create a connection with any of them. No one really ended up standing up. However, I did like Paisley (she may have reminded me of me back in high school and not really wanting to be part of anything) and Henry, even though his social anxiety wasn’t that well-portrayed.

I was skeptical when I read that the story was told from 7(!) different points of view. {I wonder if that's a record?} Anyway, I was skeptical, but Hall made it work and she made it work wonderfully! A sweet, fun read.

I didn't have a favorite character or plot line which you'd think one or two would stand out. They weaved together and blended perfectly. The different backgrounds (socially & ethnicity) of each character didn't feel forced or contrived.

Side note: I just LOVE the cover.

Fun romantic read that will be a hit with some of my students. Prom is something that everyone knows about and this story takes a cast of characters on a journey toward their prom night and all the adventures and personal growth that come with it. This was a cute book! Thanks netgalley!

Very well-written young adult novel--excellent characterization. I was fully prepared not to like the book and thoroughly enjoyed it! I absolutely could not put it down and was immersed in the character's lives. Good read.

This was okay. Could have been better, could have been worse. It didn't really feel compelling and it was sometimes hard to pick it up after taking a break. I think that some teens who love contemporary stories will like it, but unfortunately there's not a lot to push it to the top of anyone's to-read list over other titles.

I just couldn't get into this book. I believe younger teens might find it fun, but it was really slow paced. It's a cute book about the circumstances around prom and the antics that teens get into.

This book meet and exceeded all my expectation that I had for it. Seven seniors, one prom and all the hijinks, fears and fun that are expected on prom night. Everyone has something that is holding them back from fully living the "true prom experience" for all different reasons but the night of the prom everyone is able to push their differences (or fears) aside and live it up...just how they want it to be.
Sandy Hall is becoming a favorite of mine for many reasons and this book just reminds me why I love her!

I was so excited to get a copy of this book but only have made it about 40% of the way through and not sure if I can or want to finish. This book doesn't have anything that makes me want to keep turning those pages like I was expecting from the summary blurb. There are also a lot of characters and keeping them with their storylines straight was a bit confusing--and I LOVE a story with alternate points of view. I may try to pick this up again at some point but for now it just left me disappointed.

I really enjoyed this light-hearted story. At times I got confused by all the characters, but I kind of loved the soap opera feel of the whole thing. There was a big six-degrees of Kevin Bacon feel going on in this story which was fun. Sure, parts of the story are a little bit too convenient - but it's YA...that's what happens.
I would definitely recommend this to readers who enjoy books with a John Hughes movie feel to them.