Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.
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I’ve had this one on my NetGalley shelf for awhile and finally decided to crack it open during NetGalley November. I was hoping for a really quick and fluffy read, which is more or less what I got. I found Chloe to be pretty immature, even adjusting for her being a teenager. She had a difficult time really listening to anyone around her, and didn’t take any amount of criticism well. On the surface, this is forgivable for a teen protagonist, but there was little growth.
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The plot was fairly cyclical and no matter how many times Daniel said he just wanted to be friends, she refused to take no for an answer. If the gender roles had been flipped, this would go downhill quickly, but instead his friends kept assuring her to keep pushing. It made me somewhat uncomfortable on his behalf, even though Chen tried to keep proving that he liked her back he was still saying no. Also, do these kids never go to school? Ultimately, I enjoyed the book fine, but I was hoping for more.

Artifacts of an Ex was a really cute YA romcom about a high schooler who moves across the country to LA and curates an art exhibit on breakups. This book was sweet. I loved the nods to LA, I loved the high school angst, I loved seeing a young woman find what makes her happy and use it to acclimate to a new city and find her own self worth and happiness. And I loved her grandma so much.

Artifacts of an Ex is a fairly fast-moving romcom that could appeal to fans of Jenny Han and Emma Lord.

The story unfolds from Chloe’s first-person point of view. Chloe is a social media personality, who’s made a name for herself through her Plan It Girl — as in planning using old-school day planners, stickers, notecards etc. — account on Instagram. Everything has a time and a place, and quite honestly, it’s all a little overwhelming. Chloe is a bit overwhelming. She’s intense. And since the story is told in first-person, readers are immersed in that intensity.

Daniel is a nice counterbalance. Not that he’s not organized. He’s got it down, too. It’s just his personality is calmer, and without that, the book would not work.

Chloe’s growth throughout the novel makes it worth pushing through the beginning. Especially when the social media aspect cools off and a focus on real relationships comes into view.

Author Jennifer Chen is a strong writer, but Artifacts of an Ex left me feeling hot and cold. I struggled to connect with Chloe early on, and that probably kept me from really enjoying Chen’s work. I suggest this as a library read to see if it’s a good fit prior to purchase.

Ok, but can we get a recipe for THE pineapple cake?!

This book would have been a perfect read for me when I was younger, and I think when diving into this book (or any YA book) it is important to remember if you are older, you are not the target audience.

Now that that is out of the way, I want to say I think this book was adorable. It was warm and light hearted while still focusing on some struggles many, if not all of us have go through on the path to discovering who we are while navigating some heartbreak along the way. This book doesn't fixate a ton on the romance (imo it is more of a subplot), but more on Chloe's journey to become who she wants to be and finding her success despite many roadblocks.

Overall, a great read for a younger audience. If you are a more mature reader, the writing style and some of the dialogue may be hard for you to enjoy, and the story does have a slower pace that made it feel a bit long.

This was a cute book. I felt like it was kinda drawn out. I still enjoyed it and I would recommend this book. I will look for other books by this author.

As a regular reader of YA, this felt both paradoxically very young and a little more mature. It was a Gen Z fest with lots of social media references. The romance part of it felt very immature, but then it was odd that 16-year-old Chloe had so much control of multiple art exhibitions. There were also a couple of mentions of sex that felt a bit unnecessary given the age and maturity level of the characters.

I enjoyed the glimpse into Chloe’s family’s culture, including the references to food.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am sad to say that this read was not for me. I love the cover and synopsis but the book feel short for me. I love YA but this was not it

Artifacts of An Ex is a cute YA romance about navigating heartbreak and change as a teenager. There were so many heartfelt moments that were very genuine. I especially enjoyed the moments with Chloe’s Ahma and parents. You could tell that they are a very close family, and I wish we got to experience a little more of them. I very much enjoyed Daniel as a love interest, and I felt he was a good match for Chloe. While this was a very quick and enjoyable read, I felt like there were just some parts of the plot that didn’t make sense or just felt like we didn’t have much insight on. For example, Chloe’s influencer account @PlanItGirl is introduced almost like it’s something we previously have known about her. It felt like maybe there should have been a whole other book about Chloe’s life in NYC to preface the events of this book. Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC! (3.5 stars)

This book was so cute! I really connected with Chloe and her journey through getting over an ex and discovering yourself in the process. I loved all of the characters in the book and the message of staying true to yourself and not changing yourself to match the expectations of others. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

This was a cute upper-YA romance. Chloe, a young art curator and planner influencer, has just moved from NYC to LA to care for her grandma. She gets dumped by her boyfriend, and while throwing out their memory box gets inspired to create a heartbreak exhibit. She make friends and mistakes along the way, but learns what love is and is not, and her exhibit evolves as she grows. Her new friend Daniel is an aspiring film documentarian and he and Chloe work great together as creative partners, but when she wants more of a relationship, he friend-zones her to avoid being her rebound and ruining what they have.

I enjoyed this novel, and while I still really enjoy YA books, all the pop culture references made me feel old and disconnected :’) I liked the diversity and the message to teens that it’s ok to find out who you are as an individual and to pursue your dreams regardless of a relationship status. There was mention of sexual status but no activity happening, only sweet kisses. Great inclusion rep for BIPOC and LGBTQ+, with the only prejudice being about East- vs West-coasters. Would definitely recommend this to older teens.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC for my honest opinion.

Artifacts of an Ex had a great premise and interesting characters, but something about it just wasn't for me.

Cute but very simple story. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. The cover made me think it would be a sweet romantic read full of gushy moments but it was just ok.

Artifacts of an Ex by Jennifer Chen is a sweetly authentic story featuring Asian Americans from Taiwan and the art world. It is a lovely story about heartbreak and moving on.

I loved how relatable the story is. Heartbreak is as much a part of life as love, and the way it is handled in this story is adorably genuine. Most readers can relate to one or all of the characters.

I also enjoyed the side story of living with a relative with Alzheimer’s, what that looks like, and the positives. The joy that Chloe’s friends brought to her grandmother warmed my heart beyond measure. It showed what an essential member of that community she had always been and another form of love that is transformative and essential.

The only thing I was upset about was that the recipe for pineapple pie was not included in my edition of the book. That’s a treat I need to have in my life!

Cute story about what it means to be a teen and exist in the nebulous world of emotions of your first heartbreak. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I thought the story was unique and a little bit refreshing. I did think there was too much detail about The Happy Planner. I'm a planner girl, but even I was thinking "enough" already. Ha.

I also thought the story got a bit repetitive, and could have used a tighter edit.

Now, saying all that, I will definitely read more from this author because even though I wasn't in love with it, I also couldn't get myself to not finish it. ;)

A sweet story in which Chloe is trying to figure out her future goals, after overcoming a break-up. While navigating her new art exhibit, Heartifacts, she meets Daniel, another artist and together they form a friendship. Daniel and Chloe were so sweet together, I couldn't help but hope they would be more. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

I DNF at 75%. I just couldn’t connect with the characters - and they definitely did not seem like high school students. Honestly, the age made the entire book unrealistic.

First and foremost I have to start with how cute this cover is. This was a cute, lite hearted book about loss, love, and friendship through art. That being said….At times I felt this story line about a high school curating an art show was a bit far fetched… I just could imagine it. I wish she was in college it would have made more sense.
I felt this book to be a bit surface leveled when I wish it could have gone deeper. I just couldn’t connect to the characters. Maybe I’m not the target audience.

I’d recommend this to readers who truly love YA book.

I read TONS of young adult books. I may be 27 years old, but I teach 16-18 year olds. I always make it a goal to read as many YA books as I can so that I have books to recommend to my students. But let’s be honest. I also read them because sometimes, it is a nice break to read a light-hearted YA.

I typically give a lot of lee-way to the cheese factor in YA because I know how I was as a teenage girl. However, I think the cheesiness in this book was mostly attributed to the immaturity of the two characters. It was weird–sometimes I felt like the main character was over 20 years old and other times I felt like she was 12. Her motivations and inner thoughts did not line up often and it made me confused.

Let me break down my thoughts.

THE CHARACTERS
The story follows Chloe Chang, a sixteen-year-old girl who is going through her first breakup. There were a lot of instances in the book that should have been relatable, but the main character was too mature but also, at times, too immature. It was an odd way to present the character. Chloe is 16 but living the life of a businesswoman in her 30s. She creates an art exhibit while also running a successful YouTube channel, and somehow also has time for school? However, her thoughts and actions gave me the impression of a teenage girl. It made it a little too unbelievable for me.

One positive I will say about the characters is that, while they were unbalanced in maturity, they did have characteristics that made them stand out. The female MC was a planner-obsessed, notebook-loving girl. I was someone who could relate to all the nods to the Happy Planner and planner stickers (I spent too much money on planner stickers in my lifetime). The love interest, Daniel, is an aspiring filmmaker, and you see his skills progress throughout the book, which is great to see.

THE ROMANCE
As for the romance, it was just OK. I mean when you have a romance book, YA or adult, I’m never really a fan of slow-burn romance. However, I can turn a blind eye if there is at least some tension or chemistry that feels real. I think this book really suffered because there just was not enough romance happening and the actual plot was so repetitive. By the end, I was just waiting for it to be over.


THE PLOT
More on the plot. Honestly, the concept was great, but the execution just wasn’t it for me. Having an art exhibit with the stuff from your ex is a super fun concept that I think works really well for a YA book. It made me think of when I broke up with my first boyfriend; I had a box of his stuff as well. I kept the box for, I don’t know, a year? before I finally threw it away.

So, I definitely get the appeal of the plot. It just was still too childish for me. The narrator was constantly going back and forth between her ex-boyfriend and the new guy that she had a crush on but then she would go back and crush on her ex-boyfriend and say wait. I need to make sure we actually don’t belong together before quickly going back to the other crush. Like this girl gave me whiplash.

THE WRITING
I think most of my complaints boil down to the writing style of the author. Her writing just didn’t mesh with me, and I felt like it brought down the characters and the plot. I can definitely see why others may like the story. It is a very light-hearted, cute YA romance that I read very quickly — I’m talking 2 days. Sadly, I just could not get behind the characters and plot.

OVERALL THOUGHTS
It is a book I will definitely recommend to my high school romance lovers, but I think many (not all) adults would not like the writing style. It is a little too immature, even for a Young Adult book.

Final Rating: 2/5 stars

Super cute YA romance about a girl who gets dumped and uses that to create an art exhibit based on the items we have leftover after a breakup. The idea was creative and sounds like something I would really enjoy seeing (because I’m nosy). I found the characters likeable and believable and their chemistry was just the right amount for this genre. Recommended for a quick, fun read.