This book really surprised me, i didn't expect to like it as much as i did. I loved all the relationship dynamics, the character growth and all the drama and issues they had to deal with. The build of relationship between Brynn and Charlie was done so well, I loved their little moments and misunderstandings. This book transported me back to high school and helped me understand the struggles teens deal with today in a fun book that I couldn't put down.

This is a YA book focused on feminism, cyberbullying, friendships and little bit of romance.

Brynn is “cancelled” after a scandalous video goes viral in her school of a girl hooking up with Brynn’s former best friend. Every one thinks it’s Brynn in the video, but it’s not. Quickly Brynn learns who her real friends are and she’s determined to find the truth about the video.

For a teenager, Brynn is a badass character. She’s funny and snarky and doesn’t let the video bring her down, instead she starts a club focusing on the double standards women face. Brynn has an amazing group of friends that support her, and the relationship her friends was my favorite part. Overall, it was a quick read that shows how toxic high school can be.

I overall, loved the inclusivity and diversity in this book, but some of the writing did come off a bit heavy-handed.

This was also an instance of a ya novel’s characters feeling very ya (Brynn was so annoying with all of her jumping to conclusions), but I could see this being a great book for someone younger!

Brynn is a fixer. But, when a picture circulates that her classmates believe captures her doing something unsavory, she realizes fixing things isn't as easy as it once seemed.

This novel restored my faith in YA. Lately, I've been getting bored with the contemporary YA genre. When I first started this one, I thought it would be much of the same, with lingo that I didn't know (Sure, Jan 🤔), but I quickly fell for the characters.

Fierce female friendships and sticking it to the patriarchy, this novel touched on hot button topics and brought tears to my eyes as I flipped the last page.

Oh, and I have a crush on Charlie. 🤷🏻‍♀️

This novel hit shelves in March. Thanks to Netgalley & the author for my early copy and sorry I suck and waited a month after the pub date to start it. 😂

Quick side note: I teach HS, so you'd think I would know the lingo. 😂 Currently, my kids have taught me the term "opp".

This book felt a little too long. It chronicled a senior year from Halloween on, but 80% of the book was the first couple of months. Then we didn’t get scenes of prom or graduation. There was a lot of back and forth and investigation of the main conflict, but the particular areas of investigation seemed anti-climactic. I enjoyed the feminist club plot line but then to some extent it seemed like the kids were too precocious (but maybe that’s how high schoolers are today?) It seemed implausible to me as a 40-something woman. I enjoyed the friend group, though.

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

THis was a great book. I really enjoyed it and read it in one day. I would definitely recommend this book.

This was a very well done young adult. I'm not entirely sure how to classify it micro trope wise though. There is a very small part about romance. The entire story was basically a girl empowerment book. This isn't a joyful beach read book. It's thought provoking and infuriating in parts. It hits on so many issues including cyberbullying, girl shaming, family issues, teen pregnancy and so much more. While I felt like this was all incredibly well handled, it also became a little exhausting with how many issues this teenage girl was dealing with. I enjoyed the overall premise of the story but left feeling like I'd been put through the wringer.

Cancelled

A powerful feminist story reminiscent of Moxie. This book has amazing representation, and something for everyone as they all show up as is true for them. If you like YA, female empowerment and a solid girl gang you're going to want to root for, check this one out!

Read it in one night - couldn't put it down! I was cheering for Brynn and her friends the entire time!

A book around a young high school senior and the troubles of life with social media as the center focus of all teens. I felt this book put a spot light on the pressures young teens have on themselves trying to be perfect, get into great colleges and have a normal social life. It helped bring to light the struggles of cancel culture and of toxic it can be for women who just strive to do well.

Farrah Penn always writes books that are easy to read, fast paced, and that you can read in one sitting. The thing is that this book felt as though they were putting a big bowl of tropes, feelings, and stories already told and pulled out one by one to see what happens next. The book is good, I did enjoy it, but it didn't feel like anything that we hadn't read before.

'Cancelled' does an expert job of exploring complex topics from a lighter perspective. There's thought-provoking exploration of misogyny, sexism, and cancel culture from the perspectives of an inclusive set of high school students. Nothing ever feels like it's meant to be checking boxes, but rather it's so seamlessly organic. These students are dealing with issues involving complicated familial issues, pregnancy, shaming and prejudice of all kinds in such authentic ways that it's really important for teens to be reading about in such an accessible way. I feel seen by this book and I'm not even a teen anymore! It's so charming, compelling, and genuinely made me laugh out loud many times. I miss these kids already.

High school senior Brynn appears to have it all under control: she’s pretty, popular, and has a plan flushed out for her future (Stanford, here she comes). Unfortunately someone at her school has it out for her and starts spreading malicious (and untrue) pictures online that not only get her into trouble at school but cause her future plans to implode. Armed with new friends and a new club to fight the school’s culture of misogyny, Brynn resolves to fight back peacefully and take back her reputation, as well as the reputations of others who have been shamed for being who they are. Highly recommended for anyone who loves a strong female character and likes to see justice being served.

Okay I’ll admit, I was first interested in this book because of the cover and the title, but I can confidently say that the story inside is so much better. Part of it is expected elements of YA, exes and new relationships, new and old friendships, potential drama with exes and ex-friends, but I think Farrah Penn has really managed to tackle these things through the lens of the misogyny that is rampant, even and especially in high school (or like the Bowling For Soup song says, high school never ends). But this isn’t just a technical takedown of anti-feminist rhetoric in a fictional (but all too real high school), it’s done through the journeys of nuanced and flawed characters. There’s a level of the morally grey in the way that most things are, letting characters make mistakes without inherently being a bad person, but also making sure misogyny is called out. The characters and all their relationships were probably my favourite part, but I think the overall storyline and the message was also great. It’s definitely worth the read and I would recommend it.

I was truly such a fan of the characters in this book (not the ones who were jerks but they were still well-written), and the way Penn gives us unique characters that feel developed instead of just checking off certain boxes. Brynn, the MC, can be someone who’s dated a lot and doesn’t deserve the way people are treating her, and her friends can be multifaceted human beings who are fun and even reckless sometimes when a character archetype might have kept them in a box. The character growth was also top notch, and I think Brynn’s mental and emotional journeys really made this book so much more fun to read.

With the characters comes a great storyline and relationships. I think this book does a really good job of including a lot of different kinds of relationships, and giving them fair priority within the storyline (truly fleshing out Brynn’s familial and platonic relationships while also having room for a romance that doesn’t overshadow the entire story). CANCELLED was readable and worth the time spent as it balances serious topics with the fun of watching characters grow and develop relationships.

This one ended up being blah for me I guess that's because I'm not the target audience for YA any more. And I'm not one for teenage drama anymore. But I'm pretty sure teens will love this one.

n Cancelled, I got to revisit some high school angst. It is the story of Brynn, a high school senior on scholarship at a fancy private school in LA (the second book that I read in the past few weeks that takes place in the Palisades!), who gets exposed on social media. Except, it isn’t her. The whole book had such an Easy A feeling about it. Brynn was smart, witty, oozing with sarcasm and not afraid to challenge the bureaucracy at her school and social norms of her fellow classmates. I loved Brynn’s gaggle of friends, I loved how she stood up for herself, I loved her banter, I loved the realistic way her stress and emotions were revealed and how she dealt with everything thrown at her. It was a fun and yet emotional look at high school life in 2024. Out now!

I slowly started falling in love with YA books again. I was skeptical to read any YA books because I was afraid I would judge them too harshly.

I’m in my late 20’s now, so I didn’t believe I would be able to relate to YA characters anymore, or enjoy most books in that demographic.

I’m so glad I decided to take the chance anyway. This book was enjoyable, and I found myself immersed in the story. I recommend you give this book a chance, regardless of your age.

If you’re like me, and you’re afraid of not relating to books for a specific age group, just go ahead and give the book an opportunity. You might be surprised of how much you enjoy a book.

I loved cancelled, it gives me mean girls x easy a vibes, but I really pulled for Brynn! But I also really loved the mystery behind this while also asking about some serious topics.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. This book felt similar to Moxie with starting a femolution and fighting back against misogyny which is always fun to read about. It was super cute and was like a 2000s teen movie with how the plot rolls along and the ending which reminds me of my youth and is quite fun. I stayed up late reading it because I was engaged with the writing and the plot. If you are looking for a teen move throwback, check this out. 3.75 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

High school is tough and little decisions people make can change your life in the blink of an eye. In the "cancel culture" we live in there is a thin line between inclusivity and diversity and how it will be excepted. Cancelled follows a student named Brynn who is a scholarship student at a prestige high school where she has to have a "side hustle" to help her mom pay the bills. A mistaken identity threatens Brynn's scholarship and her side job and she even loses friends because of it. Until she takes her own life back.

I love the girl power in this book. How the author dealt with double standards, brought them to light, and changed how we thought of them. Great YA book.