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 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. ( )

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 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 ( )

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 was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.

It has been a minute since I truly enjoyed a story that dealt with younger teens in high school. This one sounded really good though.

I really enjoyed the characters and their romantic journey. Keeley did come off very immature for her age at times. However; I loved her and Drew together. I was rooting for them the whole time. This was pretty predictable around what was going to happen between the two of them, but I still enjoyed it.

There are triggers for mean girls and of course sex. I liked how this tackled the subject around sex though as it is an issue/topic that many teens are facing in real life. I think it is a taboo topic that many want to avoid, but it is involving our youth at a younger age more now than ever. These behaviors are happening. I liked that this showed older teens in High School dealing with sex, drinking, and stereotypes around sex between males and females.

Overall, this one was pretty good! ( )

BookishFirst First Impression Based on Preview: This looks like a very interesting story with lots of great characters that the author is very good at give detailed descriptions of to better help the reader imagine them and draw you into the story easily. I look forward to reading more of this story in the future.