Name: Raven K's review of Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer
Item: Call It What You Want
Rating: 5
Author: Raven K

Brigid Kemmerer

New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer pens a new emotionally compelling story about two teens struggling in the space between right and wrong. When his dad is caught embezzling funds from half the town, Rob goes from popular lacrosse player to social pariah. Even worse, his father's failed suicide attempt leaves Rob and his mother responsible for his care. Everyone thinks of Maegan as a typical overachiever, but she has a secret of her own after the pressure got to her last year. And when her sister comes home from college pregnant, keeping it from her parents might be more than she can handle. When Rob and Maegan are paired together for a calculus project, they're both reluctant to let anyone through the walls they've built. But when Maegan learns of Rob's plan to fix the damage caused by his father, it could ruin more than their fragile new friendship . . . In her compulsively readable storytelling, Brigid Kemmerer pens another captivating, heartfelt novel that asks the question: Is it okay to do something wrong for the right reasons?

Call It What You Want

Chloe

From the author of the Zoella Book Club-pick Letters to the Lost comes another emotionally complex, romantic story about two teens struggling to unpick the grey area between right and wrong, perfect for fans of John Green and Jennifer Niven Rob had it all – friends, a near-guaranteed lacrosse scholarship to college and an amazing family – but all that changed when his dad was caught embezzling funds from half the town. Now he's a social pariah. Maegan always does the right thing. But when her sister comes home from college pregnant, she's caught between telling their parents the truth about the father and keeping her sister's trust. When Rob and Maegan are paired together for a project, they form an unexpectedly deep connection. But Rob's plan to fix his father's damage could ruin more than their new friendship ...

Raven K

Going into this book, I really didn’t have any expectations if I’m being honest, but for whatever reason I throughly enjoyed this. I think it helped that I loved both main characters. Rob & Maegan’s dynamic was the best. I also liked Owen & Samantha. They’re some of the best side characters ever. Overall, this book really hooked me.

From the author of the Zoella Book Club-pick Letters to the Lost comes another emotionally complex, romantic story about two teens struggling to unpick the grey area between right and wrong, perfect for fans of John Green and Jennifer NivenRob had it all - friends, a near-guaranteed lacrosse scholarship to college and an amazing family - but all that changed when his dad was caught embezzling funds from half the town. Now he's a social pariah. Maegan always does the right thing. But when her sister comes home from college pregnant, she's caught between telling their parents the truth about the father and keeping her sister's trust. When Rob and Maegan are paired together for a project, they form an unexpectedly deep connection. But Rob's plan to fix his father's damage could ruin more than their new friendship ...

the title made me do it and I ended up getting emo

Annabella

Elise

It was interesting enough for me to keep reading. The first book I didn’t start dnf’ing. 
Normally it isn’t a book i would pick up, but i had nothing to read so i just opened that.

Alex Mitchell

Kailey Rios

this was so good! i found it a little underwhelming in the first half but i got a lot more into it the more i read.

the characters were fleshed out really well and i actually cared about most of them and their problems?? that usually isn’t the case but something about the way they were written made them feel relatable even though i’d never gone through the things they were experiencing.

also i loved mr. london, the unproblematic gay librarian.


  4 stars

Reagan Suitt

This is a story of forgiveness, compassion and mending after hard things happen. It’s a reminder of what good friends can do and why doing the right thing is the best option. I felt deeply, I laughed, I cried. Just wow. Truly enjoyed this unexpectedly amazing read.

Jessica Guht

I first just want to say that all I want to do is give Rob a hug. This poor kid went through so much and watching him learn how to express and process it made me feel for him. Besides that, I love how Kemmerer brought up the serious gray issues in morality, and how there are many ways to look at the same problem. I loved this book and I am so glad I picked it up.

I didn’t expect a family drama but it really was a great one. Both Rob and Maegan have so much on their plate and the way they try to get through each day was very realistic. The discussion of not everything being black and white was truly remarkable. 
I didn’t find this story extraordinary or anything but it was quite enjoyable.

laura

* I got this book for review from my honest thoughts*
This book was super compelling and emotional read. I really grew attached to not only the main character and was so invested in POV. I also grew to really enjoy the various side characters that we met. I also really enjoyed this book focused on male friendships and how complex those relationships can be. I see so many books focusing on female friendships but this was refereshing read. This book was super emotional and I really was captured from page one. I really thought this book tackled so many harder issues and just made it compelling read that did not make it choppy to read. I really am excited to see what happens in future books in this series and who those books will focus on.

Sophie Elaina 

Call It What You Want is the fourth book that I've read from Brigid Kemmerer. I first fell in love with her writing style in Letters To The Lost. That was the first contemporary that I honestly thoroughly enjoyed but, before that the contemporary genre was a mystery to me. And since then I've vowed to pick up everyone of her new releases and she has done me no wrong so far, this book being no exception to that. Kemmerer just knows how to suck you in and make you care for her characters so much that it hurts. That's what made this this story in particular even more heart wrenching. There are a number of contemporary authors that could write a story like this and write it well, but it would never feel like this book feels. 

Call It What You Want follows two teens who are currently struggling through hard home-life situations and who have both been seemingly isolated by their classmates due to other circumstances. And so when they are forced into being partners for a school project they are also forced to learn more about each other and that everything isn't always what it looks like on the outside. From there they slowly begin to earn each others trust. 

I absolutely adored the set up of this plot. One of my favourite tropes that I love is characters being put in a situation where they are forced to work together even though they don't really want to. It is the perfect set up of a not necessarily hate to love but definitely dislike/indifference to love. Which I find is more realistic and enjoyable when it comes to contemporary. These characters in particular really find a trusting friendship with each other first which I thought was great and meant for a more slow-burn romance to really get the feels going. And damn were there feels!

However I really enjoyed how much focus of the story was based on the characters home-situations and school life. It wasn't just a light-hearted romance. It had deep points of importance and as a whole was a hard-hitting story that I won't forget. Also there was a fair amount of excitement and gasp worthy moments, which made this rather addicting to read and also meant that I finished it in less than a day. Although the one thing that annoyed me a little was that the ending was wrapped up a little too quickly for my liking, but of course that didn't take away from the story at all, it's just a personal preference.

My last point is that the book also confronts important topics about judging people and also shows how easily it is to misunderstand what someone says or does. Therefor leading to the discussion of whether or not one mistake can define your life. And also the fact that even if you are brought up in a certain situation, that does not mean you have to follow in your parents footsteps. Everyone is their own self and the only expectations you should care for are your own.

As always Brigid Kemmerer blew me away with this latest release and am so very excited to read more from her in the future.

(Advance review copy provided by Bloomsbury in exchange for my honest thoughts.)

4.5 Stars!

My blog: https://www.sophieelaina.com/

Becky Clark

I read this in one sitting. It was so captivating and an amazing storyline that had me hooked from the beginning. It is a lovely read to get yourself out a reading slump.

Mehrin Rahman 

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗’𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎.

𝙄𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙨?
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I’m gonna need Brigid Kemmerer to never stop writing her contemporaries. Her stories fill my soul right up. She writes about teenage angst in such a way that is so pure and relatable. She puts her characters through hell but the growth they are able to achieve is truly a beautiful thing. It tackles really important topics for teens, such as loneliness, taking on/feeling the burdens of your parents, the cost of a mistake, and what it means to be a true friend. I could really relate to this on so many different levels.
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This story deals with the idea of learning to forgive yourself; of not letting one mistake define who you are. I think a lot of us should be reminded of that. Be kind to yourself. After all we all are human, we all make mistakes and it’s okay to let go of that and move forward.
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This was such an intense and heart aching read with such wonderfully flawed and beautiful characters that are alive on those pages. Even though Rob and Maegan had their complications, they were so sweet and pure. My heart went out to Rob. He broke me in all sorts of ways, and there was a lot of weight to what he was dealing. Maegan was the nerdy relatable girl who quickly won my love. She has a steadfast streak and doesn’t get pushed around. Her character felt very real to me. The friendships here were beautifully brought about. And I loved the sisterhood between Maegan and Sam- they cast off their judgemental views of each other and truly get to know one another for who they really are.
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All in all the ending was the perfect mix of heartbreak and satisfying roundedness that I just want melt into this book. These characters aren’t healed. But they are on their way to carving their own path after having been beaten down and harshly and unfairly judged.
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Ps. I feel like I had to use An Ember In The Ashes in this picture. The story contains a huge spoiler from the very first book. I just loved how casually Brigid brought the topic of Ember in her story. 
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Aubrey Erskine

For the full review visit my blog:
 http://shelflifechronicles.com/2019/0...

I am so impressed with Brigid Kemmerer. There has been a ton of buzz about Call It What You Want which seemed a bit odd because it's a contemporary, and as much as I love that genre unless it's a Dessen or West novel I never hear too much on new releases in that genre. I had no idea that Kemmerer had also written and just released A Curse So Dark and Lonely earlier this year! So two books in one year and in completely different genres was super impressive so I had to check it out. No regrets. I was all in my feels.

Shannon Jade

https://shannonajade.wixsite.com/book...

I got this book in the July Midnight Pages Crate, and it's brilliant! The characters and the story feel real and like they matter. Read my full review on my blog (linked above).

Manon van Heumen

This book gets 5 stars solely for the fact that Brigid used all these YA books in her story and I'm in love. Oh, also: good plot, loveable characters and great writing style. I devoured this. Go read it.

Liz Griffin

Holy cow! I can barely put into words how much I enjoyed this book and think it should be the gold standard for writing. Rob, Maegan, Sam, Owen, and so many of the other characters are so rich and realistically flawed and ALIVE. I felt like they were real people, more than just characters. Kemmerer also masterfully handles the relationship growth! Nothing felt forced or false. I was completely invested. 5/5 stars doesn’t feel sufficient.

Chloe &
Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer

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