Cameron Lund

It was alright. I liked it and I liked Keely for the most part. She was pretty oblivious though. I think this story could have been soooo much better if it had been dual point of view with Andrew. He did so many things that just didn't really make sense and I think having his POV would have helped with that. I did like the ending and how both Keely and Andrew were very open with how idiotic they had both been.

I actually do recommend this book to the adults around here that read YA--it was super fun.

Spoilers ahead, but this book is predictable enough that I'm not going to be cagey. I think my biggest issue with this was that all the characters were hetero-allosexuals and everyone who was named, it seems, was in a relationship (maybe except one, sweet little Sophie who was saving herself for marriage in the end?) or by the end had had a moment with someone they could fall in love with. And though show more the end talked about how they might not stay together, they still ended up together, and there were no strong independent single people. So I think it ultimately did perpetuate the idea that being a virgin is bad. (But hello, at my high school at least, barely anyone had sex. We were too busy studying. Hell, I can name three friends of mine off the top of my head who are 25 years old who are still virgins and two of them have never even kissed anyone, yet none of the three think they are asexual or aromantic! All three are attractive and intelligent! And all three are just as (if not more so) fabulous than non-virgins!) Also, asexual alert, but sex doesn't become magical just because you have it with someone you're in love with. Maybe you're better communicators which is really important, but yeah. Also, James Dean was a bit of a letdown. He was actually pretty cool the first half of the book, but then Keely started liking Andrew and all of a sudden he started being a dick. Maybe that was the lens we saw him through since it was first person, but still. So yeah, didn't like that. But before I started thinking about how this irked me I was going to four star this because it was super fun, speedy, and enjoyable to read. I'd love to read another book by Lund soon, and I recommend it to any teens who take these things with a grain of salt. show less

I wanted to read this because I grew up in Vermont (setting of this book) and felt a lot of the “ugh let’s just get this over with so the pressure goes away” part of figuring out sex.

While there was a lot I liked, I wasn’t sure why the author choose to have her characters avoid any of the other sex acts between humans. It seemed like it was kissing or PIV sex and nothing in between. Yes, it was mentioned that it’s stupid to think of PIV sex as some sort of magical threshold to show more adulthood and yes, some other sex acts were mentioned (in context of teenage boys being absolute assholes) but the narrating main character never goes there, she never tries to, she doesn’t even think about it. Nope, straight to the condom coming out. (There is no sex until the very end of this book, but it almost happens many times.)
A lot of it was uncomfortably realistic and other parts were weirdly idealized.

I think it could have been a 4 star read if it wasn’t so damn long and if it had been more sex-positive. High school is terrible, the end show less

I received this ARC from a Bookish First raffle. The opinions stated in this review are my own.

When Keely's best friend Andrew throws her a party for her 18th birthday, she blends into the woodwork. Everyone else is "hooking up" and a classmate, Danielle, loses her virginity. Now it seems that Keely is the only senior left that still has her "V" card. She decides that she is ready to lose her virginity, she just doesn't know to whom she will give the honor.

She meets a college guy who she show more and her friends nickname James Dean. It turns out that his name is Dean. He also happens to be interested in Keely. They work together, hang out, and go on a date while she keeps putting him off. He believes that she is not a virgin and she is afraid (and embarrassed) to tell him otherwise. Then comes The Plan. She asks Andrew to take her virginity because she trusts him. She also believes him to be experienced. She's decided that she wants to go all the way with Dean, but she wants to know what she's doing when it happens and wants Andrew to teach her. Things don't work out the way she thinks they will and The Plan leads to complications.

I loved this book! I loved the characters, the story line, all of it! It reminded me so much of being in high school. The gossip, drama, and peer pressure. Being unsure of yourself and trying to figure everything out. I couldn't put this book down. I probably became entirely too emotionally invested in these characters. I felt like I was right there with them, watching the story unfold. show less