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wordsofclover 's review for:
Redwood and Ponytail
by K.A. Holt
I received this book from Abrams&Chronicle in exchange for an honest review.
Kate and Tam are from the opposites sides of the tracks in their high school. Kate is the perfect cheerleader with an overbearing mom, and Tam is the volleyball jock with a bounce to her step. But somehow the two end up becoming friends, and then a little bit more. But can the girls accept themselves for who they truly are - both within themselves and their own sexual identity.
This is a really great book written in verse, and I found it immediately addictive, bouncy and quote fun - yet not without some hard punches packed into it as well.
I really liked the different struggles between Kate and Tam, and I warmed very quickly to their incredibly sweet relationships. It felt very natural and youthful, and I just wanted to squish them together. I do think there was more focus on Kate's own struggles to accept herself and her relationship with her mom (which was never truly rectified or confronted) than Tam's but I loved still seeing Tam's relationships in her life. Her mom was lovely, the type of mom you want to see in a YA book (particularly one about sexuality), and she had her neighma Frankie as well which was a nice touch.
I didn't quite understand the inserts of the Alexes and their commentary though I did like it. They weirdly reminded me of the Three Witches in Macbeth but just not scary or threatening in any way. While it was great that Tam and Kate found themselves and each other in the book, I would have liked a bit more friendliness and acceptance with their friends such as Becca and Levi.
I did fly through this book though as it's easy to do with verse and I was thoroughly sucked into Tam and Kate's world. It didn't give me all of the emotional feels I've experienced with other verse books but I still did love it a lot.
Kate and Tam are from the opposites sides of the tracks in their high school. Kate is the perfect cheerleader with an overbearing mom, and Tam is the volleyball jock with a bounce to her step. But somehow the two end up becoming friends, and then a little bit more. But can the girls accept themselves for who they truly are - both within themselves and their own sexual identity.
This is a really great book written in verse, and I found it immediately addictive, bouncy and quote fun - yet not without some hard punches packed into it as well.
I really liked the different struggles between Kate and Tam, and I warmed very quickly to their incredibly sweet relationships. It felt very natural and youthful, and I just wanted to squish them together. I do think there was more focus on Kate's own struggles to accept herself and her relationship with her mom (which was never truly rectified or confronted) than Tam's but I loved still seeing Tam's relationships in her life. Her mom was lovely, the type of mom you want to see in a YA book (particularly one about sexuality), and she had her neighma Frankie as well which was a nice touch.
I didn't quite understand the inserts of the Alexes and their commentary though I did like it. They weirdly reminded me of the Three Witches in Macbeth but just not scary or threatening in any way. While it was great that Tam and Kate found themselves and each other in the book, I would have liked a bit more friendliness and acceptance with their friends such as Becca and Levi.
I did fly through this book though as it's easy to do with verse and I was thoroughly sucked into Tam and Kate's world. It didn't give me all of the emotional feels I've experienced with other verse books but I still did love it a lot.