Serena Kaylor

Serena Kaylor's Long Story Short is a debut YA rom-com about a homeschooled math genius who finds herself out of her element at a theater camp, where she learns about friendship, love, and how to be herself...

A Novel

Long Story Short

Ashton Reed

Then Nik appeared in front of me, and I couldn't stop crying. I wasn't sure if it was happiness or sadness at the root of it, and he cupped my face as if I was his most precious possession.

He groaned, pressing his damp forehead against mine. "I was such an idiot, in literally every situation. There in the dark, during that movie, all I wanted in the world was to tell you that I picked a kiss because it was all I could think about - all day every day. I was so worried if I made a move on you, you'd run away and never talk to me again."

I chuckled, the air thick. "I probably would have run away." 

"Every word, every stupid action, was my bumbling way of trying to convince you to want me too." I'm wasn't sure who moved first, but from one second to the next his hands were threaded in my hair and his lips were on mine. And I burst into flames.

"But pretty? I don't know if I could ever call you something as simple and insignificant as that." 

I turned the question over in my mind, realizing a little belatedly that I'd spent so mnuch time thinking about Nik's intentions that I'd resolutely ignored mine. I opened my mouth to answer, but the words were stuck. I guess the problem would just be solved if I said no, but what if I said yes? How could I say yes?

A person might call it cowardly, but I preferred to think of it as having a highly developed survival instinct.

Maybe this new Bea didn't sacrifice her previous self but was able to find out how to bridge the two people who now seemed to live in her skin.

"I think you have to decide if you're happier about having real friends or more upset that they don't think you're perfect."

"Honey," she said, stepping closer. "It's disagreeing on the big stuff that lets you know who’s actually in your corner, and who’s just blowing sunshine up your skirt." She met my gaze head on. "You also know that I happen to like your personality, but that's separate from me also feeling like you could try to see things from other people's perspective too."

I didn't particularly want to change my habits at this point, but the truth of the matter was that this new Bea scared me. The idea of stepping outside that curtain and walking around like this in public was terrifying. Like I'd lost all my armor. It was that feeling right there that had my reaching for the curtain. After years of spending all my time alone and everything being familiar and predictable, I wanted to feel something.

What must it be like to feel so confident in your own skin that wearing another person's seemed like nothing at all?

Nik had pushed every button I had, and I wasn't the sort of girl who would just roll over while someone trampled all over her.

Most of all, I tried not to think about beautiful boys with poisonous tongues. 

"I could knock all day, but if you were reading you would never hear it," he said, the corner of his mouth twitching.

rowan !

normally i dont dabble in ya but i just adoredddd this book so much this ranks high with better than the movies

Lillian

24/03/2022 -
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

Once upon a time, I used to enjoy YA Contemporary hate-to-love stories. They would be cute! I would like when they hated each other and finally realized that they *gasp* weren’t so different after all. It was a formula, for sure, but I liked it.

Those days have long passed. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that…high school kids should not be so rude to each other and have it come out okay. Now, most of my YA contemporary romances of choice star nice characters who get along and have cute friendships. That’s not a dig on this book in particular, because I try to separate my rating of arcs from my personal preference.

The plot of this book was pretty good, mainly because I like summer camp, and I like the antics of theatre kids. There was nothing in particular to write home about, but it was fun enough, typical YA contemporary but in a good way. Beatrice as a character was quite compelling, and for the most part, I liked being in her head for the book. Seeing her slowly become more sure of herself was a heartwarming journey to follow. I also loved Beatrice’s friends! Mia, especially, was given her own time to shine in addition to being a beacon of support for Beatrice’s journey.

When it comes to representation, I can’t exactly speak on the neurodivergent or poc rep. There was one mention of war paint that I wasn’t sure about—again, can’t really speak on it though.

I think my main issue with this book was the dynamic between Nik and Beatrice. In classic hate-to-love fashion, there’s an incident pretty early on that antagonizes them from each other, and they spend a good part of the book misunderstanding each other’s intentions and desires. However, I didn’t really feel much chemistry from them, and I wasn’t rooting for or against them at any point. They were just…ok. There’s no indication, other than at the end, that Nik felt anything but annoyance at Beatrice, rather than the unrequited pining that was intended. Nik didn’t really do anything that could be interpreted as care or affection, idk.

I think the book could have done without the romance. That being said, it was still fine, I suppose? Maybe I’ve just grown out of the genre.

3.25/5

19/03/2022- this was fine I think I’m kind of out of my contemporary hate to love phase though. full review to come

Abby Frey

This book had me giggling, smiling, screaming, and blushing. Beatrice was probably one of the most relatable main characters I’ve ever read and watching her come out of her shell was heartwarming and made me so happy. Nik was just… he speaks for himself honestly. I love him to bits. Mia and Nolan were just perfect and weren’t just reduced to side characters. They had vibrant personalities and were just great overall. 

The use of Shakespeare in this book was great. Even if you don’t have a complete understanding of some of his works the book still made sense which was nice.
 
The only thing that I didn’t really like was her parents. It made no sense to my that her parents, who are psychologists may I add, would just try to continuously change their child (and not to mention that Bea is very autistic-coded) so it just makes me feel super uncomfortable.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

Long Story Short A Novel

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