Name: Unscripted
ISBN: 9781419740848

Nicole Kronzer

When seventeen-year-old Zelda is chosen for an elite team at a prestigious improvisation camp, it is a big step toward achieving her dreams, but first she must survive her teammates' sexism and coach's cruelty.

Unscripted

Reagan Suitt

Ok - I have never been so absolutely angry with a character in my life.

But wow - the feelings this book makes you feel. Wow.

Sofie

once again, a book where the main couple has an uncomfortable age difference (17 and 20. I know it doesn't seem bad, but I CANNOT imagine, when I was 20, looking at someone who was in high school romantically)

but has a lot of 5 stars, so I'll give it a shot.

________________________

But then he said, “Turn around. I made you tense today. Let me loosen you up.”
I hesitated. Coaches give back rubs?
“Come on, Ellie. Relax.” The corners of his mouth turned up in a way that made me feel I was being ridiculous. “Give me those stiff improv shoulders."

gross.
________________________

TW: sexual assault, emotional and physical abuse

SPOILERS

OKAY. This book was NOT what I was expecting. At all. The blurb made it seem like some fluffy summer romance where our MC would have to overcome some boy's club at camp. I am SO GLAD it wasn't.

My initial critique was that, for a book about a girl who is at an improv camp and wants to work at SNL, I just didn't find the book that funny. I just finished A Girl Called Shameless by Laura Steven, so I was expecting an older tone, something really witty, funny without trying, self-deprecating, sarcastic. And, especially in the beginning, I just didn't really get the humour. I thought, if you're going to base the whole book around a girl wanting to be on SNL one day, it should be funny (and I feel bad for even writing this out, because obviously one of the main conflicts in the book is Zelda dealing with the sexist assumption that girls aren't funny). 

However, after a few fake outs with (view spoiler)[ Ben being set up as the love interest (hide spoiler)] it became clear to me that that was not the real story. Instead, we got this impactful, startling, upsetting story about a girl who goes to a comedy camp with mostly boys, and has to deal with (view spoiler)[ misogyny, abuse, sexual assault, gaslighting, victim-blaming, and toxic masculinity (hide spoiler)]. Do I think the story could have been elevated if Zelda's inner voice was as distinct as Izzy O'Neill from The Exact Opposite of Okay? 100%. But I also can take the book for what it is, which is a commentary on the excuses the world will make for men when a woman tried to "intrude" on male-dominated spaces, like comedy. 

And yes, I teared up. And yes, I giggled. I smiled. I loved Zelda's gumption at the end when it came to sticking up for herself (though she did have me rolling my eyes at the excuses she made in the beginning, her refusal to go to The Pauls (though obviously we know how that turned out). I loved the Gildas and their unwavering support of Zelda. The instant belief from the people that really mattered. I loved how Jesse's character juxtaposed Ben's so completely. I loved how Kronzer weaved in some more intersectional themes through the Gilda girls; how, if being respected in the comedy world was a hurdle for Zelda to overcome, it was a mountain for girls of colour, LGBTQIA+ identifying girls, etc.

And I am ECSTATIC that for ONCE, a book isn't romanticizing a relationship between teenagers (and in this case, a 20 year old) with a 3 year age difference (I'm looking at you, The Inheritance Games)

I'll be a quick bitch, by saying I felt the story did drag a bit at the end. But hey, still finished it in less than a day, so.

A funny and timely debut YA about the toxic masculinity at a famous improv comedy camp Seventeen-year-old Zelda Bailey-Cho has her future all planned out: improv camp, then Second City, and finally Saturday Night Live. She’s thrilled when she lands a spot on the coveted varsity team at a prestigious improv camp, which means she’ll get to perform for professional scouts—including her hero, Nina Knightley. But even though she’s hardworking and talented, Zelda’s also the only girl on Varsity, so she’s the target for humiliation from her teammates. And her 20-year-old coach, Ben, is cruel to her at practice and way too nice to her when they’re alone. Zelda wants to fight back, but is sacrificing her best shot at her dream too heavy a price to pay? Equal parts funny and righteous, Unscripted is a moving debut novel that Printz Award winner Nina LaCour calls “a truly special book, written at exactly the right time.”

Nikki Sojkowski

I was given an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'd like to preface with the fact that I got so invested in Zelda's world that I read Unscripted all in one go—I didn't even put it down when I cooked and ate dinner!

It was hard to get into this at first, because the horrible sexism, physical abuse, and emotional abuse that Zelda goes through is, unfortunately, nothing new. It was really hard to put myself through experiences that many women are all too familiar with, without knowing for sure that the reader was going to be rewarded for the pain. I definitely think the ending made the whole ordeal worth it (and for those who have not had similar experiences to Zelda, I think this is an important story to lend your ear to). Zelda's story can certainly help young girls identify some of the sneakier types of abuse, while still ending the novel on a hopeful note .

Unscripted ended up being about more than Zelda trying to 'make it' in the Improv world and more than about being an abuse victim. It is about growing strong female friendships, demonstrating the bond of siblings, exposing the lethargic authority of those in charge, and most importantly it is about showing boys and young men that they can be better and help those in vulnerable positions. In the wave of #MeToo, we need to raise up voices like Zelda's, not only to bring awareness, but to help young boys to realize that doing nothing is the same as doing wrong. Jake's storyline was particularly heart-warming, and I believe facilitating that change in our future generations is how we move forwards.

Unscripted

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