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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
I respect that ending.
Also how many times am I gonna read about abandoned children
Also how many times am I gonna read about abandoned children
2.5
I wanted this to be a little break between two fantasy books, and this suited that purpose okay, I suppose. The main character was a little bit unlikable, and the romance (the reason I came to this book, frankly) I found to be disappointing, just in terms of what it is that I want from a romance. I liked [b:The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend|6931356|The DUFF Designated Ugly Fat Friend|Kody Keplinger|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1271108843s/6931356.jpg|7162394] from this author a decent amount when I read it a couple of years ago, but this book just didn't click with me.
Sonny is a compulsive liar, she lies about her family and her homework and just about anything in her life. Her best friend, Amy, is practically perfect, and as such has attracted the attention of the pretentious new boy, Ryder. One night, Ryder sends an email asking Amy out, and Sonny and Amy respond cruelly. But then, Sonny and Ryder chat online all night. The problem is, he thinks that she's Amy.
Spoilers Discussion!
So I think that Sonny is maybe my biggest problem re: enjoyment with this book. She just was really unlikable. And her circumstances were definitely terrible, don't get me wrong, but she lied unnecessarily when the truth would've been so much easier. She even had a "the boy who cried wolf" moment early on, when she was fired from her job at the movie theater, and still she lied constantly. And she was cruel to Amy, who had done so much for her. So, she was funny and it wasn't, like, painful to read from her perspective, but her rationalization and all of her actions were hard to take at times. And it wasn't like she had a reason always. Like, why did she have to start sexting Ryder, instead of just texting him. If she just wanted someone to unload on, sex doesn't have to be a part of it. And then not telling him when she promised Amy she would… like before the kiss she could've said something. It seems to me it's just in general bad to anger the person who is letting you stay in their house rent-free. And also , how was she even still spending time with Amy if Amy and Ryder's paths never crossed? Basically, she didn't deserve any of the wonderful people in her life and I kind of wanted Ryder and Amy to realize they could do better.
Also, the romance had barely any build! I mean, maybe not the romance but her developing a crush on him. She's supposed to hate this guy and all of a sudden she's basically in love with him and willing to mess with a very important friendship to try to get him to like her? It just wasn't satisfying. Also, when they did get together it was still painful because she hadn't told him anything! And was also lying to Amy! nooooo
Basically, the reason to read this book is in the pay off at the end. Before then, it's just painful and you want to yell at Sonny for all of the terrible decisions that she can't stop making. But then there's the turnaround. Then you see how kind Amy's family is, and what is at the root of all of Sonny's problems, maybe (her parents.) You get the warm fuzzies from the scene at the police station with Sonny's dad, and you get the reality of it taking a while for Amy to forgive her, and Ryder's even more delayed reaction.
Also, speaking of Amy, I love fierce Amy. I am totally here for her, and thank goodness that she cut through all the ridiculousness and told Ryder what happened. Because he needed to know, and Sonny was clearly not going to tell him, despite everything. And even afterwards, I like that she committed to it, and I know that she and Sonny would've had a much healthier relationship afterward.
If Ms. Keplinger comes out with another book that appeals to me, I may pick it up, but this was underwhelming.
Fin!
Disappointing, unappealing main character: 75%
I wanted this to be a little break between two fantasy books, and this suited that purpose okay, I suppose. The main character was a little bit unlikable, and the romance (the reason I came to this book, frankly) I found to be disappointing, just in terms of what it is that I want from a romance. I liked [b:The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend|6931356|The DUFF Designated Ugly Fat Friend|Kody Keplinger|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1271108843s/6931356.jpg|7162394] from this author a decent amount when I read it a couple of years ago, but this book just didn't click with me.
Sonny is a compulsive liar, she lies about her family and her homework and just about anything in her life. Her best friend, Amy, is practically perfect, and as such has attracted the attention of the pretentious new boy, Ryder. One night, Ryder sends an email asking Amy out, and Sonny and Amy respond cruelly. But then, Sonny and Ryder chat online all night. The problem is, he thinks that she's Amy.
Spoilers Discussion!
So I think that Sonny is maybe my biggest problem re: enjoyment with this book. She just was really unlikable. And her circumstances were definitely terrible, don't get me wrong, but she lied unnecessarily when the truth would've been so much easier. She even had a "the boy who cried wolf" moment early on, when she was fired from her job at the movie theater, and still she lied constantly. And she was cruel to Amy, who had done so much for her. So, she was funny and it wasn't, like, painful to read from her perspective, but her rationalization and all of her actions were hard to take at times. And it wasn't like she had a reason always. Like, why did she have to start sexting Ryder, instead of just texting him. If she just wanted someone to unload on, sex doesn't have to be a part of it. And then not telling him when she promised Amy she would… like before the kiss she could've said something. It seems to me it's just in general bad to anger the person who is letting you stay in their house rent-free. And also , how was she even still spending time with Amy if Amy and Ryder's paths never crossed? Basically, she didn't deserve any of the wonderful people in her life and I kind of wanted Ryder and Amy to realize they could do better.
Also, the romance had barely any build! I mean, maybe not the romance but her developing a crush on him. She's supposed to hate this guy and all of a sudden she's basically in love with him and willing to mess with a very important friendship to try to get him to like her? It just wasn't satisfying. Also, when they did get together it was still painful because she hadn't told him anything! And was also lying to Amy! nooooo
Basically, the reason to read this book is in the pay off at the end. Before then, it's just painful and you want to yell at Sonny for all of the terrible decisions that she can't stop making. But then there's the turnaround. Then you see how kind Amy's family is, and what is at the root of all of Sonny's problems, maybe (her parents.) You get the warm fuzzies from the scene at the police station with Sonny's dad, and you get the reality of it taking a while for Amy to forgive her, and Ryder's even more delayed reaction.
Also, speaking of Amy, I love fierce Amy. I am totally here for her, and thank goodness that she cut through all the ridiculousness and told Ryder what happened. Because he needed to know, and Sonny was clearly not going to tell him, despite everything. And even afterwards, I like that she committed to it, and I know that she and Sonny would've had a much healthier relationship afterward.
If Ms. Keplinger comes out with another book that appeals to me, I may pick it up, but this was underwhelming.
Fin!
Disappointing, unappealing main character: 75%
A more like 3.5 stars.
Book Cover
The book cover depicts our three main characters in the book - Sonny, Amy and Ryder. The people on the cover resemble the characters closely, well so, no complaints there. Hence, I would say the cover is nice.
Plot
The story is about Sonny Ardmore who is in high school and is best friends with Amy Rush. Where Amy is drop dead gorgeous but a shy person, Sonny is average(according to her) and an extrovert. She is the louder one, the crazy one between the too. And yes, she is an excellent liar. She can come up with a lie on the spur of a moment and is making excuses all the time when in trouble.
Ryder is new at Hamilton High and is considered a snob. Students and teachers hate him alike as he cannot let go even a single moment to humiliate this school or this town. Sonny and Amy feel no different from others for him and cannot stand him. But, Ryder's heart and eyes are only for Amy and is totally into her.
One night Amy receives a mail from Ryder asking her out and Amy and Sonny see it as a very good prank opportunity. The same night, Sonny is working on Amy's laptop and she sees Ryder's chat or email (I don't remember if the mail comes first or the chat or who pings first...sorry) and she ends up talking to Ryder for the whole night. The heart to heart talk is an eye opener for Sonny as she gets to see a different side of Ryder and she kind of likes him. But, to her horror she realizes that she never logged out of Amy's chat and hence Ryder doesn't even know that he has been talking to Sonny and not Amy. And then begins the saga of confusion, more lies, hear breaks, friend fights, tears and laughter.
Characters
Sonny is a fun person but yes she is also bossy, sometimes mean, sometimes selfish and of course a big time liar. Though her habit of lying is her way of dealing the negative stuffs in her life and is part of her defense mechanism. Our heroine, is not perfect and may be this why I did not dislike Sonny. Because, I don't think any one is perfect and I love it when an author draws out a character who has flaws as it makes it more easy to relate to such a character. Yes, Sonny acts selfish and is mean at times but everyone does so in real life too. We are not saints all the time and we have our moments when we act totally self centered. Some times we do that without even knowing it. Few people boss around their younger siblings; then there are people who are ordering their friends and according to them they are doing it for their benefit. But, sometimes they don't realize that they might be hurting some one in this process. There might be a very few who actually enjoy doing so but Sonny is not one of those. But, yes she is like some of us who fail to realize what we are doing at times. So, yes! Sonny is not a flawless perfect heroine with every thing good about her - be it her physical appearance or her character but she does have a good side to her too and she appears very real.
Amy is our good girl - listens to her parents, listens to her teachers, listens to her friend Sonny - in short a docile girl. Altogether she is beautiful inside out. When the story starts she appears as a weak character who has cannot speak for herself but as the story progresses her character grows and she makes herself heard.Towards the end of the book readers see Amy voicing her opinion.
Ryder was like fine - I did not love him but he was kind of OK. I have nothing to say much about him.
What I like
I liked the main character Sonny despite her shortcomings. I also enjoyed reading about how author emphasized the two great and important aspects of any one's life - friendship and family. These two aspects form a big part of the book, be it Amy and Sonny's friendship or Amy's wonderful family and Sonny's not so wonderful and dysfunctional family, readers get to read about these aspects in some detail and I really loved reading about this side of the story. This underlying theme focusing on friendship and family is wonderful and fills you with warmth.
What I did not like
I am not able to come up with anything.
My final thoughts on the book
This is a great book that I thoroughly enjoyed. I would say I found it better than The DUFF and I think many people might not agree with me on this but I found this story with more depth and some great characters - both main and secondary.
So, all together a wonderful book.
Read this and my other book reviews at www.book-choose.com
Book Cover
The book cover depicts our three main characters in the book - Sonny, Amy and Ryder. The people on the cover resemble the characters closely, well so, no complaints there. Hence, I would say the cover is nice.
Plot
The story is about Sonny Ardmore who is in high school and is best friends with Amy Rush. Where Amy is drop dead gorgeous but a shy person, Sonny is average(according to her) and an extrovert. She is the louder one, the crazy one between the too. And yes, she is an excellent liar. She can come up with a lie on the spur of a moment and is making excuses all the time when in trouble.
Ryder is new at Hamilton High and is considered a snob. Students and teachers hate him alike as he cannot let go even a single moment to humiliate this school or this town. Sonny and Amy feel no different from others for him and cannot stand him. But, Ryder's heart and eyes are only for Amy and is totally into her.
One night Amy receives a mail from Ryder asking her out and Amy and Sonny see it as a very good prank opportunity. The same night, Sonny is working on Amy's laptop and she sees Ryder's chat or email (I don't remember if the mail comes first or the chat or who pings first...sorry) and she ends up talking to Ryder for the whole night. The heart to heart talk is an eye opener for Sonny as she gets to see a different side of Ryder and she kind of likes him. But, to her horror she realizes that she never logged out of Amy's chat and hence Ryder doesn't even know that he has been talking to Sonny and not Amy. And then begins the saga of confusion, more lies, hear breaks, friend fights, tears and laughter.
Characters
Sonny is a fun person but yes she is also bossy, sometimes mean, sometimes selfish and of course a big time liar. Though her habit of lying is her way of dealing the negative stuffs in her life and is part of her defense mechanism. Our heroine, is not perfect and may be this why I did not dislike Sonny. Because, I don't think any one is perfect and I love it when an author draws out a character who has flaws as it makes it more easy to relate to such a character. Yes, Sonny acts selfish and is mean at times but everyone does so in real life too. We are not saints all the time and we have our moments when we act totally self centered. Some times we do that without even knowing it. Few people boss around their younger siblings; then there are people who are ordering their friends and according to them they are doing it for their benefit. But, sometimes they don't realize that they might be hurting some one in this process. There might be a very few who actually enjoy doing so but Sonny is not one of those. But, yes she is like some of us who fail to realize what we are doing at times. So, yes! Sonny is not a flawless perfect heroine with every thing good about her - be it her physical appearance or her character but she does have a good side to her too and she appears very real.
Amy is our good girl - listens to her parents, listens to her teachers, listens to her friend Sonny - in short a docile girl. Altogether she is beautiful inside out. When the story starts she appears as a weak character who has cannot speak for herself but as the story progresses her character grows and she makes herself heard.Towards the end of the book readers see Amy voicing her opinion.
Ryder was like fine - I did not love him but he was kind of OK. I have nothing to say much about him.
What I like
I liked the main character Sonny despite her shortcomings. I also enjoyed reading about how author emphasized the two great and important aspects of any one's life - friendship and family. These two aspects form a big part of the book, be it Amy and Sonny's friendship or Amy's wonderful family and Sonny's not so wonderful and dysfunctional family, readers get to read about these aspects in some detail and I really loved reading about this side of the story. This underlying theme focusing on friendship and family is wonderful and fills you with warmth.
What I did not like
I am not able to come up with anything.
My final thoughts on the book
This is a great book that I thoroughly enjoyed. I would say I found it better than The DUFF and I think many people might not agree with me on this but I found this story with more depth and some great characters - both main and secondary.
So, all together a wonderful book.
Read this and my other book reviews at www.book-choose.com
Excuse me, what kind of ending is that? I'll write a full review later.
Not as good as the duff. Wtf was that ending? But still kept me reading till the end in one shot. 2.5 stars.
*Review copy from Netgalley*
I really enjoyed this book. It was great to be back in Hamilton High.
Though I have to say it was a little bit too much drama for me plus I was just so frustrated with the ending again.
Also I didn´t really like Sunny that much. For me she was kinda annoying.
The rest of the story though I really liked. It was funny as always and a quick read.
I really enjoyed this book. It was great to be back in Hamilton High.
Though I have to say it was a little bit too much drama for me plus I was just so frustrated with the ending again.
Also I didn´t really like Sunny that much. For me she was kinda annoying.
The rest of the story though I really liked. It was funny as always and a quick read.
Sonny was fucked up.
Like, really really fucked up.
She had a shitty life, a shitty car, a shitty(non-existent)family, a kinda shitty attitude with all the lying tendencies.
I was horrified. And I knew all that lying was going to bite her ass off one day. How right was I.
I swear, when she started formulating that stupid incredulous plan and dragging Amy into it... I was raging. I just wanted to shake her, slap her on both cheeks, and scream "CHICKS BEFORE DICKS" right into her pretty little face.
Infuriating lying aside, I actually like her. She was funny and witty, and I enjoyed the chats between her and Ryder (except that failed attempt at sexting. I cringed for days(not really))
Ryder was great. I liked him and his thick nonprescription glasses. But he was also fucked up.
That part when we finally got to know what happened to Sonny and her mom... It was so sad. I wanted to cry(again, not really)
The book was great. Characters were really fucked up. Amazing character developments. Would really want to know if Sonny managed to get to college eventually.
Like, really really fucked up.
She had a shitty life, a shitty car, a shitty(non-existent)family, a kinda shitty attitude with all the lying tendencies.
I was horrified. And I knew all that lying was going to bite her ass off one day. How right was I.
I swear, when she started formulating that stupid incredulous plan and dragging Amy into it... I was raging. I just wanted to shake her, slap her on both cheeks, and scream "CHICKS BEFORE DICKS" right into her pretty little face.
Infuriating lying aside, I actually like her. She was funny and witty, and I enjoyed the chats between her and Ryder (except that failed attempt at sexting. I cringed for days(not really))
Ryder was great. I liked him and his thick nonprescription glasses. But he was also fucked up.
That part when we finally got to know what happened to Sonny and her mom... It was so sad. I wanted to cry(again, not really)
The book was great. Characters were really fucked up. Amazing character developments. Would really want to know if Sonny managed to get to college eventually.
I really loved this story, I'm a big fan of the DUFF so I knew I was going to like this book however sometimes the lies that Sonny told could get a little annoying. I loved that characters from the DUFF were in this novel and we got to know what they were up to. I also love how Kody Keplinger always has morals to her stories and makes her characters relatable in some ways.
I do not like liars. I do not like people manipulating other people. And, for most of the book, I did not like Sonny. I could relate to her at some level, but not the way I could relate to Bianca, the main character of Keplinger's The Duff.
Sonny doesn't have a reason to lie. She doesnt need to lie. She does so because she is good at it, because she enjoys it, and because she is unable to face the consequences of her own actions, so she escapes them by lying over and over again. She lies to everybody and it's only when shit really hits the fan and she's called out on it that she tries to fight her compulsion. As a reader, I am to believe that Sonny is trying to reform herself, that she has redeemed herself, that she's suffered enough. But to be honest, I ended the book still not liking her. I was actually more interested in Amy than in her.
I'm giving this three stars because Kody Keplinger has the weird ability of making me read superfast; her books are always entertaining, quick to read, and enjoyable.
And also, the return of Wesley Rush.
Sonny doesn't have a reason to lie. She doesnt need to lie. She does so because she is good at it, because she enjoys it, and because she is unable to face the consequences of her own actions, so she escapes them by lying over and over again. She lies to everybody and it's only when shit really hits the fan and she's called out on it that she tries to fight her compulsion. As a reader, I am to believe that Sonny is trying to reform herself, that she has redeemed herself, that she's suffered enough. But to be honest, I ended the book still not liking her. I was actually more interested in Amy than in her.
I'm giving this three stars because Kody Keplinger has the weird ability of making me read superfast; her books are always entertaining, quick to read, and enjoyable.
And also, the return of Wesley Rush.