3.5-4 stars

Long story short, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! And yes, I had to make this pun.

This book started with me entirely on Bea's side against her parents, but as we see just how socially reserved she was, I did a 180. I understand entirely, unfortunately, because of experiences, why she was reserved because of a past bullying experience. Still, missing experiences she wanted and needed after seeing her grow in the book proved she needed this. You can see the absence in her life, and she comes to see them too. The friendships and romance were adorable, and I love how the friendships did not take a backseat to the romance; they were equal in her life and growth!

Also, I wish I could have gone to a summer camp growing up, especially a drama one!

Beatrice Quinn is a math genius, and a home schooled one at that. She's awkward (by her own admission) and with parents who hover as close as hers have, it seems impossible that they would let her go to college, let alone college in another country.
But they strike an agreement. She can go, if she first conquers Shakespearean summer camp. A fair trade, right?

I had a bit of a hard time getting into this book, but when I did, I was rewarded. In the beginning I had to keep reminding myself that it was just a book, because the experience of being a teenager and knowing that you're ready for something, but not being able to convince your parents of that seems like a near-universal one.

Beatrice and Nik are both well rounded and thoroughly thought out characters, and I really appreciate that in a YA rom-com. The setting was very summer and put me in a good mood, even as I suffered second-hand embarrassment through.

My one gripe is that while Beatrice comes across as Autistic/neurodivergent very strongly, but this is never mentioned in the book. The author has said on Twitter I believe that she is written to be autistic, but I really wish that she would have come out and said it in the book. A discussion like that would benefit so many young people. I understand why she didn't include it though.

What a fun book! As an actor - alas one that missed out on the fun of summer theatre camps - it was really fun seeing Shakespeare woven into the plot. Was the plot a bit predictable?! Yes, and there was enough clever differentiation from the predictable to still make it a joy to read. The turn about with Beatrice's treatment of a boy interested in her was an interesting twist (don't want to say too much) that brought a lot of authenticity to the tale. I will say at the start, Beatrice's character seemed too far-fetched, but I really warmed to her. She was presented with flaws and grew through them in a very realistic way. I will definitely be recommending this book to theatre friends!

Fabulous, show-stopping, brilliant. I adored every page of this YA rom-com by Serena Kaylor. I'm a massive fan of Shakespeare and anything involving theatre (Publishers, please acquire more theatre-based stories, I beg you, students truly want these stories!), and this book did not disappoint. The banter was top-notch, the will-they-or-won't-they moments excruciating in the best ways, and the sweet and charming friendships and relationships were completely heartwarming. Simply adorable! I look forward to all of Kaylor's future books and will happily press Long Story Short into readers' hands for years to come.

i loved this book! it was so fun and the play portion kept me interested the whole time! also the friendships were everything!!!

It speaks highly of a book, when you don't regret the lost sleep, too much.

I think there are so many well crafted elements in this book. I've previously talked about my struggle with unlikable characters, and at the beginning Beatrice is hard to love, but not unlikable. However, there is such an endearing nature that calls to all of us, in her quest to belong. When she asks how you know someone is a friend, I felt all those little lonely jagged pieces in me ache. Hoo buddy, if that isn't a question I've asked in all stages of life.

Truly, I think my favorite part of this story is how unapologetic Beatrice is for being herself. Her quirks, and essence are never diminished to become "normal" but instead interwoven and enhanced by her choices. Yes, she caves to peer pressure, but her success comes when she's more authentic. I laughed at her refusal to try new foods, as I have a child who could survive on Pop-Tarts and butter noodles.

It's a great, light YA read with romance, and for as much of an HEA junkie I am, I slightly enjoyed the coming of age and friendships aspect more.

Beatrice has always lived an isolated life. Having been homeschooled up until now, she’s thrilled to have the opportunity to leave California to go to Oxford University. Her parents, however, are less than enthused. Their concern stems from Beatrice’s lack of life experience. As a compromise, they agree to send her to theater camp in Connecticut with the caveat that she must complete a list of activities while at the camp. When Beatrice arrives at camp, she finds that she’s in over her head. But with the help of her new friends Mia and Nolan, and her new nemesis Nik, she may discover the life she’s missed out on up to this point.

I loved the main character Bea, and her self-discovery journey, and battles with social anxiety. I loved her candor, genuine nature, and vulnerability. Initially, I did not like Nik, her love interest, at all. I found him toxic and genuinely unkind and I thought Bea deserved better for her first crush. Unlike Nik, Bea’s best friends Mia and Nolan were an absolute hoot! Everyone deserves friends like them. They go out of their way to look out for her and challenge her to get out of her comfort zone.

In terms of young adult novels, Long Story Short is incredibly PG throughout. There aren’t any serious triggers or adult content, other than some teenage drinking. One of the most refreshing parts of Long Story Short is that texting and social media have little to no place in the book. The kids are at a summer camp with no access to their phones, and that creates such the perfect environment.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the review copy! All opinions are my own.

We stan a woman in STEM (even if I will never be that woman). Super light, summer read. I really enjoyed this book!

LONG STORY SHORT is an adorable YA contemporary novel about an introverted, ingenious teen who attends a Shakespeare camp to prove to her parents she can have “normal teen experiences” before attending Oxford. I thought this book was the perfect blend of coming-of-age, friendship, and romance.

Though she doesn’t specifically identify as autistic on the page, Bea is a neurodivergent character written by a neurodivergent author. I wish I read this as a teen because a Bea’s journey was poignant, honest, and all too relatable. I loved that in addition to the romance, this book really focused on Bea coming out of her shell and making friends. If you like Shakespeare references, enemies-to-lovers romances, summer camp settings, plots that center around checklists, and intriguing teen characters, I strongly recommend LONG STORY SHORT.

Cute YA story!
Bea is such a math whiz, even her own parents think she needs to live it up a little bit more. So we get a socially awkward teen at a Shakespeare camp, trying to make friends and figure out how to be a ‘normal’ teen. As teen life goes, there are ups and downs, nice people and not so nice, with plenty of opportunities for personal growth.
It’s fun to watch Bea on this journey. A bit immature, but it’s a YA story.

Ok this book was so sweet. I loved the nostalgia of the summer camp setting (even if I’ve never actually attended a theater camp) and the character development was done really well. I definitely got swoony during several of Beatrice and Nik’s interactions and would 100% read any follow up to their story.

Oh my god this book has me in a chokehold. READ IT RIGHT NOW.

Ok, now we've got that out of the way. Long Story Short follows Bea, a homeschooled, routine dependent genius. She got herself into Oxford, but in order to convince her parents that she's ready to move to England, she needs to show them that she's a real teenager, and capable of dealing with unexpected situations. She needs to survive a Shakespearean Theatre Summer Camp.

I was apprehensive about the concept of this book. I'm not a theatre person, and I don't know. I definitely put it off for a little while because I didn't want to not like it. I should've read this book IMMEDIATELY! It did take me a little while to warm up to Bea. I liked her internal thoughts, and definitely understood where she was coming from with some things. I also LOVED the found family aspect. Mia and Nolan are amazing, and I loved how they were supportive and eager to help Bea come out of her shell.

And, Nik? GIRLLLLL. I was SWOONING over the quotes he was reading in their Shakespeare Quote-off. The slow burn, KILLED ME. I loved seeing Bea come to the realisation of what her feelings were, and the stumbles she took along the way. And, the ending? Perfection. BUT I NEED AN EPILOGUE OR. SOMETHING. GIVE ME MORE. I need Nik and Bea at Oxford, I need Mia and Nolan's visit. I NEED MORE SERENA.

This book has immediately become one of my favourite reads of the year. If you loved Better Than The Movies by Lynn Painter, I thoroughly recommend picking up Long Story Short. I just giggled my way through it, and it made my heart so warm. Serena Kaylor - your debut novel is fucking amazing.

Thank you to Wednesday Books, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an eARC of this title. I will be buying a physical copy IMMEDIATELY. Perhaps even my new staff pick?

Math just makes sense to Beatrice. What doesn’t make sense to Beatrice is how to make friends. Before her parents let her attend Oxford she had to prove that she will do more than spend all her time in the library. In exchange for her attending Oxford she has to attend the Connecticut Shakespearean Academy and of course there is a list to mark off typical teen milestones.
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She soon learns that being a teenager is much more than marking items off a list and it’s time to stumble through the roadblocks of life. This is a sweet coming of age story.
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Thank you @stmartinspress for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

In Long Story Short, we meet Beatrice aka Bea who is thrust upon the stage (well, theater camp) in order to secure her ultimate role: teenager who is allowed to go to Oxford because her parents no longer think she's totally socially inept. It's a long Title, but someone's got to do it!

This was such a fun story! It had all the things that make a great teen story in my eyes: first loves, awkward moments, meddling parents, best friends, mean girls, and so much more! As a non-ya person reading a YA novel, it took me back to high school in the best of ways. I could see all the different people and cliques pretty clearly, and that was half the fun.

Bea is an interesting character. In the beginning, she seems so closed off to the world. It's understandable why her parents want her to find her way in the world before she is off to a whole new continent on her own. As the novel progresses, we get to see Beatrice check off experiences that show her what it means to be a teenager. There were points in the novel where I thought i wasn’t going to like Bea or where I was annoyed, but ultimately, she’s very loveable, just a bit misguided. What teenager among us isn’t?

I really liked how Shakespeare was incorporated throughout the story. We get it, he’s classic, and because he is, stories about Shakespeare’s plays can seem overdone. This one was not, and I love how the play gets, ehem adapted near the end. I do feel like the ending came together very quickly, and things happend one right after the other, but I’ll allow it.

This is an enjoyable read, and I recommend it to teens and adults alike who want to be reminded that all the things we're afraid of usually aren't the worst things ever, and we have the capacity to grow and change into the people we're meant to be!

This book was fun, but just a little too easy. Bea is set in her ways and is very stubborn with her parents, for good reason, but then all of a sudden she makes friends and instantly loosens up? I'm not buying it. I enjoyed the story and the setting was great, but things just worked out too well. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Long Story Short by Serena Kaylor is a delightful YA contemporary debut! As a major theater geek, I absolutely loved reading this book. I think that the premise is very unique and that the coming of age element of the story was very well written. I loved seeing Bea open up more and blossom during her time at summer camp. This book has the kind of feel good summer vibes that you get from The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han, Kasie West and Morgan Matson books. I will definitely be picking up Serena Kaylor's future YA books and I'll be recommending Long Story Short to my friends who love YA!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of Long Story Short by Serena Kaylor in exchange for an honest review.

*4.25 Stars*

Beatrice Quinn is a home schooled statistical genius. At only sixteen, she has been accepted to Oxford University, all the way in England. But her parents are not happy. They don't think she's ready to be on her own, especially not that far away. So they decide to send her to acting camp where she is to act and make friends and more. They made a whole list of things to accomplish. And Beatrice is not about to let a silly little camp filled with silly actors get in the way of what she really wants and must do.

This was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the camp setting, I actually learnt a lot about Shakespeare. I really liked the main character, Beatrice, I also loved the friends she made. I was not into the love interest at first, but he grew on me as he grew on Beatrice.
The plot felt good, its pacing too. I was engaged pretty fast and I liked how Beatrice thought, so it was nice being in her head.
I really enjoyed this overall. Just a fun time, with some interesting plot points and a great setting.
I will definitely look into more by this author.

I really enjoyed reading this book—it authentically captured the experiences of summer camp and of theatre, from the newness and awkwardness to the endings and triumphs. Although the set-up of the story seems unique and possibly unapproachable, there is definitely something here for everyone to relate to and enjoy.

"Long story short"...this book is adorable. It's a lovely coming of age story about math whiz, Beatrice who has grown up home-schooled. After being accepted to Oxford University, she assumes the hard part is over. Unfortunately, her parents aren't convinced that she should go since she's been so sheltered. With this in mind, Beatrice is sent to a theatre camp for the summer and given specific goals to meet by her parents before they'll consider letting her go overseas for school.

Naturally, Beatrice calculates ways to get herself out of having to actually "act" and uses her incredible memory to her advantage. Of course, as the reader, you will quickly suspect that at some point she'll have to step on the stage and use the skills she has but doesn't feel comfortable with.

The real point of the camp for Beatrice is making friends and learning how to deal with others. She's a slow learner in the beginning but once she gets the hang of things, Beatrice finds herself excelling at her "camp goals." Beatrice is fun, quirky and real character. You can't help but pull for her because I think everyone can see a little of themself in her. The side characters - - Bea's friends, enemies and potential love interests are also well-written and characters that are easy to engage with.

Overall, this is a cute and meaningful story. It has a little romance thrown in as well which was a nice nod to an "enemies to lovers" lite version. But the real star for me in this book was how Bea learned who she really was and finally understood that she could have friends who would truly stand by her.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

Long Story Short by Serena Kaylor
Young Adult Contemporary Romance, 12+
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I did not expect to fall in love with Beatrice and Long Story Short the way that I did. I’ve already ordered and received my physical copy in the mail since I liked the eARC so much and knew I’d want to read it again.

FULL REVIEW ON MY BLOG.