Lots of inclusion and realistic talks about sex among teenagers. It's technically an Othello retelling which I've never been a fan of. Love the fat rep and bi rep. Cant wait for it to release.

This book game me a Nostalgic look back in so my high school career. I really enjoyed it. It’s was the teen club scene that did it for me. I was definitely back in time going to my first ever party. It’s a dope read for sure

This book was cute and I really enjoyed it. Thank you to Justine at Harper for offering us to be part of the blog tour.

I love retellings and that’s A fact. This is a unique retelling of Othello And it really made me want to see it in musical form. I highly request it, please and thanks.

The plot was very much geared towards teens and all of it was relatable to that age group. I did find it reminiscent of authors like Nic Stone, which I believe was in the blurb, so that was accurate.

It was an easy, short read. I enjoyed it for the contemporary that it was. I also absolutely love the cover!

**Review will be posted on my blog in September during my book blog tour date**

Thank you to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

Let’s break it down:

My Attention: caught

World Building: Orlando, Florida

Writing Style: raw and relatable

Bringing the Heat: 🔥🔥🔥

Crazy in Love: love triangle…sorta…

Creativity: It’s an Othello retelling, which I don’t remember much of – but I love how we get Liv who’s basically in a Desdemona situation

Mood: drama…and let’s talk about sex

Triggers: cheating, negative body image, insecurity

My Takeaway: F#ck it lists are great! As long as you don’t take it too far.

I Liked:
*I liked being in Liv’s thoughts because we get to see her insecurities. Being a teen is all about insecurities! She’s best friends with two guy, one of which she is in love with – but maybe in honesty she’s attracted to both. Confusing? Can’t pick a lane? Yeah maybe, but she’s trying something new – it’s a year of saying YES to things that make her scared, or like she says…a year of F#ck Its. She writes a f#ck it list, and it leads her to so many new experiences. She’s a teen, making mistakes – and oh so relatable.

*There is a lot of sex talk in this story – and not adults talking, teens talking and honestly I can’t say that my friends and I talked that honest about sex in high school. I WISH. It was the 90’s and we had songs like “Let’s Talk About Sex”…which was awesome, but I only talked about it when I went to college and let me tell you, it was a relief to have friends you can talk to about sex.

*Lennox and Jackie become Liv’s first female friends! Liv grows a lot when she opens herself up to more experiences like auditioning for Othello and hanging out with the drama kids. I totally loved Lennox’s vibe – she wasn’t ashamed of her love of sex. But I thought it was cool that it was okay to be like Liv too – unsure about sex and not into something casual.

*Diversity abounds in this book – we have POC characters, and bisexual representation. Now Liv isn’t someone exposed to much it seems – she’s shocked about Lennox’s sexual freedom, embarrassed at Jackie’s loudness at being black and proud (Jackie is from Atlanta). Mind you Liv is black but her mom taught her to basically be quiet about it. Her new black friends help her to embrace her body image and identity.

*This story touches so many topics about identity, body image, race, cheating, sex, love, friendship and family.

*I love how real the characters are. It’s the first book I’ve read from this author, but now I’m curious to read more. It had me laughing out loud at many parts because I felt like the characters were so relatable!

Random Notes:
*If you don’t like love triangles, this book may put you off. It’s not a “love” triangle, per se, she knows who she loves but it’s complicated. I thought the guys were fun, but at times I did want her to stand up for herself when she tried to shine within their little trio. I think the mistakes come when Liv is trying to figure out love, lust, like, etc…and it’s okay that she’s confused.

*Liv’s problems become messy when certain events take place…I was happy with the conclusion, but this won’t work for some people. I would have equally happy if she ended up with no guy and just happy she had new girlfriends!

Final Thoughts:
Smash It! is an engaging, drama-filled, coming of age story of a girl named Liv caught between trying to find her identity, loving herself – imperfections and all, and opening herself up to new experiences. Liv makes some mistakes along the way but with a new outlook on life and some new friends, she finds the strength to own up to it. This one got me cackling out loud and reminded me how we always make mistakes in life, we just better recognize it and fix it when they do happen.

Wow, I loved this book! A perfect mix of poignant, funny and relatable with lovable and real characters. I was hooked from the beginning and was continually impressed by Francina Simone's voice and ability to balance light hearted humour while also delving into societal issues and difficult conversations. Contemporary novels aren't always my first choice, but I would happily reread Smash It! and will be adding Francina Simone to my "automatic buy" list of authors, I genuinely can't wait to see what she writes next!

Drama nerds rejoice for the year of fuck it! Smash It! is all about a shy girl that decides to take a page out of Shonda Rimes “year of yes” to start overcoming her shyness. Liv feels that she has always been on the sidelines next to her two rockstar friends, Eli and Dré. She is hopelessly in love with Eli and fears taking the leap, feeling that she’s the uncool girl that nobody notices.

But owning oneself is not as easy as it sounds, and everything becomes more complicated when other people and feelings are involved. I loved the main characters and found each one to be well-developed with distinctive personalities and character flaws. Eli, Dré, and Kai are all swoon-worthy love interests and I felt conflicted about who to root for, they were all great. The complex love triangles made sense and my heart ached for each one. I also adored Lennox and Jackie and was so happy that there were good female friendships where girls actually support each other.

The book has a lot to say about some big themes like body and sex-positivity, single parenthood, race, and personal identity. Liv is often extremely selfish, centering every event on herself and taking things so personally. She is wrapped up in what other people think of her and she has a tendency to assume the worst. Though I didn’t like how Liv and other characters dragged on adults for having issues or not “getting it” I had to chuckle at how true this attitude was for teenagers. Liv is flawed but she is also very true to life as the late teen years are filled with angst and a search for self. I took some issue that Liv doesn’t start putting herself together until her almost non-existent sister steps in to show up and tell her what to do.

As an Othello re-telling, I could see the links with each of the major events and thought this was a fun tie to the play. However, there is a lot of criticism about Shakespeare that I thought was an odd choice. Liv keeps her life to Othello and then goes on to say that “some old white dude isn’t writing the script of my life” yet everything kept coming back to the play, but maybe it’s just me. Despite this, Smash It! was a laugh out loud funny in your face rom-com that I enjoyed.

Olivia "Liv" James has never been one for the spotlight. While her two best friends, Eli and Dré make girls swoon with their cover band, Liv dissolves into the background. After one embarrassing show, Liv decides she's had enough. She's through letting her insecurities run her life, so she takes a cue from Shonda Rhimes and drafts a F*ck It List.

Soon, Liv is living her life like never before. She has new-found confidence, new friends, and even a part in the school's production of Othello. Liv's checking off items on her list one after another, and having the time of her life. What could possibly go wrong? But when she gains the attention of three different guys, two being her best friends, Liv quickly finds out the answer is way more than she bargained for.

I have to admit, it took me a while to get into this. I was probably about thirty percent of the way through before I felt it all clicked and the story began to hit its stride. I liked Liv and felt she was very relatable and was rooting for her on her journey of self-discovery. I did think she fumbled the ball a bit at times, but it was a nice learning experience for her and I felt it helped her grow by the end. Her relationship with Dré was sweet and ended in a way more mature manner than I would've thought, but I was definitely rooting for her and Eli the whole time. I also loved the little glimpses into the script for the play. I thought that was a nice touch since so much of the plot revolved around the show. Despite not fully vibing with the writing at first, I thought this was a cute quick story that would be good for fans of all those messy love triangles teen dramas are famous for.

*This will be posted on my blog (Lattes, Lipstick and Literature) and Good reads on 9/14/20, and on my Instagram (@Lattes_Lipstick_Literature) on 9/22/20*

Hello Fellow Readers,

I enjoyed this book. I read it in one sitting in a couple of hours and it's been a while since I've done that. Let me start by saying that I really love the way Simone writes, her characters are very real and reminded me a lot of my high school days. Simone's writing is witty, funny and she does a very good job of modernizing Othello. I will say that it has been a while since I've read the play.

That being said I had a little problem with Olivia (Liv), I understand she is a little awkward and isn't comfortable in her own body yet but I found her a tad bit annoying. I really liked her in the beginning, but she quickly turned selfish and problematic. I spent a lot of time shaking my head at her actions and saying "please, don't do that" to her actions. I really liked the side characters in this.

I am willing to give Liv a bit of a pass because she's in high school and she's trying to live her life and that includes making mistakes. I do like that she eventually owns up to it all and says sorry. As far as the plot goes it does take a while to get into Liv's F*ck it attitude, so the first couple of chapters are a little slow.

Overall, a very fun read.

Olivia "Liv" James is done with letting her insecurities get the best of her. So she does what any self-respecting hot mess of a girl who wants to SMASH junior year does. She makes a list—a F*ck It list.

Be bold—do the things that scare me.

Learn to take a compliment.

Stand out instead of back.

Now she's got a part in her school's musical production of Othello, new friends and the attention of three very different boys. In Liv's own words, “F*ck it. What’s the worst that can happen?" The answer is . . . a lot. #SMASHIT- Goodreads

My biggest problem with this book is how Black girls are depicted. There seems to be a trend that if you write about a Black girl they are either the loud one, who seems to have her ish together or the awkward one that is trying to find herself.  This is getting a bit too common and I was pretty disappointed to see that in this book. 

Also when you as a writer have a character say something along the lines of my Black friends aren't like me. . . there is a problem. 

Although that was the biggest problem for me I felt that this book read like a diary and it was all over the place. What I mean by both of those is that there is a lot of "I did this" "I heard this" "I saw this" "I felt this" Do not get me wrong there are interactions and developing characters in the background, however, it was so much inner monologue in this book.  

When I say its all over the place, it felt like the author just added so much stuff to make this book seem complicated and full of depth. There were issues in here that was unprompted and were not followed up on. Listen if you want to write a "coming of age" story in which a Black gains confidence through signing up to become part of a musical production and has conflicting feelings about the boys in her life, cool go for it. But adding issues that are not her issues for the sake of keeping a book going isn't the move. 

ALSO the romance. Its not love triangle or whatever you call it when multiple people like you, IF the main character already decided who she wants to be with AND says repeatedly that she would drop everything for this one person.

I know that this review may be look at as harsh and to be honest, I thought hard about posting this. However,  I stand by my words. Will there be readers who enjoy or love this book? Of course. I am just not one of them.

Overall, 

1 Pickle

This book was filled with a handful of micro-aggressions, questionable remarks, and stereotypes. It was quite a disappointment; I was really hoping to celebrate this author's voice but found the insensitive jokes to be incredibly unnecessary and potentially triggering for other POC readers.

They say not to judge a book by its cover but in this case, I think you should. The cover is beautiful and sets the stage for the story that follows. I loved this book and as I read I couldn’t help but think that I wish there was a book like this when I was growing up because the message is so important and it was delivered in such an authentic way.

While I love the humour and the realness in the book I also appreciate the positive messaging around women and sex. The story follows Liv a teenager who sets out on a journey of self-discovery and pledges to stop letting anything hold her back. From this, we see how to be brave in the face of your fears. What I love most about the story is Liv’s evolution as she forms her identity.

I couldn’t put this one down. Great YA read.

'Smash It!' by Francina Simone is a beautifully entertaining novel about Olivia, a high school girl who is tired of standing behind the scenes. Her two best friends are wickedly talented and popular, and she is majorly crushing on one of them. The thing is, she doesn't have the guts to tell him. Olivia decides to make a F*ck It list, hoping to gain more confidence and take chances in her life. She is given a role in the school musical, gets asked out by a hot guy, and makes some feisty female friends. However, in the same moment that it seems life is going great, everything comes crashing down. Her life begins to fall apart, and Olivia doesn't know what to do about it.

'Smash It!' was such a fabulous novel. The plot was well driven, and every character was interesting. Simone crafted an exciting and important book full of great representation and themes. Although I did find Olivia to be a little annoying at times, her overall growth was great to see, and Eli is honestly a dream. I found myself so attached to this story by the end and definitely shed some tears during the last few chapters. I would highly recommend reading this book when it gets published on September 22, 2020!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for providing an ARC of this book!

3.5/5 stars.

The beginning of this book is really slow - probably the first third or so. I found myself really wanting to skim, not sure if it was ever going to get to a point. Eventually it did, but by the time I started enjoying the story I was already tired of reading it. I also didn't love the ending.

I did really appreciate the frank discussion of sex and the ways in which society treats women who have casual sex and are open with how they talk about it. I do think we need more books like that and I think these kinds of conversations could really benefit teenage girls who are constantly being judged for being sexual - or for not being sexual - and who are shamed to the point of not knowing how to speak openly about it. It did seem like Liv's lesbian sister was thrown in there just for representation, which was a little frustrating.

All in all, the writing was good, and I really liked some of the characters, especially Lennox. Liv grew a lot over the course of the story. But too many unnecessary/slow parts for me to round up instead of down.

Smash It! Is a fun contemporary YA, it's well-written and full of voice, but I found myself getting confused over who Liv desired more -- Eli or Dré? It was clear there was an attraction to both, and it ended up being a bit repetitive imo.

The beginning was fun, I enjoyed Liv's creation of the Fuck It list (I'm tempted to do one myself) but after the 20th% mark felt like it took a while going over the finer things, setting things up, and my attention wavered. I didn't really give two hoots about Eli, so when most of Liv's inner monologue is about him, it switched me off.

A fun read, though, and I feel a lot of people will love it! It just wasn't 100% my bag :)

Smash it! by Francina Simone

Thank you @francinasimone @netgalley and @inkyard press for this eARC!!

Babyyyyy, this book was everything! First off, this cover. Yes to the yes YES!! Give me big hair, big hoops, and big hips. As a girl who also found out about the beauty of high waisted jeans when you got a big booty, I’m here for it all.

This story was juicy!! I blew through this book in one day, and I don’t regret it at all. Y’all know I a fan of Shanda Rhimes’ Year of Yes, so I loved how that inspired Olivia (Liv) to make her F*ck-It list to push herself past her insecurities and out of her comfort zone. I’m messy, so I was here for ALL of the the shenanigans between Liv, Dré, and Eli. And Kai, too. Also, I. Loved. Lennox. There, I said it. And I wouldn’t mind a story about her as well (hint, hint).

I’ve never been a huge Shakespeare fan, but I thought it was so clever how the author connected Othello to what was going on in Liv’s life. I’m going to stop before I give too much away, but make sure that y’all grab this book when it comes out on September 22, 2020.

#smashit

Well hello, Olivia James! "Liv" as her friends call her, is a new voice for YA realistic fiction. Smash It! is a refreshing, funny, coming-of-age story, riddled with best-friend romance. Liv is smart, funny, and ridiculously relatable. Liv has decided to live her best life by taking more chances and saying YES more when opportunities arise. She quickly finds herself doing things out her ordinary, like signing up for the school musical, going on a date, changing her clothing styles, and loving her body. Some of her decisions however, come with some soul-awakening epiphanies and teenage drama that sends Liv on an emotional roller coaster. I hope Liv's voice continues to tell more tales in upcoming novels, she's a keeper!

I really loved the subtle and not so subtle Shakespeare connections. I loved the messiness of al the relationships. I loved the cast of side characters. Great high school read. 16+ (at least in Florida schools ;) )

I thoroughly enjoyed this one -- a coming-of-age story about a Black girl inspired by the "year of yes" Shonda Rimes did to create her own "year of f--- it". It's cute, it has a great diverse cast of characters, it isn't all just fluff, there's some great love triangle/square action going on, and it had such a sweet ending.

A winner of a YA book! (pub date 9/22!)

I flew through this book. It caught me up from the beginning. I loved the potential love triangle, lifelong best friends, awkward non-stand out from the crowd high schooler main character, and all the angst bringing me back to this teen years. I really was down for the sex positivity, female friendships that hyped each other, and the thought of saying fuck it to things that scare you.
Then we hit the messy part of the book about halfway through… everything starts to go wrong due to this fuck it list. I think this is where the book lost it for me a bit since its not just a couple things that go wrong… its many, many thing and I felt like the book could have been better in the last half if the author had picked just a couple things to go wrong instead of everything.
Liv worked through everything that went wrong, apologized for being a selfish asshole, and the book wrapped everything up really nicely with a happy ending.

Thank you to Inkyard Press via NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am trying to find words to somewhat concisely and coherently summarize my adoration for this book, and I’m struggling to find them! SMASH IT! is a book I can only wish I’d had as a teen. It seamlessly empowers the reader to think about the layers of their own identities, their platonic and romantic relationships, their relationships to themselves and their vision of themselves, their sexuality, their fears and their dreams. I’m in my early 30s and even I found this book refreshing! I cannot imagine being an adolescent and reading this book; I’d have felt so seen and understood if I had had this book 15 years ago. But I also felt seen as a parent. Simone did a remarkable job showing the humanness of parents - the histories we carry with us. It’s like adolescent self and my parenting self were being really SEEN contemporaneously!

SMASH IT! follows Liv as she embarks on a year of self-discovery, grounded in list she makes in an effort to stop holding herself back. She’s a band kid who auditions for musical theatre; a girl who has boy-friends who suddenly finds herself with some close girl-friends AND in some sticky romantic situations; a person who’s trying to assert her uniqueness and individuality within her family but inadvertently does some damage along the way. The layers of relationships are totally relatable, and the sex- and body-positive messages of the book were refreshing and much needed.

I was a theatre kid. I found the theatre at my school during the teenage version of an impossibly hard time in my life, and even now, when I think about the times I’ve felt most ME, most accepted, tuned in, and alive, it’s my time in the theatre. I was blown away by the way Francina Simone captured the high-school theatre community and also the skill and thoughtfulness with which she brought Liv and her relationships to life. I never once felt like in was taken out of the book or the voice; I had as completely immersed in Liv’s story and believed every word of it.

This left me with feelings like the ones I had after I finished The Hate U Give: I didn’t want it to be over. I wanted more of my time to be connected to Liv, Eli, Dré, Lennox, Jackie, and so many other characters. I can envision these people in my mind and, although this isn’t a particularly short read, I didn’t want it to end! I am endlessly grateful to the publisher, Inkyard Press (of Harlequin), and NetGalley for this advance copy. I dannot wait for SMASH IT! to be released. I’m now a massive fan of Francina Simone and will be following along as her writing projects continue.

This review will be posted on my Instagram page, The Bookish Feminist, on 07/23, and will also be posted to my blog.