The quick cut: Two former best friends compete for the affection of the new girl at school.
A real review:
Thank you to Penguin Group for providing the arc for an honest review.
Friends come and go through life, but have you ever lost one on bad terms? For former best friends Caleb and Emma, that is very true after their falling out in middle school.
Caleb used to be best friends with Emma, but she's a consistent problem nowadays. When Caleb gets romantically interested in someone, Emma seemingly beats him there and wins their affection instead. He wishes she wasn't such a persistent presence in his life. Now they're both interested in the new girl at school named Juliet. To finally end their rivalry, they agree to compete for Juliet's love. Who will win?
This book was refreshingly cute, surprising, and enjoyable. I expected Juliet to play a bigger role than she did in the story, but was pleasantly surprised by the result! Caleb and Emma really are the heart of this story.
The chapters here feature alternating narrators in Caleb and Emma. In many ways, they are opposites that complement each other. That's definitely the reason why they fight so much (along with their childish parents).
Caleb is the kind of person who is type A in the way that he likes a clean organized environment and rules to be followed. He's on his own a lot, but gets along with his mother. His biggest wish is to have a real relationship with his father though. In many ways, it's his biggest blind spot.
Emma is a mess and has always been that way. She has a very negative relationship with her mother and really has never had a positive one with her at all. Honestly, I'm surprised that Emma is as strong and capable as she is. She's truly overcome so much to be where she's at. As impressive as that is, no one should have to endure that much emotional trauma.
Juliet at first comes off as flighty and slightly brainless, but she wins me over by the end. She's so much smarter than she appears and uses her appearance of being happy all the time to learn subtly about what's around her. Her role in the plot put a smile on my face (and made me wish she was my friend in real life!).
A cute romantic story with a twist.
My rating: 5 out of 5
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