YA 4 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a refreshing and enjoyable book. Brynn is a high school senior who becomes the subject of a schoolwide scandal. She and her friends work to reclaim the narrative and fight back against the double standards and misogyn

Oh this book! So engaging, the level of “can’t put it down” is off the charts! The way the graduating seniors learn and grow and change is much less about SAT scores and more about life. The inclusivity depicted is both hard won (hello misogyny!) and a joy to behold. I look forward to more from this author.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Brynn Whitaker seems like your typical high-achieving twelfth grader, but for a few things. For one, she’s a scholarship kid at an exclusive private school in a tony Los Angeles suburb. For another, she has a unique side hustle: helping her friends with their relationships through clever texts. The “service” helps pay some bills around the house, since her mom scrapes by as a Postmates driver and the water heater just died. But the whole thing goes pear-shaped when a compromising video shows up online, implicating her with someone else’s boyf. Now she’s on a quest to clear her name and reclaim her source of income, not to mention her reputation. Mixed in are a boy she likes, college expectations, and a rabid group of religious kids bent on saving her soul.

It’s a very good look into the day-to-day of a working-class kid in a super-rich setting. Anyone can appreciate the girl who must bum rides off classmates driving around in Lexuses and wearing the latest fashions. There are plenty of details of parties, clubs, classes, and neighborhood hangouts, all written with care and meticulousness. Brynn is a very observant narrator, infusing what she sees with both humor and well-earned skepticism. She’s smart as a whip, resilient, and self-reliant.

This book also brings to light some important issues related to sexuality and feminism. Poor Brynn gets raked over the coals for her alleged part in the offending video, while Duncan, clearly the cheater, seemingly strolls around on the moral high ground. Penn wants us to see the double standard, the unfairness, the injustice of how girls suffer for their sexual activity, while boys don’t. A feminist club gets started, and the movement picks up steam, and soon it’s not just clearing Brynn’s name that’s the goal anymore. It’s getting some justice for young women. That was inspiring.

Finally, there were sweet moments between Brynn and Charlie. They dance around their fondness for each other the entire novel, and I can imagine readers yelling, “Just get together already!” I’m not sure the romance was supposed to be the main theme here, but it was nice to see.

It’s a good look at modern teenage relationship, packaged into a creative little plot. High school students with their eyes on college should enjoy it.

I thought this book read like a teen movie - in a good way. It reminded me of the movies "Easy A" and "Saved!" at times.

I really liked the characters and their friendships. The story moves along quickly and held my attention throughout. I liked the mystery element, though I wouldn't call this a mystery. I enjoyed seeing all the girl power and was happy to see how sex positive and nonjudgmental the story was.

The romantic subplot was cute, but I liked that the heart of the story was centered on all the platonic relationships. The friend group was a lot of fun to read.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

A clever, fast paced, real novel - Farah Penn’s Cancelled brings to life the double standards for teenage girls.

Brynn Whittaker, senior gets cancelled after the first party of the year with the release of a incriminating video believed to be her. But it’s not. Brynn creatively takes on her school with her tight friendship group and forces the school to deal with the rampant double standards and misogyny.

A brilliant read, which I will definitely be recommending to my students.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, PENGUIN GROUP for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review

4.5 ⭐️
Holy sh*t.
I am so glad that my senior year of high school was nowhere near this dramatic because y’all, Brynn just can’t catch a break. First, she gets blamed for a video that’s circulating on Snapchat (it’s from a Halloween party, definitely taken without consent) which sets off this chain of events where things just keep getting worse and worse. As if things aren’t bad enough at school she’s also worried about her brother, her father who doesn’t talk to her, and helping her mom with bills. I just wanted to give her a big hug the whole book because I was stressed for her.

I really loved this book. The author gave us such a diverse cast of characters, one of Brynn’s best friends is trans, another is a hijabi, and yet another is a pregnant teen (Cadence who you’ll hear about in a second). This book does a great job at discussing the different ways that men and women are treated when it comes to sex, getting rid of that shame that women are often made to feel, and the overall effects of cyber bullying.

Circling back to Cadence I loved her story arc. As an adoptee it’s really important to me to see all of the different sides of the adoption process and through Cadence’s eyes we get to see a little of what it’s like to be a birth parent. Which was really special to me. We also have Brynn’s aunt and uncle who are starting the adoption process so yay adoption rep.

Overall this is a great book, it can be a little heavier at times but it does also have this overall girl power vibe that I love. Thank you to my friends over at Viking and NetGalley for the gifted eARC.

Being a senior in high school is tough enough; conforming to social expectations, managing a challenging course load, college applications looming, the list goes on and on. So when a Snapchat seemingly of Brynn in a compromising position with her ex-best friend's current boyfriend is sent to the entire school, Brynn goes over the edge. Additionally, Brynn helps support her single parent household by bringing in money acting as a flirt consultant for her classmates which funds the emergency things that come up like broken water heaters. Brynn's reputation is in the trash. No one wants to be seen with her let alone ask for her help in the dating department. She is ostracized for something she didn’t do, and while the administration says they are “looking into it,” it’s not nearly fast enough or convincing enough for Brynn to let it lie. Instead, with the help of her friends, Brynn goes on the offense. They disguise themselves as the dust brigade and search a neighbor’s doorbell camera trying to figure out who it was in the video, to prove it wasn’t Brynn. When that isn’t successful, they form a club set to break stereotypes and wear trademark bright red lipstick as well as writing on their body the things they've been "shamed," illustrating there is nothing about those things to be shamed for after all. Brynn's future is up in the air. This book transports you straight back to high school (the good and the bad) and you can't help but to root for Brynn's name to be cleared. Brynn wants to prove it doesn't matter, but she does want to set the record straight with her ex best friend.



Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the advanced reader's copy of this book that comes out in March!

This was so intriguing, i love girl power, slow burns, diversity & just overall empowering books! I was enthralled in this story . The MC Brynn was such an amazing character to connect with & i read this in like a day , the pages are so fast paced and easy to ready
Thank you Net Galley for an arc

Cancelled was a fun, modern read that reminded me a lot of Easy A (even including the catty Christian club determined to take the "scandalous" main character down). Brynn Whittaker is riding her flirt coach business all the way to Stanford until a video from a party goes viral, a video with a girl in a compromising position and wearing the same banana costume she wore to the party. Brynn already had a reputation for being a serial dater, and the video makes things so much worse, even though it's not her in the video.

The gossipy comments that begin each chapter draw you into the gossipy scandal that runs through the novel, and it's a lot of fun watching Brynn work to figure out who IS in the video and WHY that person wanted to ruin her reputation so badly.

But the novel also has depth, exploring the double standards of a society that is enraged to see a young women date too much or appear in a compromising position but that ignores or applauds young men who do the same thing (after all, no one is bothered about the young man in the video, even though he appears to be cheating on his girlfriend). Brynn starts a feminist club at school, and it's interesting to watch the students who join the conversation, especially as their own diverse experiences intersect with their experience of being a woman in the world.

I think many teenagers will find the book highly engaging and thought-provoking, though as a teacher, I would feel uncomfortable recommending it from the front of the classroom due to the mature content. It would, however, make a great addition to a high school library.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Also posted on Goodreads.

I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this book. The characters in this were great. The situations that they talked about were all too real. There is such a double standard in the world. It has existed forever and even more continues to exist, which is sad. The fact that she was at 'fault' and he was not during this is just ugh. I hate how this is all too accurate. The author did a great job capturing it and explaining the situation. I also liked how positive the book was for different things such as topics others might find not great like teen pregnancy. A good read and I would recommend it.

Sometimes I enjoy switching to the YA genre for a fun and light read. Cancelled fit the bill for me.

High schooler, Brynn Whittaker is popular and has a side business of "flirt coach" to raise money to help her pay for her dream college, Stanford University. But after an incriminating video circulates that goes viral, Brynn's life is turned upside down. She starts losing her friends and her customers. She sets out to find out who is behind releasing this video that was made to set her up.

Cancelled includes important themes relevant to high schoolers today. Some of the topics addressed were diverse representation, cyberbullying, and fat/slut shaming. I love how the main character, Brynn became empowered to initiate positive change out of the negative circumstances.

It definitely is very young adult with the characters, setting of high school, the language, and the topics. If you enjoy young adult novels this is a great one to pick up!

Thanks to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Viking Books for Young Readers for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Super cute rom-com full of high school drama and fun. I so enjoyed this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Young Readers & Farrah Penn for a digital galley of Cancelled in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, the cover was cute, so thought I would give it a go. I appreciate the early copy!

This was a cute & witty story following Brynn during her senior year of high school - we follow her through all the great memories she makes, the cringy moments, the heartbreaking moments, parties, exams - basically everything that makes up the high school senior year experience. Her life is pretty much as perfect as it can get at this age until a video of her (but is it really her?) from a party goes viral and then everything she's worked so hard for is in jeopardy. Brynn effectively gets Cancelled. To get her life & friends back, she has to figure out who is behind the "fake" video and once she figures it out, what she will do about it.

I loved the story and the lessons from this book. I think it is relevant to the YA audience and that many young adults will be able to relate to or even see themselves in Brynn. While showing us the issues that face young girls in high school, we are also shown the importance of friendships and those who will stick by your side through anything.

I think young adults as well as adults will love this charming story & I will happily recommend it.

I really enjoyed this story about what happens when Brynn a flirt expert at her school gets cancelled due to a scandal going on that wasn't even her. She does whatever she can with her group of friends to prove it wasn't her. They start a feminist group at their school and do whatever they can to figure out who's at the center of the scandal. This story was so fun and enjoyable. I really enjoyed reading about their adventures in their last year of high school.

CANCELLED is a story about friendships and the societal pressures for teenagers. Brynn Whitaker is a serial dater and finds herself falsely at the center of a school-wide scandal.

I have to start by saying that it was so fun reading a book where I share a name with the main character! It was also trippy that there’s a side character named Keith, and that’s my maiden name 🤣

On a more serious note — I could relate a lot to some of Brynn’s family dynamics, especially what was happening with her brother. Her feelings and frustrations were so relatable to me.

The friendships were wonderful and I absolutely loved the diverse characters. Brynn and her friends brought awareness to the problematic double standards and helped shift the narrative. CANCELLED is thought-provoking, empowering, and full of hope.

I think this will make a great book discussion title for older teens! There are a lot of important topics like cyber bullying, problematic double standards and misogyny in the story that will lead to thoughtful discussion. I thought this title was well written and still managed to be lighthearted at times even though the core plot was a pretty heavy subject.

When Brynn is mistakenly accused of hooking up with her former best friend’s boyfriend, her classmates band together to freeze her out of her senior year. Brynn is a strong, courageous, and funny girl. This gets her into several mishaps and threatens her college chances. She cultivates a strong group of friends who help her navigate through some of the worst months of her life. This is an excellent YA novel and I’m so thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an early copy in exchange for my review.

I love smart YA that has a solid premise and a diverse group of characters. Cancelled checks both of those boxes. Unfortunately, the writing style wasn't for me, but I think it will find an audience with lots of younger readers.

Brynn’s senior year is looking great - she is confident she’ll be getting into her dream school, Stanford; she finally has two best friends which has made up for her former best friend not wanting anything to do with her anymore; and her side job as a flirting/relationship expert is going well. Then someone posts an incriminating sex video that everyone assumes is her and everything falls apart. Brynn finds the courage to keep on, founding a new feminism club, and making new friends along the way. I liked that Brynn is a flawed character who doesn’t have all the answers but keeps trying despite making mistakes. Diverse secondary characters round out the story, offering Brynn support and true friendship. Family drama adds to Brynn’s complicated life, adding more challenges. Watching Brynn’s character evolve and strengthen made this a rewarding read, and the story’s lighter moments made it an entertaining one as well.

Really fun little ya fic and I loved how it showed all the different sides of feminism. Thanks for the arc and I’d love it read more like this