Member Reviews

This book was the perfect tribute to 10 Things I Hate About You with all of the delightful tropes of a cheesy teen romcom. I was literally giggling and kicking my feet while reading, and I’m a full grown adult. Adorable, fun, unserious, and heartfelt. I will be demanding a Netflix adaptation.

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This was beyond good. Great if I must say. I can’t wait to rave about this to everyone. If you are looking for a good book, pick this up.

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If anyone needs me, I'll be stalking the bookstore until I can add this lil book to my classroom library. This was the cutest young adult read! My students are always asking for romance books, and I know they'll be just as obsessed as I am! All the chaos and the banter made this the perfect quick read!

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Thank you Random House/Joy Revolution and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Ivelisse and her best friend Joaquin have attended a lot of school dances together and with them being in their Senior year Ive figured they’d attend their Prom together as well. With school winding down Ive is feeling the absence of their friendship, which wasn’t helped by her mom making her skip out on her Spring Broke plans. And now Joaquin’s back and he’s informed her that he wants to ask Tessa, one of the most popular girls in school, to the dance. Ive’s thrown through a loop especially as she has a past with Tessa, and not a happy one. He begs her for help. In order to spend time with him he agrees but as time passes she starts to notice him in a new light. Can she help him ask another girl to prom? Will she work up the courage to tell him how she feels? Another great one from Elle Gonzales Rose! I loved Ive and Joaquin! I also loved the other things going on in the story! Tessa’s story as well as the dynamic between Ive and her mom! Parts cute, sweet, and funny! You’ll get all the warm and fuzzies from this one!

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This was a cute YA rom-com. Focused around the chaos of prom, the promposal pressure + college pressure + dwindling time before school ends is a relatable time. Friendship groups are shifting, and no one feels that more than MCs Ive and Joaquin.

The story itself is pretty vanilla and straightforward, no real twists/turns/red herrings/surprises. The effortless read goes quickly thanks to the pacing and the narration. I appreciated the nods to Shakespeare + 10 Things I Hate About you--kind of a meta nod to the foundation of the story :0).

Characters were likeable, even if some of the events were a bit of a stretch.

Overall: 3 stars (I liked it)

I'll tell my students about: language, LGBTQ+,

**Thank you to NetGalley & Random House Children's, Joy Revolution for the free ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

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I just adore prom season, love hearing about different promposals and just the whole experience is fun to read about. This was a perfect prom season book. A real friend to lovers’ type of book that just gives you hope for the main characters to finally figure things out.

We meet Ivelisse and Joaquin who have been best friends for the longest time. It's prom season and the promposals have begun. They've always gone to dances together but this time around Joaquin has a plan to ask out the most popular girl.

Ivelisse begins to realize that she may have more than just friend feelings for Joaquin. This realization causes her to consciously and subconsciously sabotaged every promposal he attempts. It's fun tread about how this goes about and what diverse ways he chooses to create these different promposals. Their dynamic is so good together you just must wait for the realization to hit. It was a cute read. Flowed smoothly, written well, and entertaining from the beginning to the end.

I enjoyed all the characters and what part they played in this book. This wasn’t about the two of them though, there were secondary characters we learned about and got to experience their story as well. We also got to understand the dynamic between Ive and her mother which had a bit of turmoil as all relationships do, especially at that teenage stage. Compromises and truths come out between them and it’s a beautiful thing to experience, especially between a mother and daughter. I can sympathize.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for some entertainment with a prom twist.

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A super fun rom-com with two best friends. Ivelisse and Joaquin have been friends and neighbors for as long as they can remember. They have attended each other's birthdays, and even built a tree house together in the backyard. They've even attended all of the high school dances together, to the delight of their mothers and abuelas. But when senior year rolls around and promposals are in full season, Joaquin decides that he's going to ask a beautiful cheerleader to the prom and he wants help from.his BFF. Ivelisse isn't happy about this change of plans and realizes that she feels some type of way about Joaquin, but isn't sure how to bring it up when he's crushing on another. A fun read!

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3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Just like Caught in a Bad Fauxmance, 10 Things I Hate about Prom is the perfect read for those who love vivid and bright writing, chaotic main characters, witty remarks and banter, AND perfect Latin rep.

I flew through the pages while reading this story. Ive is a messy narrator, and that might be because she has a lot going on. Working at her Tio’s restaurant, her mom dating again, college applications, prom, etc. And, of course, her best friend Joaquin. He is adorable and everything a teen wishes for in a friend. And maybe in a boyfriend too, even though Joaquin wants to take someone else as his dare to prom.

I loved both Ive and Joaquin, but I have to admit that I didn’t laugh as much as I hoped I would. I blame my previous read. But I’m pretty sure lots of people will love this lighthearted and funny story, and therefore, I round my 3.5 rating up to 4 stars.

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10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT PROM features Ivelisse (aka Ive), a high school senior with very little of a social life outside of her best friend Joaquin in their New Jersey town. Between Ive's mom dating again (and a dad that she hasn't seen in years) and Joaquin's mom moving back to Puerto Rico, the two of them are entangled in each other's lives, with Joaquin's dog living at Ive's house and his grandmother taking caring of both of them. Which is perfect, because they're best friends. When Joaquin asks Ive to help him prompose to Tessa Hernandez, the popular girl that Ive caught making out with her (ex) boyfriend freshman year, she's a little hesitant because of how badly she was wronged by Tessa, but lucky for her, every promposal attempt Joaquin and Ive plan crash and burn even more spectacularly than the previous.


Obviously, the romance is the main focus of the book. It's fun to watch Ivelisse slowly realize that she has a crush on her best friend as they continue setting up promposal after promposal. It's also fun to hear Joaquin vaguely mention another girl without saying her name (and the other girl is clearly not Tessa). It's adorable and wholesome and very much a teen story.

There's other side stories going on in the book, like college applications! Ive is waitlisted for her dream school and accepted to her "mom's" dream school, and she doesn't know how to tell her mom that they have different dreams. With her mom dating again, Ive feels neglected by her mother, and also like her mom no longer cares about her. The building resentment results in a touching moment between the two of them at Ive's lowest point. Another fun subplot is Tessa! I won't spoil, but the book continually hints at who Tessa will probably end up going to prom with/also dating, but I didn't entirely connect the dots until right before the reveal.

Overall, great book, loved that nobody was turned into the villain, and the way the book ended was SO CUTE.

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This was a fun story. I loved the characters. They are relatable. Story is a quick read and had me laughing.

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Who isn’t in the mood for a good prom themed novel? They never get old! Elle’s previous book did so well here so I’m thrilled to have this title available for readers. Her writing style is excellent and I hope it gets optioned for a Netflix movie.

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10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT PROM is exactly what I love about teen romcoms! Just like Elle Gonzalez Rose's debut novel, this had me giggling over the chaotic jokes and swooning at every romantic moment. More of this energy, please!

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