Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on
Poor Vivi! Every facet of her life is in pieces: reputation tarnished, father vanished, AP and SAT bombed. Things are not looking good for Vivi, but after a panic attack, her mother denies her summer at engineering camp, and Viviana gets a job at the pool with her BFF, Sammi. At the pool, she makes some new friends, who are unaware of any of the drama from the past school year, but due to her family dissolving, her friendship strained, and her self doubt, she continues to suffer from the panic attacks.
Kottaras heaped a lot of drama on our poor heroine. I honestly felt quite sorry for her. But, it was all these "tests" that made Vivi a better person in the end. It was quite surprising, how a book with this many BIG dramatic events, came across as quite light. Not light as in making light of the situations, but rather, done with just the right amount of sadness and angst. I really liked the way Vivi grew to be more open and more trusting of others (and herself), despite so many bad experiences. Her BFF was so solid, even when she was mad, and her mom and sister also turned out to be a great part of her support system.
I truly loved the way the chapters all started with test questions, test prep tips, or writing prompts. The writing prompts were especially well used, and provided some of my favorite moments from this book.
A cute and charming story of a girl's struggle to navigate those late high school years that are so cataclysmic for many with a strong message of loving and trusting one's self.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 16 October, 2016: Finished reading
- 16 October, 2016: Reviewed