Angie
Proceed With Caution:
This book contains alcoholism, jail, social anxiety, and internalized racism.
The Basics:
She Gets the Girl is narrated by eighteen-year-old college freshmen Molly and Alex. Molly is hoping to finally make some friends, overcome her anxiety, and possibly talk to her long time crush. Alex just wants to make ends meet while attending classes, taking care of her mom, and proving to her girlfriend that she can be faithful and emotionally available. The two girls meet and Alex offers to help Molly get the girl, while also having something to show her own girl that she's changed.
My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed She Gets the Girl from the very beginning. It did lose me a bit at the end, but overall it's nearly exactly what I wanted to read! Alex is this player who wants to prove to her girlfriend that she can change. Molly is shy and awkward and adorable. The two couldn't be any more different except for their lack of friends and real relationships. Basically, it's an opposites attract romance with a dash of fake dating (kind of, it's cute!).
While the romance is super cute, it was not my favorite part of the She Gets the Girl. We already know where it's going, it's in the title! What really stood out to me was Molly and Alex making friends and having the college experience. Molly was especially relatable to me since I'm not good with people, but I do have two close friends. But we both basically rely on our moms for all relationship needs. It was always nice to see Molly open up bit by bit and realizing that she can be herself and still liked.
Molly's crush on Cora was the most relatable thing though. I know most of us have had a crush on someone that we only ever admired from afar. We put them on a pedestal, and if we get the chance to know them, we realized that we don't really know them at all. It's all in our head. It's not necessarily a bad thing, because we can get to know them. But...it's a hard thing. Something Molly has to learn, but the lesson is kind of wasted since she has Alex right there.
She Gets the Girl absolutely dropped the ball on what I considered the most important plot thread: making friends! Yes, I know this is a Romance, but Molly and Alex desperately need friends. Alex only ever has a temporary girlfriend or a series of hook-ups; she needs someone that she's not dating or sleeping with in her life! Poor Molly also jumped the friend-zone with her crush, only to have that crash and burn, and wind up with Alex. By the look of things, neither girl is going to be friends with Cora despite heading in that direction for most of the book. Platonic friendships are so important! I would have loved to see both of them find their friend group outside of their relationship.
I also didn't like how Alex's girlfriend Natalie wound up being the villain. I completely understood her frustration at Alex flirting with every girl she meets. But once they reunite and Alex is trying to show her how she's changed, she just isn't listening. She's very nasty to Alex, which was uncalled for. There was a way to make it so that she was maybe indifferent because she's ultimately getting what she wants anyway. But to be outright awful? It didn't fit. We already know Alex wants Molly. We don't need to villainize Natalie to make their break-up legit.
Overall, She Gets the Girl is wonderful. It's extremely relatable and I loved Alex and Molly. Yes, I had some complaints about the direction the plot took, but it didn't really dampen my enjoyment. Although this could have easily been five stars if it hadn't derailed a bit.