Please Note: I received an advance audio copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not influence the opinions of my review in any way.
Synopsis (From Goodreads):
Having just been dumped
by his girlfriend, British-born Hugo is still determined to take his
last-hurrah-before-college train trip across the United States. One
snag: the companion ticket is already booked under the name of his ex,
Margaret Campbell. Nontransferable, no exceptions.
Enter the new
Margaret C. (Mae for short), an aspiring filmmaker with big dreams.
After finding Hugo's spare ticket offer online, she's convinced it's the
perfect opportunity to expand her horizons.
When the two meet,
the attraction is undeniable, and both find more than they bargained
for. As Mae pushes Hugo to explore his dreams for his future, he'll
encourage her to channel a new, vulnerable side of her art. But when
life off the train threatens the bubble they've created for themselves,
will they manage to keep their love on track?
Review:
YA books often have rather contrived premises, and Field Notes On Love, by Jennifer E. Smith has a doozy! A boy from England is going on a cross-country trip of America but all his reservations are in the name of his ex-girlfriend. What can he do? He must find a person with the exact same name willing to take the trip with him. Silly premise aside, I found this book to be very sweet and romantic. I loved the characters, and their families, and the many ruminations on Love. This was a fun book.
What I Liked:
Setting:
I love books about long trips, as travel can bring out the best, and worst, in people. A cross-country train trip was a perfect way for the characters to get to know each other, and interact with many different people and places.
Narrators:
Anthony Mark Barrow & Karissa Vacker do a wonderful job inhabiting all the characters. I enjoyed the cute British accent that the male narrator brought to the mix, as well as his American accent. It was done well enough that I couldn't tell if Anthony Mark Barrow was actually British or American. Karissa Vacker also does a good job of portraying May. This character could easily come off as annoying, but May seems like a very smart, but lonely, kid.
Characters:
I enjoyed Hugo and his five siblings. He is one in a group of sextuplets, and is finding it hard to be his own person. This is especially hard when everyone around them wants to use them for advertising. He even has a scholarship to go to college, but only if all his siblings go to the same school.
I liked that while he wanted some space from his sibs, he also had great affection for them. The group chats in the book were a smart way to show the back and forth that goes on between teens. It's also smart because group chats are THE WAY teens talk with each other.
Hugo, himself, was very sweet and romantic. I liked that he didn't want to jeopardize his siblings scholarship. In that, he was a very selfless character. He also was very cute with May. I could totally understand why she would fall for him.
May also is a fun character. She is devastated not to get into the college program of her dreams and can't understand why. As the parent of a Senior in high school, I get how difficult rejections from colleges can be. Often, there is no rhyme or reason to it. But I like that May tries to improve her film-making skills, rather than blame the admissions committee.
Ending:
I liked that there was not a tidy ending to this book. As silly as the premise was, the author kept the ending pretty realistic. It also didn't provide all the answers (could there be a book two in the works?). I think the transition between high school and college is an unpredictable moment in a teen's life. It's a moment when our dreams meet real life. Some of our dreams do come true, but parts of it may look different from what we imagined. This is what I liked about the ending, and message, of this book.
What I Was Mixed About:
Premise:
This premise, that Hugo must find a girl with the same name as his ex in order to take this trip, is ridiculous. I also found some of the plot twists about his college scholarship to be contrived. Every teen wants a different college experience. Why would all of his siblings be okay with having to attend the same college, even if it was free? What if the school didn't offer the programs that they wanted? Why would his parents agree to this?
Rating:
Release Date: March 5th, 2019
Genre: YA Contemporary
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Audio Publisher: Listening Library
Audio Length: 8 hours, 23 minutes
Narrators: Anthony Mark Barrow & Karissa Vacker
Print Publisher: Delacorte Press
Page Length: 271 Pages
Source: Publisher
Format: Audiobook
Recommendation: If you can get past all of the silliness of the premise, I think you will enjoy this very fun book.
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Please Note: I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from the publisher's "First In Line" program. This did not influence the opinions of my review in any way.
Synopsis (From Goodreads):
Alice doesn’t believe in
luck—at least, not the good kind. But she does believe in love, and for
some time now, she’s been pining for her best friend, Teddy. On his
eighteenth birthday—just when it seems they might be on the brink of
something—she buys him a lottery ticket on a lark. To their
astonishment, he wins $140 million, and in an instant, everything
changes.
At first, it seems like a dream come true, especially
since the two of them are no strangers to misfortune. As a kid, Alice
won the worst kind of lottery possible when her parents died just over a
year apart from each other. And Teddy’s father abandoned his family not
long after that, leaving them to grapple with his gambling debts.
Through it all, Teddy and Alice have leaned on each other. But now, as
they negotiate the ripple effects of Teddy’s newfound wealth, a gulf
opens between them. And soon, the money starts to feel like more of a
curse than a windfall.
As they try to find their way back to
each other, Alice learns more about herself than she ever could have
imagined . . . and about the unexpected ways in which luck and love
sometimes intersect.
Review:
With books such as This Is What Happy Looks Like, and The Statistical Probability Of Love at First Sight, Jennifer E. Smith is the queen of YA romcom. Her reign continues with Windfall, a story of how we meet the challenge of life constantly changing. I found most of her book to be charming and fun.
What I Liked:
Plot:
What would happen to you or your best friend if they won the lottery? Would they go crazy and party, or find ways to spread the wealth?
via GIPHY
This is such a fun part of the book because I think winning the lottery is something most people daydream about.
But, of course, there are downsides to suddenly having tons of money, and the book show that, as well.
Characters:
Al (short for Alice) has lived in Chicago with her cousin, Leo, ever since her parents died in California when she was small. Even though she claims she doesn't believe in luck, she feels a bit cursed. She longs to get accepted into Stanford so she can go back to California, where she thinks she will finally feel complete.
I liked Al's character. She struggles with her competing emotions about college and possibly moving far away from Leo, and her crush, Teddy. This is a book about figuring out what is most important to you: friendships and family, or chasing a memory. I liked that she didn't have it all figured out. I mean, what eighteen-year old does?
Teddy is the luck winner of the lottery. At first, he seems like the dim-witted jock everyone thinks he is. He makes mistakes with his money right and left. But, as they say, with great power comes great responsibility. Teddy must become a mature adult, quickly.
Leo is Al's cousin, and Teddy's best friend. At first, I was annoyed because he seemed like a token gay character. There wasn't much to him other than being the gay friend. But that changes as Leo's character develops. He also must decide if he should go to his boyfriend's college or the school he really wants to attend. Many teen couples wrestle with this dilemma. I loved that the author gave Leo a real set of problems to figure out, and didn't just leave him on the sidelines.
What I was mixed about:
Okay, I will say, upfront, that I have a California bias here. But one of the big issues in the book is whether Al should go to Stanford or Northwestern University. I was taken aback that Al would have any doubts about going to Stanford, even with her worries about leaving her family and friends behind (that's what Skpye's for).
In many instances the two schools are quite similar. They both have a medium-sized population of around 8500 students, and cost about the same (around $50,000). However, according to U.S. News & World Report, Stanford is the #5 school in the country, while Northwestern is ranked #12. The acceptance rate for Stanford is just 5% (12% for Northwestern). It is a school that is practically miraculous to get in to! If one gets accepted to Stanford, they ARE going to Stanford.
If I have offended any Midwesterners who are are Northwestern Alumni, please forgive my passion.
via GIPHY
I think one's decision would really depend on which school had the better program for their major, but I don't think that was ever mentioned in the book (or if it was, it was in passing).
Tired Trope:
I also am a little tired of the girl being in love with her best guy friend, device:
Oh, if only she had the guts to tell him, he would realize he loved her all along.
While it was an essential part of the story, I wish there had been a twist to it.
For all my whining, these complaints were actually only mildly annoying. This was overwhelmingly a joyously fun book. Who wouldn't mind daydreaming about winning millions while still in high school!
Rating:
Release Date: May 2nd, 2017
Genre: YA Contemporary
Source: Random House "First In Line" program
Format: Paperback book
Recommendation: A fun, daydream of a YA book.
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