BethanyReadsBooks: friendship

4.5 out of 5 stars.

I loved this story, it's told in the alternate prospectives of Jessie and Boyd two people who i would say aren't best suited for relationships due to their inner demons that i think they help each other fight throughout this book. (i don't want to go into too much depth with the plot because i think it would be great to read it fresh but the blurb is here)

Okay so i'm going to start off by saying that i loved Jessie, i thought she was well developed and although she appeared a little dependant i liked her attitude, there was just something really likable about her.

and Boyd.... I will praise the author, Christy Rey is from Miami and i don't know much about whether she had lived in England before or whether she had someone help but the English terms were correct ( i.e Flat instead of apartment) and small dialogue things that really just shaped this character to be who he was, being from England i often find myself annoyed at authors who misinterpret British culture or language and i was very happy reading this to realise that the small details had been looked at and were accurate.

The Gay best friend Cliche can be done either right or wrong... and in this book it was done right, it was there, it wasn't hidden but he was just an average guy ( well as average as a movie-star can get) and i loved that, i loved that Jessie and Tyler's relationship was about love and respect and friendship rather than his sexual orientation, somthing i think we can all respect.

The reason i didn't give this book 5 stars is purely because i found the writing style to be confusing at first, however this wasn't a major issue and i soon grew comfortable with it, hence only the half star docking instead of a full.

All in all i would recommend this book, its a great book to read this summer should you be looking for a summer read

and you can buy it here :

USA

This book was received free from Netgally in return for an honest review. The Thoughts and Opinions are all my own.

#SCANDAL - SARAH OCKLER

Lucy’s learned some important lessons from tabloid darling Jayla Heart’s all-too-public blunders: Avoid the spotlight, don’t feed the Internet trolls, and keep your secrets secret. The policy has served Lucy well all through high school, so when her best friend Ellie gets sick before prom and begs her to step in as Cole’s date, she accepts with a smile, silencing about ten different reservations. Like the one where she’d rather stay home shredding online zombies. And the one where she hates playing dress-up. And especially the one where she’s been secretly in love with Cole since the dawn of time.

When Cole surprises her at the after party with a kiss under the stars, it’s everything Lucy has ever dreamed of… and the biggest BFF deal-breaker ever. Despite Cole’s lingering sweetness, Lucy knows they’ll have to ’fess up to Ellie. But before they get the chance, Lucy’s own Facebook profile mysteriously explodes with compromising pics of her and Cole, along with tons of other students’ party indiscretions. Tagged. Liked. And furiously viral.

By Monday morning, Lucy’s been branded a slut, a backstabber, and a narc, mired in a tabloid-worthy scandal just weeks before graduation.

Lucy’s been battling undead masses online long enough to know there’s only one way to survive a disaster of this magnitude: Stand up and fight. Game plan? Uncover and expose the Facebook hacker, win back her best friend’s trust, and graduate with a clean slate.

There’s just one snag—Cole. Turns out Lucy’s not the only one who’s been harboring unrequited love...

After receiving this book in the post four hours ago you could say i was exited to read it and did so in one sitting with no breaks (not even for the bathroom) which is admittedly sad but a true testament to the writing of sarah ockler in this novel.

so the story centres around social media and i guess the way that we can be influenced by it. when Lucy's best friend gets sick and asks her to attend senior prom with cole the guy she has loved since freshman year but is also her friends boyfriend, lucy agrees not knowing the trouble it would unwittingly cause.

After all the book is called #scandal (after a competition of sorts hosted by Miss demeanor an anonymous facebook profile from someone at her school) and scandal follow Lucy in this book after a picture of her kissing Cole ends up on her facebook profile thanks to the fact her phone has been stolen by a certain someone, and Lucy's misspent night aren't all that's being uploaded, it seems to everyone else's dirty little secrets are posted on her profile as well.

So while trying to find out who did this and unraveling lots of other things in the midst (sorry no spoilers ;)) she has to deal with the constant bullying from her class mates.

I would give this book a 5/5, i think it tackled real problems that we face and also the amount of influence social media has in our lives. the way our words or actions can be misinterpreted and that in the end it doesn't rule our lives. it tackles relationships with realistic approaches and responses and i think that's important with any story.

i recommend you guys to purchase this book or borrow it, i think it might have earned a place on my favourites list (and taught me to never let my phone out of my sight)

might just get some more Sarah Ockler books, as i found myself to rather enjoy this one.