Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Freshmen Year and Other Unnatural Disasters

Review Time! Freshmen Year and Other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin is a 2012 YA Debut! Now I'm feeling absolutely horrible right now because this was sent to me for review back in March and EVERY MONTH is gets left behind! Not to mention it's a fantastic book too! You can purchase copies of your own at The Book Depository | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Fishpond | The Nile. Thank-you so much to Penguin US for the review copy!

(Goodreads) Kelsey Finkelstein is fourteen and FRUSTRATED. Every time she tries to live up to her awesome potential, her plans are foiled – by her impossible parents, her annoying little sister, and life in general. But with her first day of high school coming up, Kelsey is positive that things are going to change. Enlisting the help of her three best friends — sweet and quiet Em, theatrical Cass, and wild JoJo — Kelsey gets ready to rebrand herself and make the kind of mark she knows is her destiny. 

Things start out great - her arch-nemesis has moved across the country, giving Kelsey the perfect opportunity to stand out on the soccer team and finally catch the eye of her long-time crush. But soon enough, an evil junior’s thirst for revenge, a mysterious photographer, and a series of other catastrophes make it clear that just because KELSEY has a plan for greatness… it doesn’t mean the rest of the world is in on it.
The Short Story? - A light and fluffy debut that will bring you plenty of laughs! Zeitlin's Freshmen Year and Other Unnatural Disasters is a coming-to-age novel filled with disastrous events, a friendship like no other and a hilarious protagonist that quite possibly has the worst luck ever! A refreshingly cute YA showcasing an authentically teen narrative voice, Freshmen Year and Other Unnatural Disasters is perfect for readers looking for a light coming-to-age novel filled with sweethearts, disasters and laughs!

The Long Story? - So much love for this novel! I honestly didn't think I was going to enjoy Freshmen Year and Other Unnatural Disasters as much as I did! This is definitely a debut targeted at a younger audience however it's one that can be enjoyed by everyone. It's a very light and fluffy novel, it's one of those novels that you read just for fun. There really isn't a deeper meaning to the novel besides entertainment for me because I guess I'm not a freshmen and I've already experienced starting high school. However I did find that I could relate aspects of the novel and I'm sure many of you could as well! Freshmen Year and Other Unnatural Disasters really took me make to freshmen year and all the drama of starting high school because it's a huge deal. The novel also discusses a lot of issues such as sexuality, social hierarchy and friendship problems. Highly recommended for readers of all ages!

I really liked the characterisation in Freshmen Year! I felt all the characters are very easy to connect with because we've all been in that position in our life where we have to start something new and scary.  Kelsey was a great protagonist! She's definitely not perfect but she is an authentic character. I feel like in YA fiction, it's really rare to see characters that are truly "authentic", sometimes authors develop these characters that just seem kind of fake. They might be flawed but it's a superficial flaw. While with Kelsey and her friends, all their flaws were very real and I could relate to them better because they're my flaws too! Kelsey can be self-centred and selfish but that's me too! One of my favourite things about this novel was the fact that the romance was a very small minority and that's is so rare in YA these days! There are boys in the novel but the novel is definitely more about friendship than boys and that's an important thing to remember!

In a nutshell, Freshmen Year and Other Unnatural Disasters was a fantastic debut! I can't wait to see what Zeitlin has planned for us next because I thoroughly enjoy her writing style. If you're looking for a fluffy one sitting read, Freshmen Year and Other Unnatural Disasters is the book to choose! Fantastic plot, great characterisation and overall just a brilliant feel-good debut! For readers of all ages to enjoy, Freshmen Year and Other Unnatural Disasters is definitely worth the read!

What's it Worth? - Hand Over the Paycheck

Badass Bookie xx

3 comments:

  1. Enjoyed your review, even if it was late lol ;D
    This is one I've been wanting to read as well, it sure sounds fun! <3

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  2. I loved Freshman Year! It's fluffy and cute and it's the perfect book for when you need a light, yet entertaining read. I'm super glad to hear you enjoyed this as much as I did. I hope Meredith does a sequel, it would be awesome if she continued Kelsey's story. *hopes*

    Lovely review, lovely!

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  3. I KEEP HEARING SUCH AMAZING THINGS ABOUT THIS BOOK. I'm now kind of horrified I haven't read it. I think I kind of thought it was going to be young and I wouldn't be interested... and then... uh, wow! AMAZING review, Lisa! ♥♥♥

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