500 Words or Less by Juleah del Rosario

500 Words or Less

by Juleah del Rosario

A YALSA 2020 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
"Compelling." -School Library Journal
"Moving." -Publishers Weekly
"Poignant." -Kirkus Reviews


A high school senior attempts to salvage her reputation among her Ivy League-obsessed classmates by writing their college admissions essays and in the process learns big truths about herself in this mesmerizing debut novel-in-verse, perfect for fans of Gayle Forman and Elizabeth Acevedo.

Nic Chen refuses to spend her senior year branded as the girl who cheated on her charismatic and lovable boyfriend. To redefine her reputation among her Ivy League-obsessed classmates, Nic begins writing their college admissions essays.

But the more essays Nic writes for other people, the less sure she becomes of herself, the kind of person she is, and whether her moral compass even points north anymore.

Provocative, brilliant, and achingly honest, 500 Words or Less explores the heartbreak and hope that marks the search for your truest self.

Reviewed by katie on

4 of 5 stars

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Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for a chance to read and review this book!

I love, love, love the idea of this novel; I'm slightly less in love with its execution. The story of Nic (and Jordan, and Ben, and Kitty, and Ashok, and and and) is a good story, and one I would almost certainly enjoyed more had it been in prose and not verse. Nic's voice felt real, her story felt real, her life felt real. Everything felt real, and honest, and vulnerable, and I love that. I think what's bothering me the most is that there isn't an ending the way I want there to be. There was no cliffhanger, but it still left me wanting more. I feel like I know Nic, and I'm glad I got to see her story and how she changed, but I wish I had gotten to see who everyone else was a little more. Ben and Jordan read like stock characters, and Kitty and Ashok feel like they have so much potential, but- what exactly do we know about them? Not much. Not enough. Not for me.

I wish I could have read this when I was trying to write my own college admissions essay, and I will definitely recommend it to anyone looking for examples and tips on writing their own, but I don't think I'll read this again.

3.5/5 stars (Rounded up to 4 on NetGalley and Goodreads)

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 2 August, 2018: Finished reading
  • 2 August, 2018: Reviewed