I didn't think I could handle unlikeable characters, but I couldn't stop reading this book. MC is a high-schooler who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Told in first person. Super entertaining. TW: Drug abuse, accidental overdose
I didn't think I could handle unlikeable characters, but I couldn't stop reading this book. MC is a high-schooler who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Told in first person. Super entertaining. TW: Drug abuse, accidental overdose
This IS antihero Reshma (I prefer villain), except she's also Indian which allows her to slap her school w/ discrimination lawsuits over fractions of decimals on her 4.5+ GPA. Twice. She's self-admittedly intense even by her cultural standards & believes the ends justify the means. The meta book w/in a book scheme was interesting; she's writing a book (this book) as a hook for her Stanford application. A better rec: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
I don't know of any books set in San Jose but this one is set in Silicon Valley. Unfortunately, everyone in my book club hated it. 🙁 #setinyrcity #readjanuary
I was sold on this by Gossip Girl meets House of Cards comparisons and wow, does it deliver! Antihero Reshma is an utterly amazing character with an incredibly strong voice and, while she's often awful, you can see exactly WHY she does things. It's a sharp and witty read, and behind the humour there's real depth as it looks at tough topics including institutional racism and the abuse of study drugs.
This was a few months ago and not the most flattering contribution to my portflio, but dawn was approaching after a night spent power-reading to the end. This book is NUTS. #bookhats
I'm sorry, but these two statements cannot coexist. You don't become the valedictorian of a competitive Silicon Valley high school, get all As in 8 AP classes per semester and then score 1710/2400 three times on the SAT. I know kids like this - I borderline was one of them. You don't learn how to succeed in a test-based AP class and then flop on the SAT. And believe me, to kids like this, a 1700 would be an abysmal flop.
The main character was hard to relate to or root for, but I liked the premise and I think it serves as a cautionary tale to not be so invested in only school/work.
This YA novel, about an Indian teenager who is desperate to get into Stanford and has no qualms about destroying everyone in her path to do it, has a deliciously and hilariously unlikeable main character. I loved it, it was such a creative read.
Day 3 of #booktober! Today is #textonlycovers, and I feel that this is a perfect fit! When I first got this book, I legit thought it didn't have a title yet.... so there's my little story for today.
This is a hard one to review. I wanted to like Reshma but I mostly found her to be an asshole, but at the same time I couldn't wait to find out what happened. Good in the fact that it kept me interested, bad in that I didn't really believe her growth.
I really enjoyed this book about a girl who is deeply unlikeable (although tbh I like her a lot) trying to write a novel as her "hook" to get into Stanford. No spoilers but I enjoyed how it played out and the way it ended.
Enter Plot Here? This book wasn't funny enough to be a black comedy like Perrotta's Election, wasn't serious enough to be an issue book, and didn't commit fully to being meta (as a book written by a character who is writing a book.) Would try this author's future books but this one was a miss for me
A quick trip to B & N today which was fully decorated, even in the bathrooms! It was a YA Mecca in there with stacks of Rainbow Rowell, Jandy Nelson, Miss Peregrine, Vizzini, all my faves. And loads of tweens and teens picking things out. Hooray!