Release Date: April 5, 2016
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 336
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Summary
Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that's what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she's thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?
It's been barely two years since her mother's death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.
In a leap of faith-or an act of complete desperation-Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can't help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved? -Goodreads description
The Rundown
What a feel good book! I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I picked it up (but I'll pick up anything with waffles on it...especially heart-shaped waffles). Was this going to be a sad book? A funny book? A sigh and a smile love story book? Yes to all! Though it's definitely more funny & happy love than sad!
Jessie lost her mom to cancer two years ago. Her dad, a pharmacist, meets a grieving widow in an online support group and when Jessie thinks he's away for a conference: SURPRISE!!! Her dad eloped. They leave behind their normal, middle class life in Chicago for mansion living and elite private schools in LA as her new stepmom runs a top film marketing company.
Now she has a new home. A stepmom. A stepbrother. A new school. Her mom is still dead. Her best friends are halfway across the country. She shops at the GAP and not by designer. She drives a used car and not a new BMW. She's not ultra thin, ultra blond, or ultra tanned. And she can't believe juicing is like a thing.
But here she is. After a week of school where she feels like she's only being noticed by the resident mean girls as their new target, she gets an email from a guy at her school offering help with adjusting to life at Wood Valley and an odd friendship of sorts. The catch? He's anonymous.
With SN's help Jessie makes new friends and starts adjusting to her new life. She steps out of her comfort zone. She asks guys for coffee and goes to parties. Here's the thing: Jessie is already super cool. She's smart with a confidence that only comes with being comfortable in your own skin. I could totally see why she turns so many heads!
Being a teenager is full of so many firsts. While Jessie got dealt the really crappy card of experiencing grief so young when her mom died, she's also still laughing and living and taking chances and finding first love. She'll learn that home doesn't always have to be a place, parents make mistakes, and her step family may be pretty great after all.
When you get to the unveiling of who SN is (and I'm not going to tell you because you should find out for yourself!) it's cute and unexpectedly expected. At least for me it was who I wanted but I was afraid to get my hopes up for. And with that I almost feel like I've said too much! I really liked this book and feel like Julie Buxbaum is a new voice to listen for in YA contemporary!
Rating: 4 Stars. A great book and enjoyable read!
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