Gracie kind of maybe likes AJ, but Riley also likes AJ, but AJ likes Sienna, who... maybe likes AJ? But doesn't know what to say to him? So Gracie texts AJ using Sienna's phone, because Sienna is Gracie's best friend. But Emmett, Gracie's second-best friend, is also AJ's best friend, so Gracie can kind of use him to get info on AJ, too. But maybe there's someone Emmett likes...

Middle school is generally miserable, and some of these kids are, too, but most of them are actually very likable for all that. I think this got put on my reading list because of the hat-tip to Cyrano de Bergerac (my long-time fave), and it's a cute, lighthearted handling of that angle. There are also some serious bits: Gracie deals with body image issues, as well as some complicated feelings about the older sister who died before Gracie was born, and about feeling like she has to be her parents' little ray of sunshine because of that. It's cute and funny and only a little bit angsty, and I would recommend it to middle-schoolers, and also those who enjoy reading books written for middle-schoolers. ( )

Read this with my stepdaughter (middle schooler). She loved this book. It was easy to read and it had short chapters. Bonus was all the “drama” which, from a parent perspective, wasn’t bad at all, just typical, innocent drama that eventually rolled up nicely into a happy ending with decent moral. Overall, good book for the intended audience, although not my cup of tea. Did enjoy the writing style and short chapters though. ( )

I do so enjoy a smart love story. This ranks right up there with my faves. It's lighter than [b:Eleanor & Park|15745753|Eleanor & Park|Rainbow Rowell|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1341952742s/15745753.jpg|17225055], but just as swoony. It's as sweet and funny as [b:Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda|19547856|Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda|Becky Albertalli|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1402915678s/19547856.jpg|27679579], but unlike with Simon, there's really no surprise as to who Gracie is meant to fall in love with. And that's okay. Gracie's clever, somewhat manic internal monologue is endearing and pulled me through the story even though I knew pretty much all along what the payoff would be.

This is a feel-good story with humor, great writing, lots of heart, and compelling characters. Win. ( )

Recommended by Ella S.

Gracie's best friend Sienna is sporty and pretty; she could be in the "Loud Crowd" if she wanted, but hangs out with Gracie instead. Things get complicated when Gracie realizes she has a crush on AJ, and almost at the same time finds out that AJ likes Sienna. Gracie - and her other best friend, Emmett, who is also friends with AJ - serve as the go-betweens for Sienna and AJ, crafting and sending texts back and forth. Mean girl Riley, a wanna-be model, frequently provides conflict, and Gracie also feels the stress of trying to be her parents' "sunshine" because of the death of her older sister, Bret, who died before Gracie was born. Gracie feels that her job is to be alive, and happy, all the time - an impossible pressure and unrealistic expectation. A blowup fight, a lost tortoise, and reconciliation, as well as the reveal (the true connection is between Emmett and Gracie, not Sienna and AJ) provide the climax and denouement.

Plenty of very funny one-liners and banter balance the serious backstory.

A rare young YA book; Gracie is thirteen at the beginning of the book, and turns fourteen during her eighth grade year, so this reads as somewhere between upper-MG and YA.

See also: Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee; John Green; Becky Albertalli (Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda)

Quotes

"I guess I just think everybody is friends with everybody above a certain popularity level." (Dorin, 78)

If it can turn out that your assumptions are sometimes just flat wrong, doesn't that make even the hard concrete of truth feel alarmingly spongy beneath a person? (203)

"The pain never lets me forget; even in sleep, the despair is an almost unbearable weight on my heart, but drop by drop, through the awful grace of God, or time, sometimes I manage to remember that there's still work to be done. And that even if giving up would be easier for me, easier is not the same as better, and there are people who count on me. So, on we trudge." (Gracie's dad paraphrasing Aeschylus, 238) ( )

I read this pretty much all in one sitting.
I loved the voice of our narrator, Gracie. She is full of early teen angst, doubts about herself, her image and her parent's love, but she also has a good head on her shoulders. She tries to practice self love amidst the ravages of puberty by reminding herself that you should focus on the things you like about yourself, and it's ok to start small. A big thought for a teenager, but Gracie is more insightful than most her age, I would reckon.
She struggles with mean girls at school, while navigating crushes and a whirlwind of best friends, feelings and thoughts.
I loved this book because of the modern 'youthful' language, the whole book felt like the thoughts of a teenager, which could be how I read it so fast, bubbling along a high speed train of hormones and emotions. I remembered my 14 year old self and how the turmoil and tumble of all the everythings could so overwhelm.

I've written several reviews here in a row and I'm beginning to sense a trend: the voice of the narrator or lead character is what makes or breaks a story for me in most cases.
I loved Gracie and her friends. I felt like I could hang out with them, cooler than I ever was.
A thoroughly engaging read, as the blurbs say, but one I could without hesitation recommend to any middle school reader who likes realism.
It's face paced, well plotted, and a delight to read! ( )