Author: Heather Truett
Publication Date: 25 May 2021
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Reading Method: Digital ARC [ Thank you to the publisher ]
Page Count: 224
Dates Read: May 23 – 24
Synopsis:
Stephen Luckie isn’t so lucky in love. He’s completely inexperienced when it comes to girls, and wonders if his tics – caused by Tourette’s Syndrome – are the reason.
Then a game at a party reveals that his body goes still while kissing. Using the scientific method drilled into him by his scientist father, Steven begins the best experiment ever–one that involves kissing as many girls as possible. Who knew science could be so fun?
But when the experiment gets underway, Stephen begins to question how he treats girls – and if his tics have been standing in his way at all. With two girls interested in him, he has to figure out what really matters to him and what he’ll risk – and gain – by being his true self.
Review:
Plot:
The story follows Stephen Luckie as he attempts to navigate high school and all the drama that follows. Stephen is the son of the local preacher and I actually found it kind of nice to see a little bit of church in a story without it being overbearing. (I keep deleting my monologue about churches because now is not the time or place for a lengthy discussion haha). Stephen has Tourette’s Syndrome and notices that his tics stop when he kisses someone at a party. From there, his friend Ballard concocts an experiment to see if it was a one time thing.
I struggled a bit with the story line. It just seemed like sometimes I was reading two different books with the same main character. It felt like we were jumping back and forth between two stories that kind of touched on each other, but never fully connected. We had the whole kiss as many girls as you can story, the Pilar story, and the Joan story. I wish there had been a bit more flow between them all.
Characters:
The entire story is told from Stephen’s perspective. He seemed like a sweet guy who just needed to get out of his head a bit. He is constantly overthinking everything and making messes for himself unnecessarily, then panicking trying to figure out how to fix things. Relatable, right?
Ballard, Stephen’s best friend, is loud and wild and constantly pushing Stephen to step outside his comfort zone. While that can be a good quality in a friend, it also can create some friction and I found it difficult to like Ballard while reading.
Stephen has been crushing on Joan for years, but she’s in an off-and-on again relationship with a real jerk, so Stephen has convinced himself he hates Joan. I really struggled to like Joan. It wasn’t that she was awful or anything. We just didn’t get to see much of her. She doesn’t start to feel real until the second half of the book. Before that it just seemed like she was an idea, not an actual person in the story. But by the time we start to get to know her, the book is almost over so it was difficult to form a connection.
There’s a cast of side characters that add interest and throw wrenches into the story as it progresses. Some of them I liked, and some of them I didn’t. But I feel like the side characters kind of got a raw deal. Several of the female side characters seemed to be relegated to stereotypes and felt one dimensional.
Writing:
This was a very quick, easy read and I was able to devour it in one sitting. As referenced before, I wish there had been more flow to connect all the moving parts of the story. It felt a bit clunky and disjointed. But I liked the way it ended and felt like it was a nice conclusion to the story.
Overall:
I think this maybe wasn’t the book for me. I wanted to like it more than I actually did. I mean, look at that super cute cover! It was a super quick and easy read, but it didn’t resonate with me. This may just be a case of “Haley is too old for this story.” If the synopsis sounds good to you I would recommend giving it a try!
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