Taking Down Evelyn Tait

by Poppy Nwosu

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Lottie is tired of Evelyn Tait ruining her life and is determined to beat her at her own game. The takedown will require patience, planning, and a makeover of sorts. But when Lottie assumes her new good girl persona, she arrives at some epiphanies about Evelyn, her family, and herself.

I know this is only the second book by Nwosu, but I am in love with her writing, characters, and storytelling. Though this story dealt with friendship, family, and even romance, at its core, it was a story about growing and changing and being true to yourself.

Lottie hadn't even finished secondary school, and her life had already been turned upside down twice. Once, when her mother left the family, and again, when her father remarried. I felt like Lottie never properly dealt with the emotional fallout, and it all just came out in the wrong ways. I mean, she got herself into trouble so often, that she was on a first name basis with the principal. [NOTE: I loved these scenes. They never failed to delight me] That was why I appreciated that her nefarious plot turned out to be such a wonderful path to self discovery. As she was pretending to be a "good girl", she actually began to enjoy the perks. It was fun to see her fully embrace this side of herself, but more importantly it gave her insight into herself and others.

Lottie and Evelyn had been set on destroying each other for quite a while now, but Lottie never fully understood Evelyn's situation. She began to see that being Evelyn Tait was not as easy as it looked, while also learning the root cause of Evelyn's animosity towards her. It was such an "A-HA" moment for Lottie, and one of the points in the story, where I really began to see her worldview shift from being so egocentric.

Nwosu blessed Lottie with not one, but TWO, amazing friends, both of whom I adored. At one point in the story, both of these relationships were a bit strained. There was bound to be tension, when Lottie's best girl friend, Grace, became romantically involved with her nemesis, but she also pushed her best guy friend, Jude, to his limits. Again, another "A-HA" moment for Lottie, where she came to some realizations about her friends' needs and feelings.

But let's talk about Jude, dear sweet Jude. He was the boy next door with the heart of gold. When Lottie looked back, she realized how Jude was the one person in her life, who was always there for her. I grew so frustrated with Lottie, because I thought she sometimes took advantage of him or took him for granted. Recognizing the way she treated him, as well as his importance in her life was another part of Lottie's evolution.

Over the course of this book, Lottie grew tremendously. She learned to see the world outside herself, began to appreciate the important people in her life, and started to make better choices. I was really proud of her, and I would be hard-pressed to find anyone who could resist falling in love with her.


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