Were you ever a kid in high school that thought, what would happen if I stopped trying so hard? Well the main character of this book did just that and it was fun to go through that process with them. It was also a journey of self discovery and I liked getting to see how this main character figured out why they felt certain ways and how the book shows the pressure of societal norms that are pushed on teenagers. It was also a pretty fast read so that was nice. I felt like one part in particular was pretty obvious and I was like talking out loud to the character to help them get there. But sometimes these things aren't obvious in the moment and I understand that completely. This was a good book and I would read more by this author.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

This was a sweet, light read, if at times a bit cliche, following a relatable protagonist, Mary, who has always done what was expected of her, through her journey breaking out of those boundaries for the first time. I would've loved to have read this book when I was the protagonist's age—perhaps I would've found the courage to be true to myself earlier!

loved the cover. loved the plot. loved the protagonist. i would highly recommend this book!!! especially to young women

This was a good book. It was a cute story and I thoroughly enjoyed the author's use of humor and her style of writing.

Katie Heaney as the person interests me so much, but unfortunately I do mesh well with her fiction. But this is an interesting book and way to pass the time regardless!

I. Loved. This. Book.

I felt myself connecting to the main character, Mary, the entire book. The writing style in this novel was super quick and sharp—was able to finish in one sitting.

Mary was wonderful and interesting main character and her decision to “stop trying” was captivating. I liked her drives with Mitch and the relationship with her guidance counselor. Her coworkers were also lovely and loved the sapphic romance develops slowly and at the end of the novel.

This book was so close to a 5 star read! My main concern for the novel is that Mary is clearly going through a tough time in her life and experiencing depression. This is not noticed by her parents or really many others. There’s a scene in particular where Mary almost gets in a pretty bad car wreck and mentions off hand that she never thought to use her breaks. I think it was a lost opportunity to really explore her seeking help for her depression. The counselor was a great start but wanted more!

All in all a great 4 star read! I cant wait to read more from the author ❤️

Read full review at our blog - link provided. We'd like to thank the publisher for giving us a copy in exchange for a review!

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. "The Year I Stopped Trying" by Katie Heaney was like going back into a time machine. I remember stressing over every little thing and watching my friends doing the same thing in high school, then realizing, it doesn't matter. Do what makes you happy, life will be better. I have about 10 teens I want to hand this to immediately.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a very quick read. I enjoyed following along as Mary discovers herself. I thought it was a great perspective and would absolutely recommend. Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

Thank you @tbrbeyondtours @netgalley for sending me the e-arc and to TBR & Beyond for this opportunity. I am sorry for the late post because of my exam being on the same date I wasn't able to read the book. 💜

Blurb- Book smart meets The Perks of Being a Wallflower in this novel of overachieving, existential crises, growing up, and coming out, from the author of Girl Crushed and Never Have I Ever.

How interesting does that sound? I was completely rapt in the book from the beginning chapters.

Top reasons you should read it-

A coming of age novel about a school student Mary, who is so uptight about her grades, her assignments. One day she forgets to do her history assignment and notices that nothing much really happens, the world doesn't end as she thought it would and she gets a free pass, so she tries doing it the second time and she wonders what's the point of it all if it doesn't matter.

The book is so fun to read, it is subtly hilarious, you never get enough of it. The writing is witty and powerful too as Katie writes about sensitive topics.

If you're the eldest kid in your family you know what frustration really means! What are responsibilities and you care about everything because I am the same, and that is shown quite well here.

I love to read about books based on school/college life, student life, when you're trying to figure out stuff about yourself and your career and life. If there are supportive people around you, it gets better. The relationships, sibling love, friendship are goals in this book.

The main character is admirable.
Finding yourself, struggling with your identity, Sapphic relationships, sex positivity, coming out all of this was portrayed in such a positive light that it's hard to not fall in love with this piece of fiction.

Hope you read this one and love it too

I really enjoyed this novel, I’m not a big fan of novel where it’s mostly narrative and not much dialogue so at first it was a bit hard for me to get into it but once the story started I was caught up into it and really enjoyed the story, the plot, the characters and the twists.

Mary is a very interesting character, and I felt so close to her because I was basically Mary. I would never ever ever miss an assignment because I was too scared to get in trouble with school. And I’ve never missed one, unlike Mary which then it was super interesting to read and discover what happens to her in school, with her family, etc.

The character goes from just wanting to succeed in school to just live her teenage life. Assignments? Who cares? She wants a boyfriend, she wants to go out. No more school worries.

Full review on my blog

I see every one of my students in Mary, constantly stressed about the workload but then eventually reaching a point where they stop putting in any effort. While I couldn't relate to Mary very much, I think my students would understand this book more than I did.

I really liked the premise of this book, but it, unfortunately, fell a bit flat for me. I think many parts of it are extremely relatable for teenagers, but overall, I am not sure it sends the right message. It seemed such convenient timing that once Mary figured things out, everything fell back into place. The feelings she was having during the year seemed very severe and worthy of serious help from a professional, and I feel that was ignored.

It was an entertaining read, and I had no trouble getting through it, but these problems kept me from even giving it 4 stars. I really just wish there was more? I guess? More fleshing out? More growth?

I would definitely read more from the author, but this wasn't it for me.

Mary has always been a good student and never gotten into trouble. One day she forgets to do a history assignment. She prepares herself for the worst, yet, nothing happens. This leads her to reflect on the purpose of doing her assignments. Has she been doing so well in school simply because she is supposed to? What does she even want for herself in life? Intentionally, she does as badly in school as she can, skipping assignments and classes. She also begins a romantic pursuit of Mitch, hoping his bad boy reputation will aid her in her “self-deterioration project.” As she gets to know Mitch, she is unsure if she truly wants to date a boy, sensing that just like with the schoolwork, she has always thought about boys simply because that was what was expected of her. Mary’s experimentation leads her to realize how preoccupied she was with how others perceived her. She ultimately comes to terms with the fact that she is not completely sure what she wants, and that is okay.

Heaney writes in a very casual, first-person style. Mary’s narration is often humorous and blunt. While she cannot express herself well to others early in the story, her character comes through in the narration style filled with inner thoughts. The setting of a suburban high school in the Midwest allows for diversity in the supporting characters, though this is not a focal point of the storytelling. The discoveries Mary makes as she tries to find herself and her purpose are ones that have value for any young person, overachiever or not. The straightforward style makes this an easy read, making the theme of self-discovery easily accessible to readers transitioning from middle grade to young adult fiction.

16 year old Mary Davis has always strived to be the best academic student, pushing herself to the brink to achieve her goals. One day, she forgets to do her homework, and is expecting some form of punishment...but no one seems to notice. She begins to question why she tries so hard, and decides that for the rest of the school year, she's going to take time for herself.

This is a very quick read that covers a lot more topics than I originally thought it would. It discusses sexuality, self-discovery, friendships as well as mental health. I liked the exploration of these, but I was left wanting... more. I liked Mary's voice, and the dry humour and sarcasm she used to get through her days. I loved watching her friendships grow and develop as the story progressed. I think this will be a very relatable story for a lot of closeted teens, and for that I think it is a very important read.

I went into this book hoping to enjoy it, and I did for the most part. My favorite thing about it was the impactful quotes! Like me, Mary is an overachiever and perfectionist, and I identified with many of her struggles. I did feel like the plot was lacking, and I would have liked to see a bit more character development in Mary. However, I did enjoy the author’s honesty and sense of humor in her writing. I’m disappointed that this book fell slightly under my expectations, but overall it was still an enjoyable read!

Thinking back to high school, I don’t think I ever could have made the decision Mary makes in The Year I Stopped Trying. To actively sabotage my grades and not put any effort into my assignments or tests. Granted, I wasn’t an overachiever. My parents weren’t ones to get upset or ground me over passing grades (C- or higher). But the thought of not trying wasn’t something that would have crossed my mind. Seeing if I could, like a domino effect, fail, or get close to it.

As a parent reading a novel about a teenager going through an existential crisis is an interesting one for me as well. To see someone who clearly needed some type of support or feedback as to the reasoning why she resorted to this behavior made me pause. Made me consider as a parent what would I do if one of my children felt the way Mary did. And how I provide support.

An efficacious scheme of faineance and zero effort, Katie Heaney’s The Year I Stopped Trying is a coming of age novel with breadth, humor, and an honesty that is refreshing as it is satisfying.

The ending is the absolute BEST!

Happy Reading ~ Cece

I wasn't sure what to expect with this one and I'll admit it took me a minute to get into, but I really wound up enjoying it. It tells the story of an overachieving high school student who seeks to discover what's left when she stops doing things out of obligation. It was pitched as Booksmart meets Perks of Being a Wallflower and I think that's an excellent description. It has a lot of the internal storytelling and character growth that other classic coming-of-age novels like Perks have. It can be hard to pull off writing about someone having an existential crisis like Mary has because it is such an internal struggle, it can be difficult to maintain for the length of a novel, but Katie Heaney pulls it off, in large thanks to her supporting characters. For me, I wanted more scenes with those characters like the guidance counselor and Mitch, as well as more diving into Mary's family and why she is so generally isolated. Those were my main, small, qualms, but overall I liked this book a lot. It reminded me of my depressed high school years and trying to figure out life with no idea what I wanted and being confused how easy things seemed for other people. I don't want to give away the ending at all, but the final scenes of the book were by far my favorite and I'm glad Mary figured some things out. If you were or are a lost soul in high school feeling like everyone else received a guide you never did, this book might be for you.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Year I Stopped Trying

Author: Katie Heaney

Book Series: Standalone

Diversity: F/f romance, Lesbian MC

Rating: 4.5/5

Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, romance, LGBTQIA+

Genre: YA Contemporary

Publication Date: November 16, 2021

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Pages: 256

Recommended Age: 14+ (masturbation discussed, sexual content, romance, coming out, slight language)

Explanation of CWs: Masturbation and sexual content is discussed. There is a sapphic romance. Coming out is shown and there is some curse words.

Synopsis: Mary is having an existential crisis. She's a good student, she never gets in trouble, and she is searching for the meaning of life. She always thought she'd find it in a perfect score on the SATs. But by junior year, Mary isn't so sure anymore.

The first time, it's an accident. She forgets to do a history assignment. She even crosses history essay off in her pristine planner. And then: Nothing happens. She doesn't burst into flames, the world doesn't end, the teacher doesn't even pull her aside after class.

So she asks herself: Why am I trying so hard? What if I stop?

With her signature wit and heaps of dark humor, Katie Heaney delivers a stunning YA novel the sprints full-force into the big questions our teen years beg--and adeptly unravels their web.

Review: I really liked this book. It read like a Judy Blume book and it was so sweet. The book not only goes into mental health and how hard school is on teens, but also goes into discourse over society's pressure to be perfect in school, do everything you're told to do, turn in every assignment, and even into compulsory heterosexuality. The book makes a lot of good points about school, some of which I wished more kids knew. When I was in my sophomore year I discovered that I could get away with 1-3 missing assignments and still have an A in the class, which was a small relief for me during high school to be able to know if I had an off day I could just skip the homework. A lot of teachers overpressure kids to do everything in classes, for example extra credit even if they're earning above 100%, and I hope that kids read books like this and realize that it's ok to take time you need. Personally I believe that kids should have mental health days/PTO like days from school like how you get when you're an adult at most jobs. I also loved the sex positive nature of the book and how the main character questions their sexuality in a relatable way. The character development was amazing as well.

The only issues I had with the book is that the world didn't feel that well developed and I felt like the plot kind of died a bit in the end of the book. It was just drug out and didn't move like the rest of the book did.

Verdict: Highly recommend!