Release Date: March 20, 2018
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Source: ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Source: ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
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Felicity meets Fangirl in this contemporary novel about a young woman who must leave behind her fantasy life—inspired by her favorite WB show from the 1990s—and create a real one at college.
Caroline Sands has never been particularly good at making friends. And her parents’ divorce and the move to Arizona three years ago didn’t help. Being the new girl is hard enough without being socially awkward too. So out of desperation and a desire to please her worried mother, Caroline invented a whole life for herself—using characters from Felicity, an old show she discovered online and fell in love with.
But now it’s time for Caroline to go off to college and she wants nothing more than to leave her old “life” behind and build something real. However, when her mother discovers the truth about her manufactured friends, she gives Caroline an ultimatum: Prove in this first semester that she can make friends of the nonfictional variety and thrive in a new environment. Otherwise, it’s back to living at home—and a lot of therapy.
Armed with nothing more than her resolve and a Felicity-inspired plan, Caroline accepts the challenge. But she soon realizes that the real world is rarely as simple as television makes it out to be. And to find a place where she truly belongs, Caroline may have to abandon her script and take the risk of being herself.
Review:
Between 2017 and now I've been seeing more and more books featuring a college setting, and I couldn't be any happier. I wish they were around four years ago when I was starting my freshmen year!
Finding Felicity is quirky and heartwarming. Stacey Kade perfectly captures the feeling of not only freshmen year but also starting anew.
When Finding Felicity first begins we're quickly let in on Caroline's big secret: she's created a fake friend group inspired by the old 90s show Felicity to appease her mother. It started innocently enough - her mom was upset that she wasn't fitting in at her new school - but over the last few years it's morphed into something huge: one big fat lie Caroline was hoping she could run away from once she started college.
I think everyone has felt like Caroline at some point in their lives: feeling the need to reinvent yourself because you don't particularly like who you are. Caroline's always been the quiet girl, the girl most like to fall into the background. Sure, she has acquaintances and club-friends, but she's never found her "group," her second family. As someone who took a while to find their friend group as well, I could definitely relate to that area of her life. Sometimes it's hard to find people you click with, especially when you're in a new setting, and while most of us don't got to Caroline's lengths of reinvention, I feel like readers will definitely be able to relate and understand her overall feelings as well as actions. Additionally, I loved seeing Caroline slowly grow comfortable in her own skin - making friends, engaging in those horrible orientation ice breakers (they still give me the chills to think about four years later!), experiencing her first frat party, and, most importantly, finding comfort in the unknown and unexpected. It had me reminiscing back to my freshmen year of college, and given the realistic feel, I think it will give college bound readers a tease of what's to come.
In addition to Caroline, a wide variety of other characters were introduced. I found the majority of them to be lovable (with the exception of Caroline's long-time crush who was a jerk), and I enjoyed getting to know them. Out of the bunch, Lexi, Caroline's moody roommate, was my favorite. At first I didn't know what to make of Lexi. She was such a wild card, and not a very nice one at that; however, over the course of the book, she truly grew on me. Like Caroline, she's trying to find her place as well after a tumultuous year, and once again I found her story and voice relatable as well as realistic.
Finding Felicity is more of a character-driven novel than action-driven, but never once was I bored, or wanting to put the book down for long periods of time. The exact opposite in fact - I read this book in one sitting! As I've mentioned before, I loved Felicity's coming of age. It drove the book at a nice speed, and once again, I felt that the college setting was well constructed as well. While I do wish it would've been a little longer - I felt that the ending came way too soon but then again I wasn't quite read to let go of Caroline and her friends just yet - and even a tad more developed (more info about her friends, her relationship with her parents, etc.) I was happy overall.
Overall, Finding Felicity is a heartwarming tale of one girl's new start featuring the good, the bad, and the oh-so-awkaward parts of freshmen year. I can't wait to read more by Stacey!
Last but not least: you don't need to have watched Felicity to understand the book completely. Caroline does a great job of summarizing the key points, and as someone who has never watched the TV show, I wasn't lost one bit.
4 stars!!
About the Author:
Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | TumblrThe daughter of a minister and a music teacher, Stacey Kade grew up reading Harlequin romances on the sly in the basement. Kade is the author of two young adult series (The Ghost and Goth trilogy and the Project Paper Doll series). Her first adult contemporary romance, 738 DAYS, was released earlier this year.Prior to writing full time, Kade worked as an award-winning copywriter for several Fortune 500 companies. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, Greg, and their two retired racing greyhounds.
Giveaway
Prize: 1 finished copy of FINDING FELICITY by Stacey Kade
Starts: 3/14
Ends: 3/29
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I really enjoyed this book. I connected to Caroline on so many levels and the Felicity references were gravy for me. Great review.
ReplyDeleteYAY!!! So glad you liked this one!! And ice breakers, right?? They're on the same level as baby/wedding shower games to me. Torture. Anyway, I definitely found myself relating to Caroline as well-- even though I would never do half of the stuff she does to reinvent myself. But I know what it's like to go to college and not find my place right away. I especially loved that Liam didn't find his place immediately either!! Even if he did turn out to be a dick, it still made me feel better to know someone who is a lot better at social stuff than me even has struggles!! Great review!!! Thanks for being on the tour!!
ReplyDeleteThis looks interested! I never watched Felicity myself, but it's a neat premise.
ReplyDelete