Review by Riley Burr
Poem:“Poem for My Love” by June Jordan, “Polarities” by Kenneth Siessor
Classic Work:“Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” by William Shakespeare
Art:The Kissby Edvard Munch
8. Evaluation:I thought this young adult novel presented an interesting twist on typical romantic comedies. Typically, there seems to be some give on both sides of the relationship but Sophie Evans never truly relinquished her blunt rudeness towards Andrew until the very end. The relationship between Andrew and Sophie was surface-level, which was disappointing as a reader at times. While West attempted to develop the depth of their personal struggles in order for a better connection between the characters, I still felt that it was quite shallow. As a middle- or high-school educator, I would allow this book to be read for choice, ‘fun’ reads. I didn’t learn much, as for life lessons or big takeaways, but I did enjoy the quick, light-hearted novel! I would give this novel a 7/10.
- Title:Maybe This Timeby Kasie West, 9781338210088, Scholastic Press, New York, 2019, $17.99, 368 pp.
- Genre:Young Adult Contemporary Romance/Romantic Comedy
- Characters:The main character in Maybe This Timeis the blunt, beautiful, and defensive Sophie Evans. Sophie, with a suppressed dream of escaping her small town in Alabama to make it big as a fashion designer, works at the local florist and attends all the towns social gatherings for her job. Her She longs for a relationship but instantly puts up her guard, struggling to connect with any boy she meets. Sophie has a best friend, Micah, who works at all the same events because her Dad, Mr. Williams, owns a local catering restaurant. Micah is bubbly, a great people-person, and constantly optimistic around anyone she comes in contact with. This is shown when Andrew Hart, son of the famous celebrity chef, Jett Hart, find his way into their close friend group. Micah instantly bonds with the charming, yet somewhat annoying Andrew, while Sophie is quite judgmental and harsh with her words towards the new kid in town. Persistent in his pursuit, Andrew experiences many trials of being reject and disheartened by Sophie’s words, often throwing hurtful words back at her in return. Jett Hart, in his efforts to reform struggling restaurants, uses tough love towards all that he encounters. He never smiles and holds his standards high, especially for his photography-loving son, Andrew.
- Plot:Sophie Evans begins a series of many events with the local florist, using her creativity to produce beautiful bouquets. Unfortunately, this is not Sophie’s passion. Her big, and often-ignored, goal is to make it to the Big Apple to pursue her dream of being a fashion designer. The young novice works these events alongside her BFF, Micah, who works as a waitress for her Dad’s restaurant. In their small town, everyone knows everyone, which doesn’t help when Sophie’s Mom embarrasses her at almost all the events by her dress and words. When a new boy attends one of the events, Sophie wonders who and why he would be there. As it turns out, it is the son of celebrity chef, Jett Hart, who travels with his dad as he roams the country to reform struggling restaurants into thriving businesses. Through a series of local events, Sophie and Andrew constantly bicker and disagree with each other about… everything. Micah, who almost instantly befriends the charming Andrew, constantly tells Sophie to give him a chance and not be as hurtful with her words. Meanwhile, Sophie has her eyes set on Kyle, a laidback band member, hoping that a romantic relationship with form. After a few dates, she realizes the chances are slim that it will work out. As Sophie continues to see Andrew at all the events, he eventually reveals that his biggest fear is not making friends and Sophie sure doesn’t ease that fear in him. However, when she begins to expose the reasons she is so guarded, they begin to connect on a deeper level. Due to her dad leaving to pursue his dream in California and Andrew’s mom leaving his family out of disappointment with her husband’s failures, their damaged hearts begin to develop feelings for one another. This somewhat-expected love connection proves difficult when they realize their time together is limited. However, they decided to continue to pursue one another when Jett and Andrew decide to return back to New York for Jett’s career and Sophie will be in New York for school. In the end, Sophie and Andrew’s relationship status is stable, with hopes of making it work in New York and both of their unique dreams coming into fruition.
- Touchy Areas:No obvious touchy areas provided. The only triggering element is the inclusion of family issues (particular parental abandonment) expressed by both Sophie and Andrew and how that has affected further relationships.
- Related Titles:P.S. I Like You by Kasie West, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Beforeby Jenny Han, Fake It Till You Break Itby Jenn P. Nguyen, Always Never Yoursby Austin Siegemund-Broka and Emily Wibberley
- Movies:A Walk to Remember(2002), The Specacular Now(2013), 10 Things I Hate About You(1999)
Poem:“Poem for My Love” by June Jordan, “Polarities” by Kenneth Siessor
Classic Work:“Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” by William Shakespeare
Art:The Kissby Edvard Munch
8. Evaluation:I thought this young adult novel presented an interesting twist on typical romantic comedies. Typically, there seems to be some give on both sides of the relationship but Sophie Evans never truly relinquished her blunt rudeness towards Andrew until the very end. The relationship between Andrew and Sophie was surface-level, which was disappointing as a reader at times. While West attempted to develop the depth of their personal struggles in order for a better connection between the characters, I still felt that it was quite shallow. As a middle- or high-school educator, I would allow this book to be read for choice, ‘fun’ reads. I didn’t learn much, as for life lessons or big takeaways, but I did enjoy the quick, light-hearted novel! I would give this novel a 7/10.