Poppy Nwosu

Alice Dyson knows exactly how she'll be spending her final year of high school: with her head down, concentrating on her textbooks and homework. She's focused on the future, and nothing is going to get in her way--until a bizarre encounter with the school's most notorious troublemaker derails all her plans, turning Alice into the unwilling center of attention and her life into one enormous complication.

Making Friends with Alice Dyson

Alice Myles

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I adored this book! When I saw the title and read the description I was immediately drawn to it: first, my name is Alice and the protagonist's name is Alice (probably a selfish reason but hey), I also saw so much of myself in this character even from reading the description that I knew that we would click because I was also kind of a nerd and an outcast at school. It's also Australian so that meant that I got to pull out my best Australian accent while reading it (I'll leave it up to you to decide if that's a good or bad thing). I related quite strongly to a lot of Alice's high school experiences and I loved how she was able to gain confidence and grow throughout the story. I think my enjoyment at the start was maybe hampered by me trying to read too many books at once because I ended up just sitting down and inhaling the rest of it in one sitting. I also LOVE Teddy Taualai but that goes without saying (I love almost all sweet but angsty teenage boy characters, they are the way to my heart)! I also love that it tackled first love, first friendships and just general high school drama. This book wasn't perfect but I related so strongly to it that I have to show it all the love!

Beth Livingston

*I received a free digital copy via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review*

This book was a good read. I felt like something was missing. Hopefully a second book will detail what happens to Alice and her friends.

My hand, which is following a stray pencil rolling across the floor, stops dead right in front of two ratty green sneakers. My gaze follows the shoes up over long legs to a towering figure. I stand abruptly. Tall, black eyes, messy hair, a permanent scowl on a permanently angry face. Our school's delinquent, a waster, the kind of boy who always sits at the back of class. The kind of boy even popular people like Sophia are afraid of. Teddy Taualai. Alice Dyson knows exactly how she'll be spending her final year of high school: with her head down, concentrating on her textbooks and homework. She's focused on the future, and nothing is going to get in her way. Until a bizarre encounter with the school's most notorious troublemaker derails all her plans, turning Alice into the unwilling centre of attention and her life into one enormous complication. And even worse? Now Teddy Taualai won't leave her alone. A romantic story about rumours, friendship, and discovering who you really are. Shortlisted for the 2018 Adelaide Festival Unpublished Manuscript Award

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this arc from the publisher for a tour. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Making Friends With Alice Dyson

Author: Poppy Nwosu

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: contemporary lovers, friendship stories

Publication Date: September 15, 2020

Genre: YA Contemporary

Recommended Age: 15+ (bullying, gossip, family issues, slight romance)

Publisher: Walker Books US

Pages: 276

Synopsis: My hand, which is following a stray pencil rolling across the floor, stops dead right in front of two ratty green sneakers.
My gaze follows the shoes up over long legs to a towering figure.
I stand abruptly.
Tall, black eyes, messy hair, a permanent scowl on a permanently angry face. Our school’s delinquent, a waster, the kind of boy who always sits at the back of class. The kind of boy even popular people like Sophia are afraid of.
Teddy Taualai.

Alice Dyson knows exactly how she’ll be spending her final year of high school. With her head down, quietly concentrating on her textbooks and homework. She’s focused on the future, and nothing and no one is going to get in her way. Until a bizarre encounter with the school’s most notorious troublemaker derails all her plans, turning Alice into the unwilling centre of attention and her life into one enormous complication.

And even worse? Now Teddy Taualai won’t leave her alone.

A story about rumours, friendship, and discovering who you really are.

Review: For the most part I thought that this was an okay book. The plot is pretty well done and for the most part I really did like the characters. The characters are what really drove the story and I think if I didn't have them then I wouldn't have been interested in the book.

However the book is very weirdly written. The book feels written younger than what the characters are and the book begins in a really weird manner. The flashbacks are also very disorienting and I thought that the bizarre event that is talked about in the book was not that bizarre from what I remembered when I was in high school and as a slightly rebellious child.

Verdict: It was good, just weird.

Making Friends with Alice Dyson

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