Friends and Family the power of word. This was a Rollercoaster of a ride. I was definitely not the target audience for this I believe

This book seemed like it was about nothing, yet it addressed something crucial - friendships and navigating them. However, the storyline lacked direction.

Although the characters were well-developed, and Frances was relatable, her friend Sonja became increasingly unbearable. Sonja's pretentiousness and "know-it-all" attitude made her feel toxic, prompting a desire to pull Frances away from her.

After setting it aside for a few weeks, I attempted to return to the book, but its sole focus on Sonja and Frances' friendship didn't keep me engaged. Many reviewers mention triggering content, so I'd advise checking that. While this book wasn't my cup of tea, I recognize its potential and hope it resonates with other readers.

This story reminded me of my high school days so much! Fondly too! Back when I had the world ahead of me but was truly living in the now.

Thank you!

This was such an emotional and wonderful book! It is a coming of age-novel in the best way, showing the power of friendship, family and words. It is about how you can acknowledge your own emotions, and how one single person cannot keep everyone happy even though they'd want to.

The beginning of the book is very compelling, especially Sonja-Frances first encounter. It feels out of the blue, but charming. I like the friendship and boundaries theme that the author brought up. At some point, I agree that people need boundaries, even among best friends. It made me rethink of my friendships and my past self. In the middle, the plot is not really that engaging for me. However, I personally like the ending because it seems realistic. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange of an honest review.

‘The Takeover Friend’ is such a compelling take on the darkness of teenage friendship. I was really drawn in by the synopsis because I have read a lot of stories about complex and intense friendships.
Frances is introverted and quiet and is soon befriended by Sonja, an unfiltered and worldly girl from France. The pair are an unlikely pair of opposites but soon the friendship is tested as Sonja has to stay with Frances’s family and their dynamic becomes one of discomfort rather than fun.
I liked the intensity of the characters and particularly the internal struggle that Frances goes through as Sonja infiltrates each part of her life with ease.
Overall an original and interesting take on how we navigate friendships and also finding our own voice as to stand apart.

It's official YA no longer holds any interest for me. I now longer feel like it is the genre for me and this book confirmed it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fitzroy Books for the DRC.

The Take Over Friend follows two young girls, Frances and Sonja, as they start ninth grade and become close friends. The large cast of characters and number of themes and issues explored in the novel do a great job of depicting the increasing complexity of life and relationships at this age. It also means that there was lots of drama going on in every chapter, so it was hard to put down!

Frances and Sonja are at the age where imperfections in the world around us become apparent, and Sonja really struggles with the way adults in her life don’t act according to what they say. Similarly, we read how Frances’ family is affected by her father’s bipolar disorder, and each member has different ideas about how he should deal with it.

The main theme explored in the novel is about what happens when we are not secure about our own personality. Frances struggles with being assertive, and she ends up in a friendship where her boundaries are not respected and she feels overpowered in her relationships. Not being happy with my personality because of what is valued in society is something I have also experienced in high school, so this was very relatable to me. The book shows Frances’ journey of accepting her personality and learning to appreciate her qualities.

I enjoyed reading about school events and activities, and the romantic subplot was very wholesome. The book explored some really interesting character dynamics with Frances’ family, especially with Sonja. And some tough situations came up where it is hard to say what the right thing to do is.

I recommend this book to readers who love character-focused stories and want to read a YA novel full of nostalgic high school moments written from the perspective of a self-reflective narrator.

Trigger Warnings:
Attempted suicide by a parent, extramarital affair, mental illness, act of arson
Red Flags:
Underage drinking, drug use, sexual innuendo

This is wash’s really my thing but i think someone else might enjoy this more than i can.

Wow, reading this book was like riding on a roller-coaster.
It starts off fairly innocently; two teenage girls meet up in their freshman year of high school. Frances is quiet and self-conscious; Sonja is outgoing and sassy. The two opposite personalities clique and an instant friendship forms. Frances is more than willing to let Sonja direct their relationship. But as time passes, “close becomes closer, then too close,” as Frances’ older sister points out. Dangerously, smotheringly close…
I could relate to Frances’ self-conscious, people-pleaser personality. In school, I was the shy bookworm and avid dog-lover, and my best friend was the head cheerleader. Somehow we just always got along with each other, and enjoyed our times together.
The author did a great job of drawing out the suspense, all the way to the end. As the reader, you find out more about Sonja, her family, and her mental state just a bit at a time. Reminded me of the story about the frog in the pot of boiling water; no one saw Sonja for who or what she was until it was past the point of no return.
Trigger Warnings:
Attempted suicide by a parent, extramarital affair, mental illness, act of arson
Red Flags:
Underage drinking, drug use, sexual innuendo

Frances and Sonja meet at just the right moment and quickly form an all encompassing friendship. Their close relationship only becomes closer when Sonja has to move in with Frances and her family, including her older brother Will.

Describing a book as directionless clearly feels weird as obviously the author had some sort of plan but it doesn’t seem to have been effectuated in a way that I understand. Clearly a book about friendship and the power of hope times I felt that the author was writing for the sake of writing without any real purpose which was quite sad. I did enjoy the book when I was reading it however couldn’t tell you what it was really about in hindsight which is a little sad.

This was one of those books about nothing. But it was about something. It’s about friendships and navigating your friendships. Yet it didn’t feel like there’s any direction.

While I think you get to know the characters fairly well and you can understand and agree with Francis it gets to the point where her new friend Sonja is just unbearable because she comes off pretentious and know it all. But more than that she feels so toxic that I wanted to yank Francis away from her early on.

I set this down for a couple weeks and tried to come back but it just wasn’t keeping me hooked since there was no other plot lines other than Sonja and Francis’ friendship. I will say many people mention triggers so I would absolutely check those. While this one wasn’t for me I can see the potential and hope it works for others.

Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars out of 5

I was able to read this book for free through NetGalley. To be honest, I might not have thought to read it based on first impressions of the cover and title, but I’m glad I gave it a chance!

This book deals with topics that may be triggering to some, including mental health (primarily depression and bipolar disorder), self harm, suicidal ideation, adultery, separation, animal cruelty. It’s important to note these before going into it.

With that out of the way, let’s address the good parts! The author handles difficult topics very well, and with a gentle but honest hand. As the book is from the pov of Frances, who is navigating her own relationships as well as witnessing the complicated relationships between others in her life, we get to see a daughters perspective of those entanglements. Frances grows within the pages until, at the end, it seems she has finally been able to find her own voice and personality.

There is a lot that most people (especially women) can relate to - the thoughts and feelings of Frances, the complicated friendship she shares with Sonja, and the difficulties she faces as a teen. She feels like a completely realistic character, and a fairly reliable narrator. It helps that she is incredibly likeable, in comparison to Sonja, who often comes across as precocious and rude, albeit partly due to her upbringing. They act as foils of one another in some ways. The depth and fast pace of their journey from stranger to inseparable best friends to mere acquaintances also feels entirely realistic, given their ages.

For me, the majority of characters in the book were really well developed, the author really taking the time to let the readers get to know even the more adjacent characters. None of them felt two dimensional.

I absolutely did not see the twist towards the end coming. I audibly gasped, and was more emotional than I might have thought! One of the better twist executions I’ve seen in a while.

I enjoyed the story and would definitely recommend it as an easy read, in writing and style. There are a few points that could be improved on, in my opinion. Firstly, the book does start quite slowly. It takes some time to really get into; I had to get halfway through before I really found myself on a role in terms of reading.

Secondly - and not necessarily a bad thing - it should be noted that there’s little in the way of an actual plot. That isn’t something I class as a negative really - the book is primarily about the friendship between two girls in a fairly short space of time, and that is interesting enough for me. But I could see how others may want more.

Thirdly, I found Sonja a little too unlikeable. Perhaps the least realistic of the characters. Pretentious, too smart for her own good, manipulative, and impertinent, the only saving grace is Fran’s growth, which she inadvertently aids. I understand that she isn’t necessarily meant to be liked; but there were many points regarding her life and family that should have made me sympathise a little with her, but I didn’t. Teenagers aren’t often irredeemable; she feels it.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this. I would definitely be intrigued to look into anything else the author writes, as I liked her style, and the simple no frills attached writing, which can be a breath of fresh air in a world of flowery, purple prose. The book deals with complicated issues and feelings, but isn’t difficult to digest. I think it’s relatable in many points, and mostly a realistic depiction. The twist is one that I do not think anyone could see coming, and that alone was worth it!

I don't know how I really feel about this book. I liked it, but it wasn't anything mindblowing. It's kind of about how friendships can be when you're young and still super moldable. The gaslighting, manipulation, and friends just not being great friends to each other, that can happen when you don't yet know your own worth. It was a little hard to read because one of the characters is just soooo manipulative it made me angry.

Thank you to netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

#FirstLine - Maybe it only happens once.

This book is such a great book. A quick read that is small is size, but big in feels. The story is thought provoking. I loved the characters because you could relate to them. They were not made to feel overdone, they were real, raw and far from perfect. This book cover important topics that readers can learn from and it is done so in a quiet and endearing way. A great read and one I highly recommend.

We often hear stories about people who get lost in a relationship—who become so deeply involved with someone that they give up everything else. But in the teen drama The Take-Over Friend, author Carol Dines explores what happens when a teenage girl gets totally immersed in an unhealthy friendship...

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery.

The Take Over Friend by Carol Dines kept me engaged from cover to cover. Our protagonist, Fran, is the youngest in a sibling group of three and her family nickname is "the easy one." Fran is the child who loves on her father and accepts him even during his manic episodes and when he neglects to take his medication. Fran consoles her mother during her father's episodes and is the child left behind as her sister prepares to study abroad and her brother prepares to go off to college.

It's no wonder that when Fran meets Sonja she becomes enamored with her and how self-possessed and confident she is. In many ways Sonja represents all the things Fran wishes she could be. When Fran first allows Sonja to come over and visit her family everything seems fine until Sonja begins to cross Fran's boundaries and Fran struggles to find a way to establish some rules in the relationship. These failures to show up fully and clearly in her relationship to Sonja result in Fran being harmed in many ways. This also impacts the outcomes for her loved ones in ways she wasn't prepared for or expecting.

This is a novel for every young girl who struggled to know how to relate to a girlfriend they wanted so desperately to keep. There are many gems throughout the story, particularly shared between Mom and Fran that will stick with me after reading. One of my favorites is this: "You aren't responsible for other people's happiness. Not at your age, not ever. You have to cultivate your own happiness. And Sonja has to cultivate hers, too."

This is easily one of my favorite novels of the year. Thank you to the author and publisher for the E-arc copy!

A big thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for approving me of a copy of an e-arc of this book!
Such a great book!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I enjoyed this book and I loved that it shows not all friendships are perfect. There are so many examples of positive interactions with teenagers, teachers and family members. It has so many real life topic that are handled well.