Review Detail

The Story:

At Twin Rivers High (like in most schools), stereotypes abound. People are judged on their appearances, and that label sticks no matter how untrue it is. Take Nari Won Song - born to Korean parents, wears thick glasses, is quiet and shy ... well, she must be NERD right? She's smart and is great at math and doesn't have a cool bone in her body. Avery is still covering emotionally from a devastating accident that claimed the life of his bast friend. His alcoholic father is tearing his family apart, and he is less and less convinced that being a football hero is his path in life. He convinces Nari to be his "fake girlfriend" to make his bitchy ex Meghan jealous, but this is a smokescreen - he wants to rebuild a friendship he once had with Nari, maybe turn it into something beautiful.


What I loved:

Pretty uch everything. Nari is a wonderful haracter, and instantly relatable. Avery is sympathetic if not very likable (at least at first), and they are a completely mismatched couple. They shouldn't work together as a couple - fake or real - but somehow they do. As teens are wont to do, many mistakes are made, but you never stop rooting for them. That's a testament to the depth of these characters.


What I didn't love:

Can't think of a thing.


Final Verdict;

This is exactly the kind of book (and series) that teens and kids should read. Stereotypes exist for a reason (anyone who's watched The Breakfast Club in the last three decades knows this), and any book that shines a light on this tendency - or better, blasts it to smithereens - is worth your time. When two brilliant authors get together to tell a story like this, it needs to be read.