Summary
Phoebe is a devoted book nerd. She is always reading and knows about all the popular and upcoming books. Not caring how it looks to others, she dresses in costume for book releases and author signings. She even looks to her favorite books and characters to help her find romance.
While Phoebe has a crush on the class president, Kris, her best friend is convinced that Dev likes her. Kris doesn’t seem to know Phoebe exists, but Dev is around all the time. So Phoebe attempts some of her bookish moves, trying to channel the strong, confident heroines from her favorite books.
But Phoebe isn’t really like those characters. She’s uncertain and awkward. She loves what she loves, and she doesn’t hide it. So when a more confident girl moves in on Dev, Phoebe wonders if she should just stick to fictional relationships after all.
Review
This was SO fun! There are some GREAT bookish lines in the story. As a book nerd like Phoebe, some of these statements really clicked with me.
I loved Phoebe. I enjoyed her “nerdishness” and passion for books and knitting and music. The banter with Dev and Em and some of the other characters was great fun to read. The scenes from Phoebe’s books got old at times – I was far more interested in the characters in this story. But I loved that Phoebe tried to use her passion for fiction to help her in real life.
This reminded me of Fangirl and Geekerella – stories with characters who are passionate about something like pop culture, science fiction shows, book series, etc. I identify with these sorts of characters, and I find their stories fun to read.
This is a great Young Adult book. There’s a little bit of language and a gay relationship in the secondary characters that might make this a better fit for older teens in some cases. Book 2 in the series, Dramatically Ever After, which focuses on Em and Kris from this book, released earlier this month.