Review: Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer
SYNOPSIS:
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…
This captivating, heartfelt novel asks the question: Is it okay to do something wrong for the right reasons?
REVIEW:
*Book Received In Exchange for Honest Opinion/Review*
This book wrecked me in the most beautiful way. D*mn I am having a lot of feels right now. Emotionally complex, rich characters with troublesome pasts, make for a breathtaking story. This book is so much more than a contemporary teen romance, its a coming of age story where the characters learn that life isn’t black and white and every action has consequences…honestly I am still reeling.
Rob and Maegan are the two broken characters I want to find solace in each other. While Rob has been shunned for crimes his father has committed, Maegan is carrying the guilt of cheating on the SATs and being a constant disappoint to her parents. Two socially isolated misfits come together for a calculus project that turns into friendship and eventually so much more. But what I loved about their relationship is that both of these characters came into themselves on the journey. Rob learned to trust people again, and realized that it’s okay to miss your father as a parent. Maegan found her voice and stopped feeling like a failure.
But the resonating theme that Brigid captures so elegantly is that one mistake doesn’t define your life. A message that resonated with Rob and Maegan but will also resonate with anyone who picks up this book. It’s such a simple message but so difficult to execute.
The secondary characters truly made this story, as if all the secrets and drama aren’t enough, you have the typical high school nuances playing out too. The social hierarchies, the fall outs, the teachers (both supportive and not), all contribute to a more compelling story line that had me swooning, cheering and loving every page of this book. I cannot recommend this story enough…now just to patiently wait until Brigid’s next release.
LINKS:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
