Random Books Monthly Book Club discussion

This is OVERALL THOUGHTS about the book, so don't post on here/read these posts until you've READ THE ENTIRE BOOK because you WILL be spoiled.

I wasn't able to stop myself from reading so I decided to just leave my thoughts here.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. OMG. I loved the characters, diversity, writing, romances-for the most part and i loved how much i connected with taylor.

I finished the book a while back. I enjoyed this so much more than I thought I would. The characters were great. I related so much to Taylor. I think that the author also covered how anxiety and social anxiety work ... quite well. It seemed like either the author had experience with it or did tons of research. I appreciated that because some times mental health representation is done quite badly.

I thought that Jamie and Taylor's relationship was super cute. I think one of the reasons I loved this book so much is I used to fantasize about having a similar relationship with someone like that when I was in high school.

I also really like how the author had Taylor discuss her fears regarding being in a relationship with Jamie (It won't last, it will ruin our friendship). As someone with severe anxiety I have these type of fearful thoughts whenever something new or unexpected happens. When I entered into my current relationship I was quite terrified and I tried to talk myself out of the relationship by saying things like it wouldn't last etc. Jamie's response was the same as my boyfriend's response "It would be worse to not ever know what could happen". (I don't think that's the exact quote).

I loved Charlie too. I just didn't really relate to her character like I did Taylor. But, I thought the Charlie/Alyssa relationship was super cute. I also liked the Bi representation. I am, technically bi, but I have never been with a woman and so people automatically assume I am straight and I hear comments all the time about Bisexuality not being real. So, I really enjoyed how the author covered both those topics in a small way.

This book was so much better than I expected and I am actually glad that I chose to read it.

I accidentally read the book in June instead of July because apparently I can't tell the difference between the two months 😂

However I found that I really enjoyed this book and I wasn't expecting to. It captured the feel of conventions really well and made me miss Comic-Con so much. My only criticism is the age of the characters, I know a lot of people have talked about how they seem older than their ages but it's honestly true. But overall this was a great book.

Alex wrote: "I accidentally read the book in June instead of July because apparently I can't tell the difference between the two months 😂

However I found that I really enjoyed this book and I wasn't expecting ..."

I agree with you about age to a certain extent. They were 17-18 years old I believe and I remember that my friends and I were quite mature for our age and we didn't act like 16, 17 or 18 year old. I remember there were times when people assumed that I was older because of how mature I was.

However, there was one scene (I can't remember what chapter and I took the book back to the library) where I felt like Jamie came off as someone in their mid-twenties and I had to re-read it. There was also a scene where I had to double check the age due to the way the author was discribing Allyssa. The author talked about how she was a few years older and had been to college and I had a moment where I was like "Wait, how old is Charlie again?" So, I definitely think that the way the author handled their age wasn't done as well as it could have been? Not sure if that makes sense.

Jenna: as someone who is currently around the same age as the characters were portrayed to be, it was really hard to see them as this age. As you said I was consistently forgetting how old they were. I think this could have been dealt with much better but oh well it was still a great book.

(This is pretty similar to my review of the book, but with some spoilers)

The main reason for loving it was definitely the characters!!! Taylor, Charlie and Jamie were such a GREAT group of friends and the story really surrounds and builts around them and their relationship - in a way that I really felt that the book was missing Jamie's chapters. Their friendship was so endearing, sweet and caring :) As the truly main characters, Charlie and Taylor were also so GREAT, and they were so relatable, in so many different ways I could see myself in them :D The diversity with these characters is also so GOOD, I really liked how it handled anxiety but also the importance and impact it had on Taylor to see someone that goes through what she does. I also really loved the scene with Brianna, and how she doesn't really know what's happening - it was so real, I'm so glad Taylor was there. The speech about bisexuality being real was so important (and sadly still necessary) :D
And then the couples in this story were so adorable and cute, and just so fluffy!! But I also LOVE that there is so much talk about insecurities and problems in relationships - their conversations were so important and I do not always feel that we see good communication in books

Then there are all the fandom references!!! That fill my heart with joy!!! The Indiana Jones references made me so happy, since that was one of my first big fandoms!!! And then for some reason, the Orphan Black reference hit me so hard - it was just so well crafted and inserted into the story and it made so much sense (and after reading that I went to watch the episode immediately)

And the Con!!! I really LOVE how you get both the side of a guest and a visitor, and they both work out so well... But I feel we didn't see enough of SupaCon... we saw the booths and that was the main focus, and I would have liked to see them go to some panels, autographs lines, more Con things (things outside the Queen Firestone fandom). Also I found it so weird that there were always going back to their room and for long periods of time...

And concerning what you're talking about the ages, I really didn't get the feeling that they seemed older - everything seemed like something that my friends and I would have probably talked about when I was around that age. Nothing sounded too mature. But this is also coming from someone who doesn't have English as their native/mother language, so maybe there's some language/culture barrier here , I don't know...

Joana wrote: "(This is pretty similar to my review of the book, but with some spoilers)

The main reason for loving it was definitely the characters!!! Taylor, Charlie and Jamie were such a GREAT group of friend..."


The age thing wasn't a huge issue for me because back when I was in high school I was really quite mature so I actually used to have a really hard time finding YA characters that seemed mature. That's why I would avoid YA and primarily read the adult novels I could get a hold of.

For me, the only reason I had to go back and check the ages was because the author made it seem like Alyssa was a few years older than Charlie and I was curious if the author had made Charlie 18 or not (since there was discussion sex). However, I know the age of consent in other countries is 16-17 but since the novel took place in the USA I was uncomfortable with the idea of the characters, possibly, not being the age of consent.

When I was in high school I was constantly mistaken for someone older. People would find out I was only in high school and tell me they thought I was in college, at the very least.

I was so invested in this story, I forgot to update as I went in here so I'll just update my thoughts. I loved this book. It was so good. It's definitely a favorite of the year. I connected with Taylor so much. I needed Taylor and Jamie together. This ship needed to sail for me. I needed it. And then there's Charlie and Alyssa. Ugh. Can I have more of those two. So. Freaking. Adorable. I love this story so much.

As much as I adored this book, it felt like it was missing something. While it was great to se some autism rep in a ya novel, it just felt very fanfiction like to me. I feel that with traditionally published fan fiction based novels, it cleaned up and you don't feel like it is fanfiction but this read like it. Other than that, I did enjoy the book. It was cute. But no real substance or anything for me.

I thought this was a quick and easy contemporary read that was perfect for the summertime! I enjoyed the plot and felt that the pacing is what kept me turning the pages. Although this wasn't one of the most memorable/life-changing books I'd ever read, I really enjoyed reading it.