Making Friends with Alice Dyson

by Poppy Nwosu

A sweet and soulful romantic debut about rumors, friendship, and discovering who you really are

Alice Dyson knows exactly how she’ll be spending her final year of high school—with her head down, quietly concentrating on her textbooks and homework. She is focused on the future, and nothing and no one is going to get in her way. That is, until a bizarre encounter with Teddy Taualai, the school’s most notorious troublemaker, goes viral, derailing her plans and pushing her into the spotlight. Suddenly Alice’s under-the-radar life is one enormous, messy complication. And the worst part? Teddy Taualai is everywhere she turns. In author Poppy Nwosu’s pitch-perfect debut novel, an unlikely pair of outsiders take the daunting, delicate first steps toward becoming friends and maybe, just maybe, something more. Briskly paced with a complex and appealing cast of characters, this contemporary romance explores the ever-tricky dance of staying true to yourself while opening your heart.

• ISBN10: 1536214787
• ISBN13: 9781536214789
• Publish Date: 15 September 2020 (first published 1 March 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Candlewick Press
• Imprint: Walker Books US
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781536214789

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Alice had a plan. She just needed to finish her last year of school, continue to get good grades, and get into the university of her parents' choice. Then she could finally be free. Her plan didn't include Teddy Taualai, but it seems Teddy didn't get the memo, and maybe that's a good thing.

Poppy Nwosu annihilated me with this book. This book quietly came and hit me right in the feels, and I absolutely welcomed every second of it.

So what's this book about?

It's about friendship. I mean, it is mentioned right there in the title, and this theme of friendship was explored from multiple sides. Alice's life was changing in many ways. She was forming a new rapport with Teddy, which was no easy task for her. At the same time, she was trying to save her lifelong friendship with her bestie, May. I really like that Nwosu included this relationship which was going through some growing pains, because many people share this experience. It gave Alice a reason to explore what makes a friendship and how to be a friend. Some really touching moments arose from these introspections, and I welcomed it all with open arms.

It's about looking beyond the labels. Many rumors followed Teddy to his new school, and after three years, he was still unable to dispel them. He was fairly isolated because people believed these tales about him. Alice, however, made the effort to get to know him. She saw past the stories to the sweet, slightly wounded, but rather big hearted boy underneath. She took the time to break through the armor Teddy used for self-preservation, and what she found was someone really special. Teddy was the primary focus of this theme, but it came up in other ways and was definitely a theme worthy of exploration.

It's about being true to yourself. There were so many people who thought Alice should steer clear of Teddy. Their commentary ranged from "he's a bad influence" to "you'll never be popular hanging around with him" type comments. She didn't care. She followed her heart. There were also these lovely moments where Alice would perform these small acts of kindness. Sometimes it was just saying something nice to someone, but other times, she had to dig in and be brave as she defended others. I admired her for going against the mob mentality, not giving into the "cancel culture", and I applauded her for doing things I knew she found difficult.

It's about falling in love. Watching Alice's feelings for Teddy evolve was nothing short of wonderful. I think she struggled with what he saw in her, first as a friend and then as more. I felt like Alice suffered from never feeling like she was enough, because of the way her mother treated her and because she was unpopular. But Teddy saw into Alice's heart, and she eventually saw into his, and well, it made my heart explode.

Nwosu told a beautiful and moving story of friendship and love. She crafted two remarkable characters, whom I am overjoyed to have met and I adored rooting for.






*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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[Sarah Says]

Oh my gosh, this was just the cutest! I sat and read the whole thing in one sitting, just couldn't pull myself away.

Fantastic writing, good pacing, loveable POV, heartwarming ending - a five-star read.

Making Friends with Alice Dyson is a story of friendship, of not judging people based on rumors, and dealing with parental expectations. A story of learning how to be happy and figuring out what you want to do after high school.