Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This was requested when I first found out about NetGalley and I had requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before they were archived. I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it! I am giving this book three stars, as I don't want to give it a good or bad rating, since I did not get to it and we have to leave a star rating.

3.5⭐

A compelling novel-in-verse that takes us through the impending Hurricane Florence and its aftermath. Rather than focusing on disaster devastation, I found it refreshing how the book provided a nuanced take on issues such as systemic loopholes, policy inefficiency, and the court of public opinion.

Unfortunately, I am unable to get past my distaste of Millie enough to give this book a higher rating. While I enjoyed her growth, she was hard to like even by the end. Not only did she display a clear lack of empathy for those around her, everything she did just reeked of self-interest to me.

I definitely would not call this book inspiring either, especially being a journalist myself. The two news articles themselves were badly written, so off publishing standards in the industry, and more like juvenile opinion essays. The ending bordered on preachy and had me dozing off for a bit.

Overall, this is still a good read but not one I would shout about.

I'll admit, I was expecting a predictable plot here. We have an ambitious teen confronted with a hurricane. I was expecting trauma and changed priorities. I was not expecting an exploration of journalistic ethics and ambition. This is not a likeable characters, which makes for a tough read.

In terms of positives, I loved that this was a novel in verse about a group of teenagers experiencing the effects of a real hurricane, as this is something I went through as a senior with Superstorm Sandy in Northern New Jersey. The blend of complicated feelings, from anger to grief to sadness and how the storm impacted with both the longterm goals of these characters and shook their values felt very relatable and true. Overall, a solid novel in verse and a great conversation starter for teens around ethics, climate change and more. Where it fell apart for me was in the details. I had wished that the storm had been a bigger part of the book and I didn't feel like the journalism story line pulled through as effectively as it could have. I wished I was able to understood more of the motivations behind some of the messy feelings that Millie was experiencing and some of the secondary character arcs weren't fulfilling.

This is a great high school book that makes one think about integrity. It is written in free verse, but it has a lot of layers to it and they all come together at the end of the story. I thought it was entertaining and enjoyable.

This book was so inspiring to read and I loved how real the main character felt. Absolutely in love with the cover art!!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

Overall, this is a 4.5. I was pleasantly surprised by this novel in verse, though I wasn't sure what I was expecting - I'm not a huge poetry reader, or reader of things in verse, so it can be hit or miss. I think this is a good introduction to the format for anybody interested in trying it out. (I do think more interesting things could have been done with the structure, but that's a personal preference.)

The beginning of this novel is set before the hurricane, but most of the events are the aftermath and a lot of choices Millie makes as she tries to get our journalistic career off the ground. To me, this is where the novel shines - demonstrating hope, the power of banding together for social change, realistic friendships (and struggles with those friends) and how to fix things when you make a huge mistake. This will be great for teenagers and I think would be appropriate for late middle school readers as well. Some things towards the end get wrapped up a tad quick and clean, but overall it's entertaining and wholesome, and I was recommend it.

Books in verse are the best. They’re accessible to all levels of readers. The added benefit is novels in verse communicate complex ideas quickly. This beautifully crafted book does a lot without too many words. I love that a natural disaster and a teenage reporter unite a community to cause change. I highly recommend this book for our budding journalists and activists. There’s so many ideas it’ll give them! Good implications for classroom use.

I didn't look at the summary before reading this book. I saw the title and "South Carolina" and I was already sold. I was very confused when I opened it and saw that it was written in verse 😂 but it was an absolutely adorable addition.

I thought this was a fantastic YA book. Millie grows so much as a person throughout these verses as she works to rebuild her friendship and her town after a both literal and figurative storm.

I'm also heavily considering acquiring a physical copy when it comes out. I love the cover art! 4.5/5 stars!

Four Months Past Florence tells the story of Millie Willard, who is a young journalist in high school. She wants to make it big in the journalism world and decides to write a very controversial piece about a situation that occurred in the town during Hurricane Florence. Millie then has to find a way to redeem herself with the town, her school, her family, and her friends.

This was such a well written book. As someone who lives in southeastern NC and experienced Florence firsthand, the depictions were spot on. The anxiety of not knowing how long the storm will last, how long the flooding will stay, when the roads would open to get home, and whether or not you had a home to return to were all very real.

I think this story had a great lesson on activism and righting one's own wrongs. Millie really learned a lot about what is right versus what is popular. She grows a lot as a character and in the end she helps to start some amazing community changes.

I think this is an excellent title for showcasing how teens can do more in their community with the voices and knowledge they have.

In this book we would find a great moment to ignite our determination to be better, set future goals and then achieve them triumphantly. As shown in the female protagonist who struggled to become a journalist, even though the people around her did not support her at all.

An inspiring book for teenagers that would motivate to not give up easily in achieving the biggest dreams.

Reading this book would give a big injection to motivatiate the life.

Beautiful book! I loved how imperfect the main character was. She made real mistakes. I like how she was able to help fix the issues she caused for the library worker she "exposed".

This was my first novel in lyrical verse, and it was so beautifully written I will definitely be checking more out. Four Months Past Florence follows Millie Willard a junior in high school with a dream to become a famous journalist however, she has people in her life holding her back not believing she can truly achieves her dream.
Millie is tenacious, inspiring and tough, I found myself absorbed in her story rooting for her in the very beginning. She's someone young people can and should look up to.
The only downside to this book is sometimes I struggled with the verse because it doesn't flow as much as your average novel but once you are used to it the story envelops you in.

Thank you, Andrews McMeel Publishing, for the advance reading copy.

To all the girls and all the boys- everyone who’s yet to live their dreams, this book is just the perfect agenda to gear you up, give some oil to the burning desire and let the flame burst the doubts to shreds keep you going until you see only your goals and get them just right!

Such a powerful read about a girl who wants to become a journalist despite the not so encouraging behaviour of the ones she looks up to.

Strong voices like hers gets silenced everyday as people tend to kill more than nurture a young person’s dreams. But does it happen for everyone? Is it the usual story?

You will know how strong the voice in the writing is! The characters are well presented. For someone like me who loves poetry and books in verse, this comes out to be the perfect one as it is!

Thank you, Andrews McMeel Publishing, for the advance reading copy.