Book Rating: Four Stars.

Book Blurb

Quinn keeps lists of everything—from the days she’s ugly cried, to “Things That I Would Never Admit Out Loud,” to all the boys she’d like to kiss. Her lists keep her sane. By writing her fears on paper, she never has to face them in real life. That is, until her journal goes missing…

An anonymous account posts one of her lists on Instagram for the whole school to see and blackmails her into facing seven of her greatest fears, or else her entire journal will go public. Quinn doesn’t know who to trust. Desperate, she teams up with Carter Bennett—the last known person to have her journal—in a race against time to track down the blackmailer.

Together, they journey through everything Quinn’s been too afraid to face, and along the way, Quinn finds the courage to be honest, to live at the moment, and to fall in love.

Review

While preparing to write this review, I decided to skim through this book to find some of my favorite quotes. Of course, I did more than flick through a few pages and ended up rereading the entire thing all over again. That alone should tell you how much I adore the heck out of this book.  This story is captivating right off the bat with Quinn’s, the FMC, journal getting stolen. As the blurb states, in order to prevent her diary entries from being posted online, she has to complete a list of tasks that she has been putting off.  However, along the way of her completing these missions, we see friendships forms, themes of forgiveness, self-discovery, and my favorite: young love! It is obvious throughout the book how much thought and effort the author, Joya Goffney, put into each of her characters. Everyone’s personal stories in this book intrigued me and by the end, made me want more.

Out of all the books I have read, Quinn has to be one of my favorite FMC hands down. She was courageous. Heartfelt. And she ranked love and basketball as number one for most re-watchable movies (she gained a million points for that one).  I also must say this book was not only a cute young adult novel, but also a reflection of the many struggles young black girls go through at age 17/18, especially in predominantly white environments. This is an excellent read for black girls who feel like they struggle with fitting in.

Who should read this book?

If you’re a fan of pretty little liars, show or book, then this book is right up your alley. The blackmailer reminded me very much of A.

Who shouldn’t read this book?

If you’re not into YA books or teenage angst and drama, you ‘might’ want to skip this one.