Lucy “Lu” Butler and Eve used to be best friends, that is until Eve got super hot and ditched Lu for the “Pretty Pennies” of the school. After a chance encounter in the girls’ bathroom senior year during Eve’s pregnancy scare, the two slowly start to reconnect, and Lu realizes that her feelings for Eve may be more than platonic. In addition to gradation stresses, Lu is facing the potential death of a beloved grandparent and conflicting emotions about Eve.

The most distinctive thing about this book is its language. Lu and her peers have a language all their own that is a cross between 50s, 80s, and modern, teen slang. I absolutely loved it! I had to take a little more time here and there with a few phrases, but overall, it was easy to understand and gave the book a strong perspective and a great point-of-view.

I was a fan of the characters as well. Lu goes through a lot in just a few months, and she grows so much during that time. I loved her and Eve’s budding relationship, and Lu’s BFFs would be great friends to have. I definitely recommend this one if you’re a fan of contemporary YA. No fantasy or sci-fi to be had here, just pretty solid characters, normal teenage drama but with a lot of heart. The pub date is well-timed; this is the perfect summer read.

This one is out today, so be sure to check it out from your local library or pick up a copy from your fav, local bookseller.

I regret that I could not get past the first chapter. Too many cliches, too many references that will make this book dated after a short time. I couldn't get past watching the author wanting the reader to laugh and nod at her cleverness, and I didn't want to read in between what I wasn't finding clever.

I hope the story is better than the hook.

While the book did technically have a plotline - mainly the situation with Lu's grandmother and her relationship with Eve - the abbreviated pacing made it difficult to become emotionally invested in any of the characters or storylines. (For example, the intense crush on teacher storyline, which was somewhat uncomfortable, nevertheless disappears entirely after the first third or so, predicting the emotional staying power of the rest of the work.) However, I wouldn't have necessarily wanted to read any more because the strange slang made the text distracting and at times unbearable. I kept looking for an explanation (was the book was taking place in the 1920s or the future?) but it just seemed to have been a misguided narrative choice. I was glad that everyone used it rather than just Lucy, but the use of such odd language made her narration even harder to connect with.

Overall, this feels like several adult gimmicks stuffed into the skin of a YA work.

I wanted to like this book. I tried to like this book. But the slang and the writing style made it impossible to get through, no matter how much I tried to immerse myself in it. I could see shades of a good story within, but I was too easily confused by the narration to stick along with it.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted May 12, 2019 at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!