I found this one super difficult to put down. The chapters just flew by.

This is a book about the grey areas in life. There are interesting moral dilemmas about if it's ever okay to steal, and about whether bad things deserve to happen to people just because of their proximity to bad people. It's about whether people deserve to be judged for the sins of their fathers or for one mistake made under pressure some time ago, and whether the two are comparable.

There are some really strong emotions throughout. Loneliness is a big theme, and one I personally always find easy to connect with. Maegan's rekindling of her relationship with her sister was a strong highlight of her side of the story. Trying to learn to trust again is powerful stuff when used right like it is here.

Both protagonists start the book by being horrible about someone they love and I loved it. Rob about his drooling dad and Maegan about her pregnant sister puking. These two kids aren't necessarily the nicest people in the universe, and this makes them a lot more real. As a result I was more invested in their stories a lot quicker than most other protagonists these days.

This was a very sweet YA contemporary romance that dealt with some really important topics, however, it wasn't for me.

I liked how this book dealt with so many important topics. It discusses suicide, teenage pregnancy, abortion, friendship, love and so much more.

I also really liked the writing style of this book. It was very easy to read. I will definitely be checking out Brigid's other books, because I did really like her writing style but the plot fell short for me.

I felt like this book was longer than it needed to be. I liked the beginning and the end but the middle dragged on a lot and I felt it could have be cut down more.

I also didn't like the romance in this book. It didn't feel 'real'. I would have perfered it if it stayed platonic.

For me, the plot just fell a bit flat. It discussed themes which I haven't read before but ultimately, it wasn't for me.

Trigger warnings: suicide and abortion

3.5* - this one was so difficult to rate. I really enjoyed a LOT of it. It asks some big questions on morality, reputation and redemption and the characters are likeable, making their actions all the more tricky. I loved the families and the depth added to the background characters and the split perspective kept this book perfectly balanced. So excited to hear more thoughts from more readers.

Thank you to the publisher who gifted me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
When Rob's dad is caught embezzling funds from half of the town, he goes from popular lacrosse player to social pariah. Also, his father's failed suicide attempt leaves Rob and his mother, responsible for his care.
Maegan is thought of as a typical overachiever by everyone, but she has a secret of her own after all the pressure got to her last year. When her sister comes home from college pregnant, keeping her secret from her parents might be more than she can handle.
When Maegan and Rob are paired together for a calculus project, they are both reluctant to let each other through the walls that they have built.
Brigid Kemmerer has done it once again and made me fall in love with her writing and stories even more. There is something about Brigid's writing and stories that just grips hold of me tightly and doesn’t let go.
This book feel extremely real throughout. I feel this is exactly what I have come to expect from Brigid and her books. She writes about real life and it feels incredibly real. Rob and Maegan are two characters I became invested in as soon as I began reading their stories. They are completely different characters with completely different lives, learning to live as themselves after both facing huge milestones/issues in their lives.
It is safe to say this isn't an easy book to read because of how dark it gets in places. With discussions of suicide, theft, abortion, embezzling and even more. These topics are covered extremely well, realistically and without glossing over the real-life aspect of the topics. Although this book covers difficult topics, it was an extremely fast-paced book that I flew through in a few days.
I enjoyed all the different storylines that were weaved throughout the book and how all the secondary characters played bigger parts than your usual secondary character. A personal favourite character of mine was Mr London, I won't say why but his character is special! Rob and his story arc broke my heart, he has to deal with so much throughout the story. All the choices he made have clearly been thought out by the author and that shows. Maegan, although she frustrated me at times, was is also going through a lot and is excellent. Each characters personalities jump right off the page and I loved the character line up thoroughly.
It is evident whilst reading this book that a lot of thought and research has gone into each of the main characters storylines. Especially Rob's storyline with the money embezzling. Brigid mentions doing research in her acknowledgements and it is obvious in the book that research has been done. This helped make the book feel even more real and convincing.
Call It What You Want is a spectacular book that you will fly right through. It is beautifully written and feels extremely realistic. This book is heart-breaking, heart-warming and just a wonderful story to fly through.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this eARC*
Rob and Meagan are from two different worlds at school, but due to circumstances they have become outcasts whether from their own or their families mistakes. However, they end up having to work together when they get partnered up for a math project.
I really enjoyed this. It was interesting to see what each character was thinking and how you can't see what peoples lives are like from the outside.
However, I felt like the ending was wrapped up quite quickly and it felt like it could have been more.

Superb characters, great conflict, and brilliant character dynamics that make all Brigid`s books so readable. I really loved that this was so much more than a romance. The story kept me guessing until the very end!

This book flips from one MC's POV to the other's, but not distractingly so.
We begin with Rob, and his reaction to his father is callous and angry and raw, and made me blink several times. Was this the character I was supposed to root for?
Rob and Maegan are not perfect. Rob thought he was, but how are the mighty fallen. Maegan wants to be, but perfection is an illusion.
They're flawed, and trying so very, very hard to cope with the situations they find themselves in, situations they've created and that have been created by others. There's no escaping reality and this book delivers reality in spades. Our MCs don't always do and say the right things, get pushed into doing things they shouldn't and make bad, bad decisions, but don't we all? It just makes the whole mess more heart-wrenchingly familiar and I found myself on the edge of my seat wanting to pull them back from every stupid decision.
It isn't gilded; it isn't snowflake drama and it doesn't pull any punches.
I don't think I can read it again, but I'm glad it read it.

Call It What You Want is a good YA read. The themes get pretty dark, which is something I enjoyed about it, so I'd say it's for the older readers of YA.

Rob's story arc was the main thing that kept me reading. I think his character development is handled particularly well, and I especially liked his friendship with Owen. It's refreshing to have a love interest/protagonist that's not 100% moral and struggles with questions over what's right and wrong.

I found Megan a bit boring in the middle of the book and was just waiting to get to the Rob chapters at points. I was much more interested in Samantha's story than Megan's. I think I found Megan a bit whiny/self-righteous in comparison to Rob and Samantha. But perhaps that was necessary as a foil for the other two characters.

Overall though, the writing is good, the themes are challenging in a good way and the characters are well developed. A good book.

Ive been putting off writing this review for a few days now, as well I had no idea what to say. Going into this book I had high expectations, I have read all of Brigid's previous work and was in no way expecting anything less from her, from the beginning I was sucked into the characters, Maegan and Rob both has story arcs that continued even after their relationship started to blossom and they never lost who they both were as characters in that process, which I though was a great triumph. I loved how we got insight into the side characters such as Sam and Owen and they felt like they had a purpose in the story also which isn't very common in Young adult, as the romance tends to take centre stage. This was a welcome surprise to see a positive portrayal of romance at such a young age . Beginning to end the story was an emotional rollercoaster, as you felt part of the story from the first page. I cannot wait to see what this other will produce next and thoroughly enjoyed this book

'Call It What You Want' was as exceptional as I imagined. It was gripping and different to a lot of the YA fic already out there. Yet somehow it still felt relevant and refreshing to read. There were so many layers to this book that it was so hard not to get caught up with all the dilemmas. I love the realness of this book (and with Brigid Kemmerer's writing tbh). She always had this set up where there's no simple way round any problem and the build up is so intriguing that I couldn't put the book down! Character development was on point and I actually liked watching Rob and Maegan grow. Even if they were, as it seemed, these 2 characters that were going nowhere.

Overall, I really liked 'Call It What You Want'. It was as good as I expected and probably even more! I couldn't recommend Brigid Kemmerer's writing enough!

I am so grateful to NetGalley and the Publishers, Bloomsbury Publising, for giving me a copy of Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer.

I sped through this book, I read A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Kemmerer this month after I received a copy from the monthly book box, FairyLoot - it's incredible by the way (both the book and FairyLoot). So I was really excited when my request for the newest book by the same author was accepted.

I quickly fell in love with the characters that Kemmerer has written so passionately. They feel like real people with real emotions that could be experiencing this in the house next to mine. Maegan and Rob go through two very different experiences but they are joined in their pain and guilt.

This book's main point for me is that you don't know what happens behind closed doors, everyone may seem like they have it all, but you don't know the truth. Also, everyone has their own view on what is considered "right" or "correct" - A quote from Jurassic Park 3 fits surprisingly well here! "Some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best intentions"...

The plot never felt slow, every scene felt like it was leading up to the big reveal at the end, plus the side plot with Maegan's sister also helped with setting a fast pace for the book. This book deals with a lot of sensitive subjects, however they never felt like they were added in for dramatic effect. They fitted in with the characters, their situations and their personalities perfectly and added to the plot line.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book, it was a great read and I was always excited to kick up my Kindle so I could continue reading it. I can definitely see myself buying a physical copy when the book is released on 27th June 2019.

"My brain clicks, and for an instant, he’s not Rob Lachlan now, he’s Rob Lachlan from a year ago. We were from two different words once: popular boy and nerdy girl. We’re still from two different worlds: cop’s daughter and criminal’s son."

I enjoyed some parts of this book but the rest was a bit boring. I probably would have dnfed it if I hadn’t received an arc via Netgalley, and I’m grateful because I would have missed so many good parts otherwise, but I’m also not. Can you see the dilemma?
The main problem was that this book was 100 pages too long, in my opinion. My interested literally went really up and really down throughout the whole thing, so I’m pretty sure this is a case of “it’s me, not you”.

What I loved about this book is that it’s much more than a contemporary romance. The romance is a subplot instead of taking center part, while characters and difficult subjects are explored thoroughly.

The book is told from Rob and Meagan’s points of views. At the beginning it felt like the povs were changing too quickly for me to get to really know both of them, but I got used to it a lot faster than I thought, and in the end I actually liked how dynamic the book was. It kinda saved the book for me.

Both Rob and Meagan were interesting to read about. They were annoying at times too, but it was bearable. Rob had a lot on his plate, while Meagan really didn’t, so sometimes their narrative arcs felt unbalanced. Meagan was so convinced things were hard for her entire family, and yeah, it’s true, but look at what Rob has to go through? I’m sure he has it way worse.
They start seeing each other because of a calculus homework, and they grow close too fast to be honest (also because calculus was almost never the reason they met), but their relationship was great. First of all, Rob talked freely with Meagan about their relationship. I don’t understand why YA characters are so fixated with waiting for the other one to text first the day after the first kiss, but here it didn’t happen.
Second, Rob is so freaking sweet with Meagan and keeps asking for CONSENT. It’s not something you see very often. I loved it.
However, they still acted a bit stupid sometimes, like when they go to a certain party in a certain person’s house (really??).

Another thing I liked seeing was the sisterly bond between Meagan and Samantha. Samantha’s arc was a lot to take in, especially because of what she ends up doing, but the best part about it was how protective Meagan was with her and viceversa.

The climax was well done and kept me turning the pages, but the twist before that was underwhelming as I had predicted it from the beginning.

In the end I liked reading this book but I didn’t exactly enjoy it properly. However, if you want to read a contemporary that discusses money and teenage pregnancy in the right way, pick this one up.

"I wonder what it’s like to watch other kids hand over disposable cash when you’re condemned to eat cheese sandwiches every day."

Brigid Kemmerer’s Letters to the Lost and it’s sequel More Than We Can Tell are both favourite YA contemporaries of mine, so when Call It What You Want was announced, it was exciting for me as I knew it was going to give me a very similar reading experience. When I was accepted the ARC, I was so delighted and reading it was definitely a great way to pass the time on an eight-hour flight early this week. What I am always impressed with in Brigid Kemmerer’s novels is her ability to capture the lows and the highs in life through realistic and relatable characters. Her writing style is subtle and clean, which not only makes for an easy read but also a story that holds so much complexity and charm in its telling.

This is no different in Call It What You Want, a book that delves into two teens lives: Rob, who is dealing with the aftermath of his father’s financial embezzlement and attempted suicide, and Maegan, who’s keeping secrets about her older sister coming home from university pregnant and the pressure she’s been under holding her high-grade average. When the pair of them are partnered for a calculus assignment, they get to know each other and see that perhaps it’s time to let the walls they’ve put up break away.

What I loved most about this book was the way both Rob and Maegan were portrayed as teenagers going through very different things, but find something in each other that gives them a way forward in life. Of course, it’s not quite as simple as that; it takes the pair of them a lot of time to work through their own issues, but getting to know each other does give them new perspectives and ultimately, outside support at a time when they really need it. The way they came together was so touching to read. While I thought the romantic element of their relationship could have had more to it, it wasn’t the central point of the book, so overall I liked how their friendship developed regardless of their romantic attraction over the course of the story and how they were able to give each other a deeper understanding of each other and themselves.

I found Rob’s independent story line much more interesting, complicated and stronger than Maegan’s, which meant the book felt one-sided to me. While I enjoyed the way Maegan and her sister’s relationship was explored, how the accidental pregnancy and the implications involved affected both sisters and their family, I felt I wasn’t as compelled by Maegan’s personal issues as much as I was Rob’s. Rob’s story is heartbreaking and so complex. The position his father put Rob and his mother in is truly horrible and, for want of the right word, I enjoyed learning more details of what happened as the book went on. My disconnection from Maegan’s storyline meant I felt like I didn’t quite get to know the depth of her character as I did Rob’s, though she had her moments. For me, Rob’s story was the memorable part of the book, overall.

While Call It What You Want won’t be making my top favourites list, I thought it was interesting and highly complex account of two teenagers in a difficult stage of their loves and how they learnt from each other. Brigid Kemmerer deals with some important social issues surrounding money, reputation and crime, bringing in Robin Hood-esque discussions, which I found well explored and important to think about. Rob’s new friend Owen is also worth a mention as a highlight of the story. Otherwise, I didn’t connect as much as I would have liked with the other characters as individuals, besides Rob, of course. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it for you YA contemporary readers out there.

An interesting read with important topics of truth and lies.
The relationships between the characters were refreshing however I felt the ending wasn’t slowed enough, it felt a touch rushed.
In all honesty it did take me sometime to get into this book with multiple restarts but it was an okay read all in all.

Brigid Kemmerer is the queen of writing sweet but troubled male leads. In Call It What You Want, I really fell hard for Rob Lachlan and his flight to convince the world that he’s not like his scheming father. Maegan made a cute pairing for him, the cop’s daughter to match a thief’s son. Although, she had less going for her, in the sense that the conflict of her story came from the fact that her older sister was pregnant with her university professor’s baby. She stilled shines, but definitely not as bright as her male counterpart.
The actual romantic scenes were some of the best I’ve ever read, the perfect mix between sensitive and steamy. It had the kind of depth of passion - without being explicit - that I’m not used to seeing in YA, and I really liked how it walked that boundary.
I loved Rob’s character progression, particularly in his friendship with Owen. There was something about it that reminded me of The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner, which I love.
Although I’ll always think of Letters to the Lost as her best, I loved the themes of this one, and the well researched background to the characters lives. The financial trickery Rob’s family got into was easy to follow but difficult to predict. It’ll please any current Brigid Kemmerer fans, and intrigue new readers into wanting to read more!

I am absolutely in love with this book! I read letters to the lost last year so when I saw this book I just knew I had to read it. I loved Rob and Meagan and the dynamics between them and their own family dynamics. The thing I loved about Rob was that he wasn't a typical rebel, that him and Meagan aren't overly different as people. In letters to the lost, the main characters were stark opposites and even though Meagan and Rob were once different people, because of their situations they are quite similar. One thing I love about YA is the theme of friendship and family and Brigid hit that nail on the head. I also love books that have multiple povs as it allows the reader to get the story from different perspectives. I loved that even though romance played a part in this book, there was more going on with their own family issues. I didn't find the story too predictable either, there were a couple of twists I didn't see coming. I loved the message that there isn't such thing as just being inherently good or inherently bad, that there is a lot of grey area and that just because a person does a bad thing, it doesn't erase everything they did that was good.

This book deals with some really hard subjects in a really great way- reinforcing that really important life lesson that bad people can do good things and good people can do bad things. A really worthwhile read.

Call It What You Want is an absolutely beautiful story that follows themes such as family, friendship, pregnancy and so many more.

What I loved the most about this book was the characters. Rob and Maegan were two of my favourite contemporary characters I’ve read about! Rob was this sweet boy who’s had his life ruined by his dads mistakes. And, Meagan is this girl who’s had her life ruined by one mistake she made. The two of them cross paths because of a project and we follow their journey from there. Not only did I really love Rob and Meagan, I really liked Samantha too! I’ve not read any YA books that follow a teen pregnancy before and loved the way it was handled in this book. I found Samantha and her conflicting feelings about the baby, the father and her parents really interesting to follow. I really enjoyed reading about her and am glad with how it ended up.

Rob was my favourite! I swear Brigid has such a knack for writing soft male characters that I fall in love with and Rob was definitely no different! Seeing how he’s at the bottom of the social pyramid and learning that he wasn’t always did break my heart. I really think it was interesting how your parents mistakes can really make or break your life at high school sometimes. What Rob’s dad did was horrific but it broke my heart how much everyone thought Rob was in on it even though that’s definitely not how it turned out - I mean the reveal of what happened with his dad and the people involved had me SHOOK.

Meagan had such an interesting story arc too! The girl who cheated on her exam and ruined 100 people’s exams therefore shoving her down to the bottom of the social pyramid too but is actually a real brainiac who just wanted to be as good in her parents eyes as her sister. I feel like sibling rivalry like that is such a big thing to so many people and I feel liked the way it was explored through Meagan and what she did and then Samantha getting pregnant. And the way she saw the best in Rob and then the thing happened and then she was questioning him and then THE ENDING. I just love the two of them so much.

We also had such a cast of side characters! Connor and Owen being my favourites! Connor I felt like we go on such a journey with him throughout this book and in the end finding out about him and his family was kind of sad. Owen, who we were routing for and found myself questioning throughout!

Overall, I really, really loved this book and I am going to go and read all of the books I can by Brigid because I love her writing style and her characters!!

After reading and loving Brigid Kemmerer’s Letters To The Lost Series I know straight away if she did another contemporary style book I had to read it! Once again I have seen two covers for this book (pictured at the end of this post). I do like both styles of cover though I discuss them further in my “Cover Comparison Post”. The genres listed for this book are YA, Contemporary, I love YA and have warmed to the contemporary genre especially when coupled with YA and by this particular author.

The main character is former “it” boy Rob Lachlan junior, who once had it all, money, popularity and an easy life. That was until his dad Robert Lachlan Senior got caught embezzling money. He was turned in by family friend and co-employee Bill Tunstall. Bill was cleared of all charges and so he and his family were untouched by the notoriety and disgrace that the Lachlan family endure. Robert Lachlan senior couldn’t cope with the fall out from being caught having fraudulently stolen money from many of the neighbours and he attempts to take his own life. Horrifically for Robert Lachlan junior he is the one that finds his dad.
Rob has no one to call a friend at school now, even his best friend Connor Tunstall ignores hm. Someone else used to being less popular is Maegan, her dad is a policeman. It’s a good job she doesn’t have close friends as if she did it would be harder to hide the fact her sister Samantha has come home from University and is pregnant. Naturally Maegan’s family want to keep the shock news private for as long as possible. Maegan has attached enough notoriety to the family name by cheating at the school exams. The ironic thing is she is clever enough to pass without cheating.

The reason the two main characters suddenly find themselves pairs up which just leaves Rob & Maegan.

With everyone judging Rob by his fathers standard when certain opportunities literally begin dropping in his lap its difficult to blame him for taking advantage of them. First of all, there’s the money that Connor Tunstall drops when he is in the cafeteria. Rob picks it up and his attempts to return it to Connor fail. In the end he decides to give it to Owen Goettler who is on the equivalent to school dinners in the US. Which means Owen is usually eating a rather grim looking cheese sandwich. Gradually the money Rob comes across become larger and larger amounts until he steals a pair of earrings. In his “defence” the person who steals them from would not miss them or the money they cost. He has some deep thinking to do, such as should he pawn the earrings? Should he return them? What should he do?

I liked the characters of Samantha and Maegan, though throughout the book Maegan actually comes across as the more mature sister despite Samantha being the eldest. There is plenty going on in the book that certainly has you glued to your seat with the book in your hand!

I was surprised to find out the other people involved in the embezzling. Although I did love hating Connor’s dad within the book, he is a very controlling character.

Another character I was wary of but then ended up adoring was Mr London, the gay librarian with a husband at home. Despite being one of the victims Mr London soon becomes a shoulder to lean on for Rob. Through Rob’s love of books they share a hobby and have that to initiate a friendship. One that it turns out Rob really needs.

I Loved the characters that all had their own problems and family issues yet at the same time still managed to be there for each other when they most needed each other. Well written, totally believable read.

Amazing. I'm beginning to think that Brigid could write about paint drying and I'd still devour it.
This book took me under 24 hours to read, it was that good. I really love how unique both main characters are, the difference in their lives and how their relationship blossoms beautifully even though they come from different backgrounds. The problems each character faces and their struggle to comprehend right from wrong was written so brilliantly, you could see from each person's point of view. It was impossible to even feel a little annoyed at them! I was worried how this story would end but again, Brigid did a fantastic job wrapping it up.

× Fantastic story!

Thank you so much for allowing me to review this book.