I adore sister books. I am so close to mine that when there are books about sister’s I try to make sure to read them. This one is no exception in showing the complicated relationship that two sisters can have during their teen years.
April and Jenn remind me of my relationship with my sister during my high school years. I was busy working and going to school and with three years between us we hadn’t walked the same hallways in years. We weren’t close but we did have great parents who supported and loved us. I can’t say the same for April and Jenn’s parents. They are the reason why this book is four stars instead of five. It was a struggle for me when it came to their parents so you’ve been forewarned.
April avoids her parents at all costs either with soccer or hanging out with neighbor, and best friend, Nate. She comes off as the spoiled younger sibling who never has to deal with the responsibility of keeping their parents under control. Her love of soccer has a scout coming to her upcoming games with the possibility of gaining a scholarship. Now that her sister is going to be busy with community college she decides to plan a day full of fun activities to help reconnect. I really enjoyed April’s character the best out of the two sisters and you really get to see how much her parent’s and older sister pay little attention to her. Jenn sees her as non-caring but April just feels like the petulant child that no one cares to deal with at all. By the end she decides that she will be heard.
Jenn was the rougher character of the two for me. She’s miss perfect grades, keeps her room clean, works at the family antique store, and turned down the biggest opportunity of her life. Or so everyone thinks. Deep down Jenn feels that the only thing keeping her family together is her. She needs control and when things start to catch up with her, the secret she’s been keeping for months, she realizes that sometimes things need to go out of control for them to get back on track. When she agrees to her sisters plans on a whim to get out of working at the store she doesn’t know that her whole world is about to change. She definitely had the most distinct character arc out of the two sisters and I really liked how much their relationship grew by the end.
My mom always told my sister and I that friends will come and go but sisters will always be there. When we were teenagers we never felt that way but as we grew older, and became the adults we are now, we couldn’t imagine living without each other.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who has just one younger brother (who I get along with great, just FYI), I have always wondered what life would have been like if I had a sister. I had friends who had various levels of closeness with their sisters and have always been fascinated by the sisterly dynamic. I guess that’s why I also enjoy reading books/watching shows (or movies) that also focus on this unique sibling bond and was really excited for She’s the Worst.

She’s the Worst takes place over the course of a few days, from the perspectives of sisters April and Jenn. April plans a day of touring their hometown (Los Angeles) in hopes of rehabbing their relationship before Jenn leaves for college elsewhere in their state. There’s a few side characters (being a few boys and Jenn’s friends, Katie and Shruthi), but for the most part, the focus is on April and Jenn (and their parents).

This is a really cute and quick read and overall, I really enjoyed it. Both April and Jenn felt real and their struggles were both personal and easily relatable. A lot of both girls’ personalities and decisions are influenced by the toxic relationship between their still married parents. Their parents are constantly arguing, in front of Jenn and April, as well as their antique store customers, which causes April and Jenn to react in different ways. This leads to resentment between the sisters that I feel would have not been between the sisters otherwise.

Unfortunately, their broken relationship is based on a lot of external forces and lack of communication between them. They have separate interests, but as April attempts to pick landmarks throughout LA, she hopes to show Jenn how much they had in common and repair years of damage.

I’m certainly not from LA, but considering I vacation there just a few months ago, I definitely knew a few of the landmarks, which was enjoyable. I’m sure it’s even better for those more local to the area.

The reasons I took away a star are fairly mild: 1.) As much as I liked both girls, I did find both of them to be a bit immature, which was frustrating at various points of the story. There’s a lot miscommunication, which just continues to make things worse. And while I understand the family dynamics were so royally messed up, I still would have liked a bit more growth and maturity from each sister, considering there are some other heavy topics mentioned in the book. And 2.) The romance angle for April felt a bit jammed in. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked the boy April ends up with and enjoyed what he added, but for a book that was very much focused on a sisterly relationship taking place over a very short time frame, I’m just not sure a big romance for April was needed in the book. I would have liked it to take a little more a backburner approach to this plotline.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It has a lot of great themes about the unique bond between sisters, dealing with negative family dynamics, shouldering expectations from those closest to us, and the importance of communicating intentionally and honestly with those you love. It was perfectly wrapped up and I was satisfied with the book overall. This was my first Lauren Spieller novel and I look forward to what she writes next!

April and Jen are sisters that when they were younger were practically attached at the hip. In recent years, however, they barely speak outside of basic niceties.

Jenn is the older sister who spends most of her time when not busy with school taking shifts at their parent’s antique store. Shes more referee than anything else though as her parents are almost always fighting she spends more time settling arguments then making sales. She made the decision to defer college, for now, to help out at the struggling store.

April is the younger, less timid, more funloving sister whose loves to be sporty and the center of attention. She feels bad for her sister and in hopes of cheering her up plans an entire day that provides are a quite literal walk down memory lane. Visiting places that had special meaning to them when they were close. April hopes this will cheer Jenn up. She is however in for quite a rude awakening.

I am not going to say more about the plot as I do not want to give too much of the story away. I just want to pique your interest. I enjoyed reading this book. Usually, road-trip type ya novels are not my thing. I do not know why that is, just never really been my thing. This one, however, wasn’t horrible. I like the little details that were included like how every stop April had was accompanied by a throwback type photo of them at the location when they were younger. It made me nostalgic for a time when life was much less complicated and my biggest decision was a big chapter test in Algebra. (man I hated math!)

Sisters! Growing! Closer! I'm an only child, but I absolutely thrive on this plotline. I adore stories featuring siblings who haven't been close in a long time learning about each others' interests and being supportive. She's the Worst gave me the best of those feelings, in a gorgeous pink package.

This lighthearted summer story featured such complex emotions alongside sisterly bonding. April and Jenn had grown apart, but I loved April’s plan to explore LA with her sister as a way to spend time together before Jenn goes to college. She’s the Worst was a pretty quick and fun read, and it felt like a cute summer movie. I would love for it to be adapted someday—it’s definitely movie material.

April and Jenn are such realistic teenagers. I could totally see this story unfolding with a pair of siblings in the real world. Spieller did a great job writing complex and sympathetic characters—the tension and frustration in the story was always totally warranted and I just! wanted! them! to! talk! I loved how each sister felt like the other had a better relationship with their parents and confidence in their life, but that changed as they began to get to know each other.

In addition to the sisters reconnecting, She’s the Worst also features a friends-to-lovers romantic subplot, which was also SUPER CUTE! I am absolutely a sucker for well-done romantic subplots, and I loved reading about this one. The feelings were subtle but apparent, and I just loved everything about this.

I’m also glad that She’s the Worst explored the effect of parents’ fighting on siblings. April and Jenn’s parents fought a lot. That was one reason that the sisters grew apart, and I’m glad they began to grow closer instead of being driven apart permanently. However, I think the ending wrapped up a bit too easily. I don’t think one talk could fix all the years of fighting, but this is a minor issue in the scheme of things.

She’s the Worst is a sweet summer read, and I hope that you all will put it on your shelves! 4/5 stars.

This is a very readable and convincing story, which explores the complications of family over slightly more than a day. Jenn and April are about as different as teenage sisters can be, and Spieller captures the dynamics of sibling relationships, the miscommunications and distorted memories of the same events, as well as how good intentions can go awry. Although each sister is flawed and, at times, annoying their affection for each other is apparent despite the squabbling that has obscured their friendship.

REVIEW ON BLOG


I love books that center around family. As a little girl, I always wanted a sister. Sadly, I don't have one. However, I always use books to live vicariously through. Immediately, after picking up She's the Worst, I became fully immersed in the story. It had everything going in a novel that I look for when picking up a book. Centering on two sisters that come from a family that thrift and own an antique shop! Heck yes! For once, I had no idea where the plot was going in this novel. Not the least bit predictable.

The fights amongst the mother and father were very hard to read for me. Coming from a family of divorce, it was almost cringe-worthy and triggering for me. This is the only reason why I couldn't give the novel five stars. Also, the whole secret in the book was not what I was expecting. This girl was hoping for some huge plot twist! I leave five-star ratings for my favorite books. Otherwise, the book was very entertaining. If you want a rollercoaster kind of book of emotion then you have to pick this one up!

The sister relationship/sibling relationship was very well developed. It was believable in every single way. I loved the way sibling rivalry was portrayed. The book is told in dual perspective and this totally made the novel that much better. Getting to see that there are two sides to every story. I loved how different Jenn and April are but still love each other immensely. The book shows the importance of family. The grandmother is always supportive and checking in throughout the book. This made me think of my own grandma.

Set in Los Angeles, the girls visit a bunch of iconic spots throughout the book. This made me smile as visiting California and all it has to offer is a highlight of my memories. They visit a lot of my favorite beaches and more. It gave me all the California feels and is now making me want to go back to visit! Set in the Summer, the book became very atmospheric. If you want a good easy contemporary read with some depth you have to check this one out!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read/review this book.

Here we have the story of two sisters who have been spending some time without talking and one of them decide to fulfill a pact they made years ago. I have to say, the actual rating for me is between 3 and 3.5, why? Because even though I think the book is well written (grammatical, syntaxis, etc) the relationship in the books are problematic and that makes the book to be less enjoyable than I thought it would be. I enjoyed Tom and Shruthi's character because they said things how they saw it and how they felt it with or without anger. I liked the relationship between Nate and April but I didn't enjoy the fact that it completes one of the tropes and cliches we see in almost EVERY book and movie.

I really thought it was going to be more focused on how the sisters got their relationship back thanks to the pact, but it was fight after fight after fight for every single little thing, and even though siblings fight a lot, I think is not like this. Another thing that let me down, and I know this can be true to some people, is the fact that their parents relayed too much on them and came out to be self-centered or selfish in some points. The same way they, including Jenn, minimized everything April did and left her behind,

Is not a bad book, it just has some problematic details that I would have preferred it without them. I enjoyed reading it, but it wasn't the book for me. I would recommend this book to someone with siblings and that don't mind troubling relationships. Thank you for the author and publisher for the opportunity, I'm looking forward to read something else by the author.

Let’s talk about the things that drew me to this book before we talk about my actual opinions on it:

✔️ a book about sisters
✔️ the cover (especially the expressions on the two girls’ faces)
✔️ going away to college
✔️ an “epic day” together
✔️ the general hype I’d seen surrounding this book

So, all things considered, I probably should have loved this book. In the end, I was kind of indifferent. Objectively, there was nothing inherently wrong with it, but I think I might be over the target age for this one, or maybe this type of story just isn’t my cup of tea.

I could appreciate the conflict between the sisters. I could appreciate how awkward it would be for Jenn to have the conversation in question with her family, two adults who can barely keep themselves together and a younger sister with her own life and her own concerns. I could appreciate the idea of the book, a day filled with memories and excursions and family bonding.

What I could not appreciate was the constant drama.

You see, the main conflict in this book could have been resolved in about five seconds if Jenn had just opened her mouth and had a meaningful conversation with literally anyone in her family. Instead, everyone dances around the topic. Jenn avoids an uncomfortable conversation even more deftly than I do. I’ve talked so many times about how much I hate the trope of purposeful miscommunication. In this book, it just came across as childish. I understand that I was reading a book about teenagers, but one of these girls is college-aged. She should be at least trying to act like she’s ready to be an adult.

And, really, don’t even get me started on the parents. I’m sure that parents like this exist, but their existence seems to be primarily in the realm of YA novels. These are parents who are barely capable of surviving without the help of their daughter, who somehow own a business that they don’t know how to run, who blatantly ignore the issues that their children have in favor of their own petty arguments. I can understand how this type of parent creates a backdrop for a story like this, but it’s still very frustrating to me to read a YA novel with stereotypically terrible parents.

Overall, though, I thought that the writing was good. Although the characters frustrated me, they were well-developed and came with their own backstories and their own problems. The thing that kept me from enjoying the book was the constant childish drama, but that might just be my perspective as someone about a decade past the target demographic for this one.

I really enjoyed this. It's an adorable and sweet story about two sisters and learning to understand each other. It's a very simple story with not too much drama, perfect for getting out of a reading slump, but also tackles some real life issues teens experience. Especially teens who have siblings. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants something simple with a good message.

I have to say, I was super excited about this one but a bit nervous too. I didn't like Spieller's debut that much and was nervous that I'd be disappointed here. Honestly, it was so cute and fun! I read it in one sitting on a Saturday morning when I was desperate to read a little more on the final day of the month; it was the perfect book to just read at once.

April and Jenn were definitely "opposites" in most ways, with Jenn being the perfect sister that always helped their parents and got good grades. April was a bit younger and reckless, playing soccer instead of working at the family's store. It was hard to read about how easily they grew apart, and the fact that it was honestly mostly their parents' fault. I don't want to dive too much into them because I HATED THEM SO MUCH but they were incredibly unreasonable. I have to say, they were some of my least favorite parents I've read about.

April decides to give Jenn a tour of their memories around LA, where they live, and I won't disclose Jenn's secret, but it was a good idea for their sister day. They had a lot of issues to resolve within their relationship, as well as how they were impacted by their parents' choice to open - and fight about - an antique store for years.

There were other things touched upon, like Jenn's feelings about college, her boyfriend, and her two friends (who were going to the same school, without her), and April's ~boy~ situation and soccer-related dreams. I thought it was nice that they had SOME background elements that were fleshed out just the right amount, given that this story happened within one day.

Overall, this was a quick and cute read that those with sisters should especially enjoy. I reflected on my relationship with my sister, which is quite different than theirs for numerous reasons.

I gravitated toward this book because of its cover, opened it because of its synopsis, and finished it because of its character dynamics.

This book follows sisters April and Jenn who have become estranged during their high school years. The day before Jenn is set to leave for college, April tries to patch their relationship by planning a day of nostalgic activities. But of course, things go awry, from accusatory arguments to needy feuding parents to boyfriend troubles.

First of all, the author must have a sister because she nails the sibling relationship.
I related to this book A LOT! As an older sister, I'm very much like Jenn: I'm bookish, analytical, judgmental, and overprotective. My younger sister is my opposite: athletic, popular, and silly, just like April. Both sisters are totally convinced that that they're not being selfish and that the other has it better. But they also both end up learning from each other and from their friends, coming to realizations about themselves that help them become better people.

In fact, all the characters were enjoyable and realistic. The friends were supportive and helped the sisters see the errors of their ways. The parents, who technically fill the antagonist roles, were well-meaning albeit self-centered with their motives. And Jenn's boyfriend does things that she perceives as hurtful, but really he's not wrong. Everyone has their own motive and perspective; all the trouble comes when another person assumes what someone is thinking.

As much as I enjoyed this book though, it was incredibly predictable. From the first chapter, I'd already figured out who April was going to end up with, Jenn's big secret, and the fundamental problem of their sisterly relationship. Almost every time there was a conversation mentioning something that could happen, it was clear that that thing would then happen.

The plot itself is pretty expected and run-of-the-mill, but I loved the character development and dynamics. I'd recommend this to anyone with a sister, regardless of if they have a close relationship or not. So like 3.25.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2940056542

Two sisters who have drifted apart fulfill a long-ago promise to spend a day together, despite the thorniness that has grown between them. This novel presents a very realistic sibling relationship, depicting bitterness, jealousy, resentment, love, hope, and everything in between. Additionally, it shows the weight that children bear when parents aren't always the best at adulting. Spieller's novel is especially perfect for siblings of all ages.

She’s The Worst had SO much potential… I’m going to say it straight away, I was a little disappointed by it. Following two sisters as they try to reconnect with each other one day in Los Angeles sounded like the perfect premise, but it lacked something, for me. Let’s talk about the positives, though, first.

She’s The Worst is a quick, entertaining read I flew through in only a couple of days and its premise was so lovely. I adore when sisters are at the heart of stories so this made me so, so very happy to see. One thing I also loved, was the relationship between April and her neighbor / best friend Nate, which warmed my little marshmallow heart and felt predictable, but adorable.

My main issue with the story was that it felt very repetitive, miscommunication based and… somehow, it lacked some depth within the sisters’ relationship. The roots of the sisters’ relationship was interesting, how they grew apart from each other, but I would have loved to learn more about how, about their relationship, before and now, I would have loved to learn more about them together as a whole and somehow, I felt like I just needed more. Maybe I’m just too sister-focused though. Another frustrating thing about She’s The Worst were the parents. If I appreciated their presence and how they were an integrant part of the storyline, they. were. so. frustrating.

Still, if you’re looking for a quick and fun contemporary to read, I can still recommend She’s The Worst. If it lacked some depth and exploration for me within the relationships, it can still be a hit for you, a fun contemporary read you might love!

Spieller does a great job exploring the messy relationships that can form between sisters. I feel like my students will really relate to this book in a lot of ways!

In an effort to reconnect with her older sister, April plans a little walk down memory lane filled with various L.A. locations, which she thought were meaningful in their shared history. April may have missed the mark, but the outing may result in something positive for these two after all.

I love a good sister story, and this one delighted me.

Jenn and April were like night and day, but once upon a time, they were thick as thieves. I was really rooting for these two to mend those fences and reignite the bond they once had, because with the way their parents were, they sort of only had each other to rely on. Like with most relationships, this one was messy, but it was salvageable. I didn't feel as though either sister did anything bridge-burning to the other. They just sort of grew apart as their interests diverged, and they developed other meaningful relationships outside of their family.

I thought the the all-in-one-day adventure the girls embarked on was great. Spieller not only made each stop on the itinerary fun and interesting, but she also used it as an opportunity for these young women to examine their relationship and themselves.

There are definitely going to be people, who will declare, that all of this could have been avoided had they communicated better, but this happens in the real world. People let those important to them drift out of their lives, because they don't like to confront uncomfortable realties, and those people can fade from their lives, permanently. Spieller did a great job helping me understand all the emotions involved in this situation. She explained how and when the breakdown occurred, and why they hadn't done anything previously to remedy the situation. Because of all those things, I understood and therefore, accepted the situation.

Though, I am not going to pretend like I didn't enjoy the romantic drama (there was one romance I was all in on), I wish, perhaps that that time was used differently. I would have liked a little more closure/attention regarding the parental situation. Their troubled marriage played a big role in the story, yet, I am left worrying about their future together.

Regardless, I enjoyed seeing these two sisters try and heal their broken bond. It was fantastic seeing the sights with them, and I was extremely pleased with the resolutions they reached, both with respect to their relationship with each other and their individual issues.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while now, you’ll likely know that I have a soft spot for stories about siblings and particularly, stories about sisters. Having two sisters of my own, it always interests me to see how that relationship is reflected in fiction, and She’s the Worst is one of the best portrayals I’ve personally ever encountered. Readers will only have a little over a day to spend with sisters April and Jenn, as they hang out and visit spots meaningful to them all around LA (which happens for two different reasons, depending on which sister you talk to). But Spieller writes about their relationship in a realistic and relatable way, claiming both the nostalgic love and fondness, as well as the misconceptions and hurts that are part and parcel of sisterhood. Interspersed with their sister dynamic, she also writes about their experiences visiting different parts of Los Angeles together, their complicated family situation and their relationships with other people (friendship or romantic). While it does end up feeling a little like the reader is getting shortchanged since we only get a brief glimpse into their lives due to the timeline, I still thought She’s the Worst was a good read and a whole lot of fun (with a slight dash of the feels).

3.5 stars

April's sister Jenn is leaving for college...tomorrow. Well, she would be leaving, except she's staying home to go to community college after getting declined from Stanford. Noticing that her sister has been sad, April plans a Sister Fun Day to give Jenn the best of LA before she starts school. And maybe to connect...except they've been apart for so long that rekindling their friendship might be harder than expected.

What can I say except—I loved how April and Jenn were written. They were both so distinct and had such clear motivations and outlooks that I got whiplash trying to figure out who to root for.

They were both kinda the worst?

But also completely human, with their own reasons for acting the way they did.

And with parents like that, it's not hard to imagine that both tried to deal with the situation in the best ways that they could. I completely emphasized with April, who was treated like the irresponsible spoiled brat that she wasn't, and who's achievements in soccer were completely ignored by her asshole parents (and also sister, who treated soccer like a hobby instead of April's life).

Also, there is an adorable childhood-friends-to-lovers trope that I was absolutely rooting for (there's a lot going on in the friends department that I wish had been explored a little more thoroughly as well).

However, while this book was tracking at a solid four stars throughout the entire book because it flew by and I connected with both April and Jenn (in completely separate ways), and because this beautifully showed how complicated family can be, I was underwhelmed by the ending.

It was too easily resolved.

Years of anger and complications and emotional abuse are not fixed by one confrontation. The hurt and anger run too deep, and damage like that lasts for a long time—and relationships aren't healed so simply, particularly when things have been bad for years.

And also the college thing, which was...um what now? No way in hell is that going to solve it.

However, up until 97% I was 100% on board with this story.

But if you're looking for a story about two sisters trying to reconnect, this is definitely a good book to try.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Anytime I come across a story about two sisters I am instantly intrigued, however the relationship in this book didn’t seem to develop or grow over time.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 
 
This book was such a fun read!!! It had me at Ferris Bueller’s Day Off meets 10 Things I Hate About You. Who wouldn’t want to read a book with that in the description! Those were 2 of my favorite movies when I was younger. So there was no surprise that I really liked this book. It was a great contemporary that I couldn’t put down. I loved both characters, and even though some things were pretty obvious, it was written well. 
 
We follow sisters April and Jenn. Jenn is a few years older and the “responsible” and “mature” sister that you can always count on. April is the little sister who supposedly only cares about herself and is super immature. They were once very close sisters, but once Jenn got a boyfriend and into highschool, and April got into soccer, they drifted apart. A few days before Jenn’s boyfriend leaves for Stanford, April notices that Jenn seems sad because she decided to stay home and go to college. Even though they haven’t hung out in a long time, April wants to make her older sister feel better so she plans a special day for just her and Jenn. It does not go as April has planned. She finds out that Jenn has been keeping a serious secret from her and her family that could ruin her life as she knows it. 
 
One of my favorite things about this book was April and Jenn’s relationship. I really connected to both of them, to the point that they would make me mad when they didn’t understand each other or when they were both being selfish. But I really loved that they both learned so much about each other throughout this book. I also loved how wrong they were about each other in the first place. Not only did their relationship grow, but they both had great character development throughout the story. I also loved the side characters. April’s best friend Nate, and Jenn’s friends Shruthi and Katie. 
 
I definitely recommend this book. It was fun, real, and all-around a great read. If you love books that focus on family, this is the perfect read for you! I also think the title is so perfect! If you’ve read the book already comment and let’s talk about it!

This was a really great story about two sisters trying to reconnect after having drifted apart for four years.

I have to say, I really liked this. This was such a refreshing approach to sibling/familial angst in large part because they communicate!!! Idk if you can really consider that a spoiler but... Really the best thing is that these characters act like people. They have moments where they are mean and acknowledge it and apologize! and are held accountable! and people don't instantly forgive and forget! I mean, how many times have we read a story and someone says something horrible, barely apologizes, and then it is never mentioned again? Too many. So yeah, I totally believe these relationships. They're messy and filled with hope and regret and I just really appreciated a complex look at a family.

Jenn and April are such a relatable pair of sisters, they care about each other and sacrifice for each other without thinking and they also resent the other for things. Sister relationships are complicated and we can yell and be mean and hurt the other person on purpose and other times we're laughing so hard we're crying and we're defending them or lifting them up. She's The Worst allows Jenn and April to have that complex dynamic and it's just really wonderful to see two teenage girls being portrayed as teenagers and messy and volatile.