This was such an interesting read and definitely the first of many I will be reading by this author. I found all the characters relatable in their own way. The romance aspect was written so well.

Did not finish I wanted to like this book but it just missed the mark with me. I will be recommending it to others b/c I still think it is an excellent book, I simply am not the target audience for it and did not enjoy it as much as I had hoped.

This book started off promising for me! There were a lot of characters right off the bat and I was eager to learn more about them! Then, a few chapters in, things got extremely messy.

I contemplated DNFing this book a couple times. The jokes were funny, but to me as a 27 y/o and if I were younger, I wouldn't have found them funny at all.

When reading this, the same word kept popping up in my brain: boring. I found myself skimming instead of actually really grasping because there wasn't much going on.

The synopsis really gained my attention, but that's just the synopsis and the first few chapters. Otherwise, I think I would've DNF'd.

I wanted to love this story, but it just wasn't for me.
I did love the diversity included throughout the book and the friendships.

This was my first read by Adi Alsaid, I enjoyed the writing style and will be picking up his other work.

I didn't love this book, but i also didn't hate this book,. it just left me with lukewarm feelings after reading this. i have enjoyed their other works though

CIS is an international school for grades K-12. Each year, the high school kids have a lock-in toward the end of the school year. This is an event that everyone looks forward to. This year is no different, during lock-in, magic can happen, people fall in love or out of it and try to change the world. Everyone is enjoying the events of the night when they literally get locked in. Marisa and a few other students chain themselves to the doors, refusing to move until thirty demands are met. Will it happen by the time parents arrive in the morning or will they brush this off as a teenage angst.

I have elected not to read and review this book due to time constraints. Thank you for the opportunity.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really interesting book. I’m not sure quite what I expected going in, but it wasn’t what actually happened. There are definitely some strong Climate Change themes to this book, but there was so much other stuff happening that it didn’t feel quite as central as I was anticipating. While I was fascinated by the story and the cast of characters with their different troubles and motives, I will say that it required a fair amount of suspending disbelief. I just had a hard time with the idea that a kid (or a even a handful of kids) could take nearly a whole school hostage for that long.

Overall a fun read that just slightly pushes the edge of realistic.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This author always knocks it out of the park for me. I always enjoy their words and stories.

The climate change narrative in YA novels is a fairly new topic and I had high hopes for this book. I enjoyed the premise of the story, but some of the details seemed odd- no working windows in the whole school? That's problematic. As a teacher, I thought this story was mostly realistic, but it felt like it dragged on for a long time. I needed something else to push the story forward and this book was lacking that momentum factor for me.

DNF - I couldn't get into this book. I felt confused about the characters as there were too many to keep track of. I did like the premise but I just felt that the pace was really slow. I also love the unique cover and I the premise of saving the environment. I just felt like the pacing could have been better.

*Thank you Netgalley for this copy for an honest review*

I really liked the premise of this but I found there's was a little too much suspension of disbelief for a story that felt very rooted in reality.

I had a hard time believing Marissa's protest. A high school event seemed like an odd place but her demands were narrow for such a big problem and the reach the parents had. I really couldn't figure out how they were chained to the doors - the chains were tight yet they could change clothes, they were standing then on stools then had to get used to being on their feet again - it was confusing for me. I appreciated Marissa's activism and standing for an important cause.

The characters were my favourite part. There were a lot of them but they felt developed and I appreciated the diversity amongst them. I was invested in their individual stories and stuggles. The third person POV really worked for me in this story.

This is an important book about an important topic that I think teens will really relate to and feel drawn to. At it's heart, it's a book about teenagers who feel let down by the world around them, and I can't blame them.

I enjoyed this book. The characters were likable. The story had a great message about protecting the environment and doing your part to fix the damage that already has been done. Some of the events are a bit far-fetched but overall, the plot is a good one. It kept my interest and the ending wrapped up the loose ends.

I hate to admit this, but I have not liked anything I've ever read from Adi Alsaid. He's an amazing writer with great stories . . . it's just generally not for me. With that said, I didn't really hate We Didn't Ask for This, there was an interesting story there. It was just severely flawed.

One thing that I loved about this book is that it covers an important topic: environmental concerns. Even the dedication is for the Greta Thunbergs of the world.

Now, here comes some of the flaws.

One of our main characters stages a literal lock-in during a lock in type of event that the school has every year. They chain the doors and all exists, etc. There are adults in the building . . . yet they do nothing. People of authority are doing absolutely nothing.

The demands are unrealistic. There's 20+ demands in order to loosen the chains and let all of the kids out. They are legitimate demands, and I support them. However, some of these demands would've taken time.

Then there was trying to follow along . . . we don't have just one point of view. We're following along with multiple people and they don't have their own chapters or anything like that. It's just a smorgasbord within each chapter. Trying to get into the mind of each character was too much of a chore. It made it difficult to really relate and feel any type of way with each character.

Overall, I liked the story. I just don't think any of it was realistic.

I had an impression of what I thought this book was going to be when I started, but I was completely wrong. And it turned out being so much better than I imagined!

The first part of the book was a little slow for me, as everything was setting up in the plot. The characters that I thought were ultimately going to be the villains in the piece actually turned out to be the heroes. And the villains were truly awful, but let's not talk about them, because there are so many truly wonderful characters in this book.

First off, there are a lot of characters, and the scene switches frequently amongst an assortment of students, teachers, and parents. But there are five characters for me that were the main focus and the driving force of the story.

Marisa is the pivotal character, all of the action centers around her protest and in some way contributes to the development of the rest of the cast. She is determined, passionate, dedicated, and confident that what she's doing is right. But she also cares about her fellow students and has taken steps to try to keep them safe even while locked in.

The remaining 4 key characters- Peejay, Kenji, Celeste, and Amira- refer to themselves internally as Marisa's protectors. It is unspoken, but they all gravitate to her and help to keep her from harm from the other students if needed. They also quietly support her, ultimately becoming champions of her cause, though each is dealing with their own internal crisis and has to make decisions that will affect the rest of their lives.

There is a lot of diversity included in the book on a cultural level, as this is an international high school; as well as good LGTBQ representation. But, because this is an elite school full of students coming from wealthy and influential families, there isn't any socioeconomic diversity, and all of the students are quite priviledged.

All in all I came to love the characters and to root for Marisa's cause. While the author alluded to some future consequences of the protest, the ending was a little abrupt for me and I would have liked a bit more resolution, maybe even in an epilogue.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed getting to know them. I had a lot of fun reading this and look forward to more from the author.

DNF. Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy! I decided to not keep reading this one, it was not for me. Thanks!

Thank you for the advance copy to review.
This story takes place in a diverse school setting (K-12) and the big event at the end of the year is called “the lock in”. The students look forward to it every year and it’s a time for fun, friendship, pranks and potential romance. This year a group of students decide to use the event to stage a real lock in, where the others are unable to come and go freely until their demands are met. The premise is terrific. The idea of young people being passionate about a cause is a great feature of our civil liberties. The main issue with this book is the pacing and structure. I didn’t check to see if this a debut by the author but the format seems like it is.
Overall, it is good but could be better.

#WeDidntAskforThis #NetGalley # InkyardPress

3/5 Stars

I loved the concept, I just don’t feel it connected with me as much as I hoped. The amount of characters sort of had me lost, and when I thought I had it down I realized I didn’t. This left with no connection to any of the characters really.

Is is odd that I like her writing by didn’t connect to it? I liked the style, but the POV’s chosen seemed like too much.

I think this book could be really good and a favorite for some readers. It wasn’t a bad book my any means, just didn’t stand out.