I received a finished copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I would like to start off by saying I didn't really *read* this book. By that I mean, I struggled my way through about 50 pages before giving up and beginning to skim through the rest. I started by skipping a few pages, then whole chapters, to finally skipping chunks at random. I just simply could not get into this book at all. I had somewhat high hopes for this book though I have never read anything else by this author. Other early reviews made it seem promising. I greatly disagree. Typically, I do not leave reviews for books that I didn't finish but I felt the need to share my disappointment on this one.
The book started off cringey and only got worse from there. I myself am a big time nerd but it was SO extraordinarily nerdy, it actually made me uncomfortable. Not only that, but it is very unrealistic. For instance, the hero nerds of our story are overly rude to adults. Normally I wouldn't mind and this would not be something that stuck out to me, however as someone that was a teen only a few short years ago, the lack of response to these comments from the adults seems strange and kind of shocking. Personally, they seem to treat adults in the same manner the popular, snotty kids that they seem to dislike do.
Also, the tone of the story is kind of hard to follow. One minute you feel as if it is meant to be funny, but missing the mark by trying too hard, then the next you feel as though you are meant to be sad and/or feel sorry for the main characters. The references and "teen lingo" seem to be stretching and, once again, trying too hard. The interactions between the teens themselves seem unrealistic to a degree and super cringey as well. There are moments when it is hard to tell what is actually happening and what is imagined. Overall it seems overly dramatic and exaggerated, which I suppose is fine if that is what you are expecting and it is clear that that is what the author was going for.
Personally, my anxiety and empathy just could not handle it. I felt like I was watching every cringey moment of every terrible teen movie nonstop. Normally, I skip or fast forward though those scenes, so I decided to skip this book. If this is not an experience you've ever had before, you may be able to get through this story no problem.
I would like to start off by saying I didn't really *read* this book. By that I mean, I struggled my way through about 50 pages before giving up and beginning to skim through the rest. I started by skipping a few pages, then whole chapters, to finally skipping chunks at random. I just simply could not get into this book at all. I had somewhat high hopes for this book though I have never read anything else by this author. Other early reviews made it seem promising. I greatly disagree. Typically, I do not leave reviews for books that I didn't finish but I felt the need to share my disappointment on this one.
The book started off cringey and only got worse from there. I myself am a big time nerd but it was SO extraordinarily nerdy, it actually made me uncomfortable. Not only that, but it is very unrealistic. For instance, the hero nerds of our story are overly rude to adults. Normally I wouldn't mind and this would not be something that stuck out to me, however as someone that was a teen only a few short years ago, the lack of response to these comments from the adults seems strange and kind of shocking. Personally, they seem to treat adults in the same manner the popular, snotty kids that they seem to dislike do.
Also, the tone of the story is kind of hard to follow. One minute you feel as if it is meant to be funny, but missing the mark by trying too hard, then the next you feel as though you are meant to be sad and/or feel sorry for the main characters. The references and "teen lingo" seem to be stretching and, once again, trying too hard. The interactions between the teens themselves seem unrealistic to a degree and super cringey as well. There are moments when it is hard to tell what is actually happening and what is imagined. Overall it seems overly dramatic and exaggerated, which I suppose is fine if that is what you are expecting and it is clear that that is what the author was going for.
Personally, my anxiety and empathy just could not handle it. I felt like I was watching every cringey moment of every terrible teen movie nonstop. Normally, I skip or fast forward though those scenes, so I decided to skip this book. If this is not an experience you've ever had before, you may be able to get through this story no problem.