I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis held so much promise, but the book failed to deliver as much as I hoped for from it. I enjoyed it well enough, but with a few tweaks it could have been an even more enjoyable read.

DNF at 25%. It's been over three years since I received this ARC. I gave it a go and have decided it is not for me. It interested me then and no longer does now.

DNFed this one at 40%. I even received a physical ARC from an author signing festival I went to and tried to pick up where I left off and I just couldn't get into the story.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

This book has me feeling all the feelings and by that, I mean that it is a mixed bag of emotions. I think that this book lent itself to being very easy to read. It tackled some pretty heavy topics and had a good bit of drama. It wasn't super romance heavy throughout the entire story, but it did have some. And a few scenes with sexual content - both teens are of legal age, but for a YA book, I was expecting more of a fade to black. Little bit of a shock. I appreciate that Amber (one of the MCs) was a girl in STEM and really loved her parents and friends. I love how sex positive and informative this book is. I loved the scenes with Ask Me Anything entries especially. I had a few issues with the convenience of a lot of the characters' conversations/personalities. There were some repetitive phrases that I took a notice to (which is my least favorite thing I do now...). I hated the storyline with the principal's abuse. And also this is the second book I've read where someone touches the other person's roof of their mouth with their tongue. I told my husband about this and asked him if I could try and touch his roof of his mouth and it's awkward and weird and not at all sexy. Just saying. Anyways, I think overall that this book was a perfectly decent read and I would love to see more sex positive support for teenagers. So important!

This book was provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Entangled Teen and Netgalley!

Ask Me Anything is a standalone YA Contemporary and tells the story of Amber and Dean.

I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve had an ARC of Ask Me Anything for over a year… I got this ARC through Netgalley and I usually read everything as soon as I get a copy or closer to the release date, so I don’t really know why I waited with reading Ask Me Anything. I’m really ashamed of myself and I also regret it because it was such a good book!

I really liked Amber and Dean’s story because it was just so fun to read about them. They’re just so perfect for each other, and I enjoyed reading every bit of the story. I really love Amber because she’s a feminist and gives this amazing advice on her blog. I also love Dean because he’s just so cute and there isn’t a better boyfriend for Amber than Dean.

Ask Me Anything is such a good YA Contemporary and I loved this book. Not only for the relationship between Amber and Dean, but also for all the advice posted on Amber’s blog. I think that the advice is really helpful for teenagers so this is just the perfect YA read! I’m so glad that I picked up this book because Ask Me Anything was an amazing read!

Ask Me Anything is about a blogger who decided that her school is too repressed and needs a blog where students can "Ask Me Anything" about sex ed related questions. Well the students really needed this blog because it's blowing up with all kinds of questions. FYI the school administration is REALLY not happy either. Now Dean our bloggers biggest crush has been asked by administration to find who this blogger is and shut it down. Should our blogger friend kept quiet? Read and find out!

The book is mainly about Amber, a teen who decides to make an ask-in blog for relationship and sex advice in direct response to her school's adherence to an abstinence-only sex ed curriculum. Being the daughter of an erotic novel author and a child therapist, her home environment is open and comfortable, and safe for discussions of sexuality and stuff, so she thinks to extend that space to her fellow schoolmates, too. The fact that she is also a brilliant coder means that she can create an untraceable website to keep her own identity under wraps. She does this while having a sort-of bet with the other brilliant coder in her class, and her crush, Dean, who, in a twist of bad luck, is the one the principal recruits/blackmails into tracking down the source of the website.

The plot is interspersed with the advice column posts, and through it, it imparts some genuinely good advice; there is also a subplot regarding one of the posts that comes between the two of them. Amber's and Dean's romance grows slowly from their friendship, and shared interests, and with Amber having come out of a bad relationship she is also nervous to get into another one. Her trauma from the former relationship also affects her ability to trust her judgment and her instincts, because sometimes you necessarily see any red flags early on, and so she has difficulty trusting people. Still, she finds that her making the blog was the most positive thing she could do, and when even that thing starts getting attacked by angry parents, and the school administration, she starts to feel unsure about whether it was okay to give advice when she herself doesn't know much (the answers she supplies are derived from her parents, btw).

While I like the concept and attention to nuances of teen sexuality in this book, the plot still has a lot left to be desired. Firstly, the book starts with a prologue that is a fight between Amber and Dean, and at this point it is pretty much useless as we have not emotionally invested in the characters so it comes off as a bit over-the-top and dramatic. Secondly, the romance itself isn't quite interesting; it's a healthy depiction, yes, but the dialogues are so cheesy at times, I was low-key cringing at times. The school principal being a power-hungry d-bag is not a surprise, but you'd think he wouldn't be able to get away with these things so long. The ending was a mixed bag, because it goes from 0 to 100 pretty quickly, but I think overall it was pretty okay?

Ask Me Anything reads just like you're watching a teen movie, and it's beautiful. The effort Lee put in to make these characters multi-dimensional is just insane. The two main characters are expert hackers. Amber's appearance is described as 'different' right off the bat. And the juicy drama throughout the whole book is enough to sate ANY appetite for that sort of content.

The introduction is both a blessing and a curse. It takes place a little after the events of the book, so we get an idea before we even start of what the climax is going to be. This hinders the investment between Amber and Dean, I think. While I know I would have been rooting for them had I been following the story flow, I had a hard time getting attached with the knowledge that there was going to be something later that messed it all up. I was proven right anyway when he ended up betraying her down the line, so I'm glad I didn't get too invested! I do feel like this could have been executed better.

The concept of a high school student starting a blog (called ASK ME ANYTHING) to educate about sex in a more realistic fashion than they're actually learning in school is both great for YA Fiction and a great way to set an example for other high school students actually reading the book. And, come on - it's full of all of the best aspects of YA Fiction that keep readers interested.

This one is definitely a winner, and I'm looking forward to more of Lee's work!

I DNF'ed this book after only getting a few chapters in. I can't pinpoint exactly what it was, but it just wasn't hooking me.

Really great back and forth as the 2 main characters volley the story, a bit light and flirty combined with a bit dark and issue-ey.

This book features an on-page sexual assault, lots of blackmail, and rape culture.

When I was in eighth grade, it was 2008 and the entire sex ed unit boiled down to our science class being taken over by a third-party group once a week for four weeks. It was light on the education, heavy on the abstinence-only fearmongering and pictures of what untreated STDs like gonorrhea look like. I double-checked and the school district’s policy for public schools is still abstinence-only 11 years later. I had things to say about it then and I still do now, but this book co-stars a girl who’s trying to do something about it. The intentions are noble, but Ask Me Anything is of such poor quality that I feel like I’ve come out worse for having read it.

Amber is the first of our two narrators–the other being her love interest Dean–and she bemoans in the very first chapter that Wilmont Academy is the last school on the planet to practice abstinence-only education, which will get someone off on the wrong foot with her almost immediately. Is her statement an entirely normal teenage overexaggeration? Yes it is. Does it also make Amber seem like she’s up her own rear end, particularly when she’s also characterized as being a feminist? You betcha! I would have rolled my eyes just as hard at this eighteen-year-old girl when I was fifteen and the most clueless of white feminists.

Amber doesn’t have a personality outside being a hacker and knowing stuff about sex thanks to her parents being a teen psychologist and an erotica author. Dean isn’t any better; hacking, his family, and Amber make up his entire character. When these two paper towels smack into one another, they engage in a “romance” rendered tepid and tasteless like unseasoned grits by a serious abuse of timeskips. You want to see how they bond and fall in love? Sorry, all that action either happened before the novel’s start or gets skipped over. Amber and Dean have all the chemistry of two stalks of celery sitting in a fridge’s vegetable drawer.

How can someone even call this a romance when readers don’t get any of the romantic bits? I honestly can’t remember the last time I read such a romance-free romance!

The jacket copy implies a thriller element of whether Amber can keep her love interest from finding out she’s behind the eponymous blog, but that’s so far in the backseat that you’re not even in the car, you’re just sitting in the driveway and the car left fifteen minutes ago. Principal Tanner is cartoonishly evil and flat, but calling him those things is an insult to both villains in cartoons and one-dimensional objects. I cannot with this guy. I LITERALLY CANNOT.

See, Principal Tanner apparently never learned about President Richard Nixon, who resigned in part because his paranoia caused him to record everything that was ever said in the Oval Office, including some direly incriminating stuff. I know this because Tanner has a hidden camera in his own office.

The same office where he blackmails students like Dean. Regularly. He records every single one of his crimes and ethical violations and then chooses to inform an MIT-bound prodigy hacker of that fact.

(That’s all ignoring how context clues set this book in Massachusetts, a state with a two-party consent rule regarding recorded footage because really. Paying attention to that is like watching someone get murdered in the street and only getting mad because the killer committed jaywalking to get to the victim.)

THIS IS SUCH A BASIC VILLAIN NO-NO THAT IT’S NOT EVEN IN THE VILLAIN HANDBOOK, PEOPLE. The writers of it didn’t think readers would be such goddamn dumbells as to need that spelled out for them.

But Principal Tanner is just the flattest of these flat characters. Every single person in this book is just as flat and if you gathered the entire cast into a room, they’d make up a group of people so devoid of intelligence and critical thinking skills you wouldn’t be able to find two brain cells to rub together. Every conflict in this book is the result of ludicrous idiocy and people’s refusal to talk to one another. It’s like all of them had a list of choices they could make and chose the worst option every single time just for shits and giggles with no regard for their characterizations as intelligent people.

Ask Me Anything is overbearingly childish despite serious subject matter like a sexual assault that Amber suffers on the page. The attempts at authentic teen dialogue are cringe-inducing and use slang that was going out of style when I was in college–and every time white-as-white-gets Amber started spouting AAVE slang, I wanted to toss her ass into the sun and watch her burn. I’m not here for cultural appropriation of language, folks. Honestly, the way this book’s teens are written is an insult to the intended audience: real teenagers!

The whole time while writing this review, I just kept dropping my head into my hands. For some of the things in this book, there just aren’t any words. And that’s the image I want to leave you with: me with my head in both hands and letting out a sigh of suffering.

There’s undeniably solid practical advice for teens who are exploring their sexual desires, identities, and relationships, but it’s buried deep so deep inside this childish, unbaked-bowl-of-raw-ingredients novel that I’d sooner tell them to Google their questions even knowing how little help Google is. At least then they might be lucky enough to stumble upon a good advice column like Daniel Mallory Ortberg’s Dear Prudence.

I truly enjoyed reading this story. Amber is a kick ass, fierce, and BRAVE young woman. And Dean is the guy so many need. TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNING!!! I do have to mention that this story deals with sexual assault, attempted rape, teen pregnancy, and blackmail involving 16-18 year olds from an adult authority figure. Please make sure to practice self-care if any of these topics are particularly hard for you to consume.

Amber and Dean are seniors at Wilmot Academy. A very prestige, multiple award winning school with a dickhead for a principle. Tanner. He regularly blackmails his students to get what he wants. And that's power, and continued awards and grants to make Wilmot what it is. He cares little about anything else. Amber and Dean are also the top hackers in their school. and have been casual friends throughout their time at Wilmot.

During Tanner's "Safe Sex" assembly at the beginning of the year, his abstinence only presentation is hijacked with super steamy videos of make-out sessions from popular teen/ya TV shows. Tanner is livid, and as punishment to Dean for not realizing this, he is to run an after hours club for coding. In hopes to find the culprit for the stunt at assembly. During "Code Club" Dean and Amber grow as closer friends, and issue a challenge. Who can hack the best hack. Leave no trace, and the other cannot know about it.

Because of Wilmot's and Tanner's archaic views on "Safe Sex" practices, or lack thereof, Amber decided to build a blog called ASK ME ANYTHING. Where students can write in anonymously and ask those hard questions they are not getting properly educated on. From the school, home or otherwise. The hitch? Amber isn't exactly an expert. But, because of her amazing relationship with her parents, she is able to pick their brains before giving thoughtful and real advice. I mean, her dad is a youth psychologist, and her mum is an erotica writer. I imagine they know a thing or too. Unfortunately, Dean is blackmailed by Tanner to find out who is running the blog, because of the "public outcry." Sure, some parents are worried as all heck, but really, Tanner is just a big baby and is just trying to wave his control around and not lose his job. Aside from this, Dean's hack challenge is eating at him, just as Amber's blog is. And everything comes to light.

The relationship that builds between Amber and Dean is really sweet. Amber has been hurt in the past and is not so open to trust. And I can relate to that on so many damn levels. I totally get that. And while Dean doesn't really know what happened in Amber's past, or what her ex did (who is also a Wilmot Academy student), he's 100% letting Amber take the lead on everything. The amount of consent show by Dean is super refreshing to see and I love the heck out of it.

Now, I read some reviews that said they didn't like the way that Dean reacted to finding out that it was Amber all along with the Ask Me Anything blog. He was angry. I mean, I get it. I understand why he reacted the way he did. He said some things because he was angry and confused, and pretty much shut Amber out. Who turns around and does the same thing. Look, they are late teens, still in high school, who are still figuring their shit out. They are not supposed to be perfect. They have flaws as all us humans do. And I love that. That's what helps me connect to the characters of a story.

While this story focuses primarily on Amber and Dean and their growing romance, it is just as equally important to point out there is some solid familial relationships played out in this book as well. Are they perfect? No. I do not believe in perfection of any relationship. The family dynamics between Amber and her parents, and Dean and his family, is great. And I would love to see more of that.

I truly recommend this book. Read it. Now. lol

This is an enjoyable YA romance that dares to tackle sex education, or lack thereof, and does it well. The characters are likeable and the plot doesn't drag. Recommended!

Brilliant premise, but the execution was off, the pacing, character and resolution just didn’t gel for me.

I was really excited for this book, but I ended up being disappointed. The pacing was off, and it never really felt like there were stakes. The thing that bugged me the most was the ending though. Dean said and did some awful things to Amber. Stuff that personally, I couldn't forgive. But they just kiss and make up. And it was all due to miscommunication. The characters jump to conclusions and do awful things instead of just talking to each other. While I love that the book touched on sex education, the rest of the book wasn't very compelling.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

This is one of those books where I wish something in it was true. I swear so many people would be helped with an anonymous blog that told helpful information regarding sex. The unfortunate thing is a lot of information could be wrong in real life, but one can dream, yes??? And the information given in the book is on point and I think will totally be helpful to those who need it.

On that note, I really liked this book. It has a great premise and some great characters. The school and it's administrators weren't totally believable to me, yet at the same time I can't help but admit that the level of corruption could be possible in some schools.

This book does employ a mechanism I'm not a fan of usually-- the giving a snippet of future betrayal or bad thing that will happen between characters later in the book right at the beginning. For me, it made it hard to like Dean, who is super likable, literally the perfect guy ever, but we know things are going to go down...
So, this is totally, TOTALLY a personal preference, I know some people love the suspense this mechanism can build.

Back to the characters, our main two characters are really hard not to like. Dean is super sweet, caring, and seriously the best guy ever, when he isn't having toxic masculine thoughts -- I'll touch on this late. Amber is funky, hard-working, and compassionate. She just wants to be helpful! I loved reading about them and from their POVs.

I don't quite understand their 'bet' and how it would actually work, this bit did kind of confuse me at times... but the storyline I thought really worked out. I wasn't sure how things were going to go, or what Dean would do. I mean, there was a time I thought my heart was being ripped out. I love the characters and was rooting for them to change the school, the entire time.

I will say, as another weird point, for how forward thinking this book is, the macho guy or toxic masculinity stuff was a bit jarring. We have the obligatory dad joking about hurting the boy taking her daughter on a date bit which UGH and guys needing/wanting to protect girls is there. It was seriously jarring for me because a lot of the comments weren't needed and the dad thing makes me feel such anger!

I really enjoyed the book though and this is one I will be recommending to people looking for realistic fiction with hackers or about social change.

HEADS UP: there is multiple mentions of a sexual assault and flashbacks to it. The blog talks about safe sex

Ask Me Anything by Molly E. Lee is YA romance with a bit of a spin. It's the story of two high schoolers into hacking/coding - Amber and Dean, and their story is built through alternating chapters. As a punishment, Dean has to start a coding club, and Amber is the only attendee. Their relationship builds there and through online chats. Amber is also frustrated with her school's approach to sexual health education. She decides to start an anonymous blog where students can submit questions and get real answers. It quickly gains a following from her classmates. The principal who doesn't support the blog's approach to the topic blackmails Dean into finding out the identity of the anonymous source of the blogger. He quickly realizes the principal is not a great dude, and blackmail is something he leans on often, so Dean must figure out what to do with this. This is one that took me a bit to get into, but I liked the different spin on a story. I liked that it was real dilemmas and told through different activities/interests than what you can often see. Thanks to NetGalley for a look at this recent release!

I really enjoyed the coding aspect of this novel! I will definitely recommend this to my kiddos who are looking for something a little on the edgier side!

Molly E. Lee's Ask Me Anything takes a big deep look into the American failures regarding sex education and teenagers. Set as a love story between teen hackers Amber and Dean, Ask Me Anything breaks the code on abstinence education and its failures amongst teens who are going to do as they want anyways.

Amber and Dean are set as mutual lead characters, with the book switching between their two POV's, never leaving us to wonder how they feel about each other. With regards to the love story background, this book is all fluff with the tiniest bit of complication. The real struggle is the external story around our two main characters.

While I love the idea of fighting back against abstinence only education - and for those of you who like your YA a-political, this is not for you - the overall plot is rather flimsy. All conflict is based on one domineering headmaster, who for some reason is set in a spot where changing from abstinence only education to actual sex education means his job. That was pretty confusing and never fully explained, as our two leads are teenagers who clearly don't understand the intricacies of higher education, nor do they care. As a note - I went to a boarding school that didn't even have health classes, so we didn't learn abstinence only vs more complete sex education either way, that kind of thing isn't really as big a topic in private education as this book made it out to be. This is likely why this feels like a major plot hole to me personally.

There's also a sexual assault backstory used to show that the main character understands/has experienced trauma. I had some issues latching to this, not because I don't have compassion for it, but because it felt unnecessary to the overall story and specifically trying to attach us to Amber more emotionally without her being a better character. Amber is presented to us as a mature beyond her years 17/18 year old, her only fault being she hasn't fully dealt with this particular trauma. As Mary Sue's go, this one's pretty stereotyped.

I really wanted to love Ask Me Anything, I came out of it feeling great, but after a two week pause due to real life stuff, I'm seeing all the faults and breaks. This is a great book for a quick read if you aren't going to spend a lot of time thinking about it afterwards. It's also not for younger YA readers, as sex really is a main topic, with the act occurring within its pages.

Ask Me Anything gave me all the feels. I loved Amber, and I loved, loved, loved Dean. Fully 100% of their hacking stuff went totally over my head; I have no clue if any of that stuff made sense, though it sounded pretty darn exciting. But the relationships? The blog? The way characters stood up for the people they loved and what they thought was right? LOVED.

The principal is more than a little over the top--he's practically twirling his mustache and cackling as he runs around perpetuating his evil deeds--and Amber's parents are equally OTT awesome, but as complaints, they really don't hold a candle to the rest of the story. I mean, it is YA fiction, so...

Trigger warnings--there's discussion/depiction of sexual assault, abusive relationships, teen pregnancy, blackmail, and attitudes about teenage sexuality that somehow manage to be archaic and scarily applicable today at the same time. That said, Amber and her blog really do a fantastic job of dealing with all of these challenges (and more!) head on. Honestly, I wish we had something like this--both the book and the blog--when I was in high school...

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.