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Just Friends
A new spin on the classic smart-girl-and-bad-boy setup, this witty contemporary romance shows how easily a friendship – even one built on an elaborate lie – can become so much more.
Jenny meets Chance for the very first time when she is assigned as his partner in their Junior Oral Communications class. But after they rescue a doomed assignment with one clever lie, the whole school is suddenly convinced that Little-Miss-Really-Likes-Having-A’s and the most scandalous heartbreaker in school have been best friends forever. It’s amazing how quickly a lie can grow―especially when you really, really want it to be the truth.
With Jenny, Chance can live the normal life he’s always kind of wanted. And with Chance, Jenny can have the exciting teen experiences that TV shows and movies have always promised. Through it all, they hold on to the fact that they are “just friends.” But that might be the biggest lie of all.
Debut author Tiffany Pitcock delivers a spot-on depiction of first love and the high school rumor mill in Just Friends, chosen by readers like you for Macmillan's young adult imprint Swoon Reads.
Jenny meets Chance for the very first time when she is assigned as his partner in their Junior Oral Communications class. But after they rescue a doomed assignment with one clever lie, the whole school is suddenly convinced that Little-Miss-Really-Likes-Having-A’s and the most scandalous heartbreaker in school have been best friends forever. It’s amazing how quickly a lie can grow―especially when you really, really want it to be the truth.
With Jenny, Chance can live the normal life he’s always kind of wanted. And with Chance, Jenny can have the exciting teen experiences that TV shows and movies have always promised. Through it all, they hold on to the fact that they are “just friends.” But that might be the biggest lie of all.
Debut author Tiffany Pitcock delivers a spot-on depiction of first love and the high school rumor mill in Just Friends, chosen by readers like you for Macmillan's young adult imprint Swoon Reads.
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2017
183 people are currently reading
8211 people want to read
About the author
Tiffany Pitcock
1 book127 followersTiffany Pitcock is a young writer from Benton, Ar. She studied English at Henderson State University, but has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. Besides reading, she is a fan of cats, staying indoors, and tv dramas.
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November 19, 2017
DNF @pg 150
*throws up*
*whispers:* the......cRINGE
*dies*
rant to come oh my god, I literally want to die more than I've ever wanted to die before.
*throws up*
*whispers:* the......cRINGE
*dies*
rant to come oh my god, I literally want to die more than I've ever wanted to die before.
August 2, 2017
You can read this review and others on my blog, arctic books.
JUST FRIENDS had been on my radar for a while, and I thought I was going into a fluffy, fun, and cute contemporary. While there were some aspects of my expectations present within the novel, I found that many details in this book made me very wary.
The plot revolves around Jenny, who, on the first day of school, suddenly becomes project partners with Chase, who suggests that they make up a story to tell the class. They are so in sync that everyone believes that they have best friends forever. This lie, as suggested by the tagline, turns into so much more—they become closer than ever, revealing many secrets about their family life and various romantic trysts, or lack thereof. While these secrets were drama-filled, these aspects did not capture my attention as much, since the plot was less focused on these issues than it was towards Jenny and Chase’s relationship. Things take a turn when Jenny and Chase convince themselves that they are not in love with each other, and Jenny starts dating Drake, another popular boy.
I found Drake and Jenny’s relationship to be incredibly dangerous. Here’s pictures taken from my ARC, illustrating a sexual event between the two. [I don't know how to imbed photos in my review so check out my my blog post to see the pictures.]
Here are are a few quotes that stood out to me:
- “You give me nothing, Jenny.” This is incredibly harmful behavior to be depicting towards an audience that is largely comprised of impressionable young teenagers. Just a reminder, YOU DON’T FUCKING OWE ANYONE, NOT EVEN A SIGNIFICANT OTHER, SEX. YOU DON’T HAVE TO GIVE ANYONE ANYTHING. I’m incredibly disappointed that this kind of manipulative language is present in this novel, especially regarding sex.
- “Like with kissing, the thought of sex had never really interested her much. It was something some people did and others didn’t.” If sex didn’t interest Jenny that much, why is she being written to have sex with Drake? Especially when Drake was being manipulative and suggesting that she owed him sex??? There’s another part in the novel where Jenny mentions how sex wasn’t really in her radar, which, again, stood out to me very much. I feel like there’s a possibility that Jenny is asexual or demisexual, especially with these proclamations, but unfortunately, this was not explored within the context in this novel.
- “If he was ready… then so was she.” UMMMMMM NO, THIS IS NOT HOW SEX WORKS. Your partner being ready for and wanting sex does not automatically mean that you have to be ready for them. This kind of depiction of sex is so, so harmful and wrong.
- The only positive I see from this encounter was the explicit consent. However, I feel like in this context, it would have been much more meaningful if it wasn’t written in such a manipulative way. You can read why I think consent is important within YA novels here.
I thought this book had so much potential to be fun, but it falls into some several cliché traps — which can be enjoyable, if done well! — that didn’t wrap up as nicely as I would have liked. What’s going on with Chase’s family? Will his family ever be reconciled? How are Jenny’s mom and her new boyfriend’s relationship? Do we get some closure for other characters’ arcs or is this novel solely focused upon Jenny and Chase? If it’s the latter, what’s the point in bringing up these familial issues without resolving them?
I am incredibly wary to be recommending this book to young teens and readers in general due to the problematic behavior and the pushing of a character to have sex when I think it was wholly unnecessary. I find that JUST FRIENDS sends some potentially harmful messages regarding personal boundaries and sex. Overall, I found this contemporary romance to be nothing of the sweet, romantic Wattpad-esque story I was expecting, but a book of which to be potentially wary.
Thank you to Macmillan / Swoon Reads for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
JUST FRIENDS had been on my radar for a while, and I thought I was going into a fluffy, fun, and cute contemporary. While there were some aspects of my expectations present within the novel, I found that many details in this book made me very wary.
The plot revolves around Jenny, who, on the first day of school, suddenly becomes project partners with Chase, who suggests that they make up a story to tell the class. They are so in sync that everyone believes that they have best friends forever. This lie, as suggested by the tagline, turns into so much more—they become closer than ever, revealing many secrets about their family life and various romantic trysts, or lack thereof. While these secrets were drama-filled, these aspects did not capture my attention as much, since the plot was less focused on these issues than it was towards Jenny and Chase’s relationship. Things take a turn when Jenny and Chase convince themselves that they are not in love with each other, and Jenny starts dating Drake, another popular boy.
I found Drake and Jenny’s relationship to be incredibly dangerous. Here’s pictures taken from my ARC, illustrating a sexual event between the two. [I don't know how to imbed photos in my review so check out my my blog post to see the pictures.]
Here are are a few quotes that stood out to me:
- “You give me nothing, Jenny.” This is incredibly harmful behavior to be depicting towards an audience that is largely comprised of impressionable young teenagers. Just a reminder, YOU DON’T FUCKING OWE ANYONE, NOT EVEN A SIGNIFICANT OTHER, SEX. YOU DON’T HAVE TO GIVE ANYONE ANYTHING. I’m incredibly disappointed that this kind of manipulative language is present in this novel, especially regarding sex.
- “Like with kissing, the thought of sex had never really interested her much. It was something some people did and others didn’t.” If sex didn’t interest Jenny that much, why is she being written to have sex with Drake? Especially when Drake was being manipulative and suggesting that she owed him sex??? There’s another part in the novel where Jenny mentions how sex wasn’t really in her radar, which, again, stood out to me very much. I feel like there’s a possibility that Jenny is asexual or demisexual, especially with these proclamations, but unfortunately, this was not explored within the context in this novel.
- “If he was ready… then so was she.” UMMMMMM NO, THIS IS NOT HOW SEX WORKS. Your partner being ready for and wanting sex does not automatically mean that you have to be ready for them. This kind of depiction of sex is so, so harmful and wrong.
- The only positive I see from this encounter was the explicit consent. However, I feel like in this context, it would have been much more meaningful if it wasn’t written in such a manipulative way. You can read why I think consent is important within YA novels here.
I thought this book had so much potential to be fun, but it falls into some several cliché traps — which can be enjoyable, if done well! — that didn’t wrap up as nicely as I would have liked. What’s going on with Chase’s family? Will his family ever be reconciled? How are Jenny’s mom and her new boyfriend’s relationship? Do we get some closure for other characters’ arcs or is this novel solely focused upon Jenny and Chase? If it’s the latter, what’s the point in bringing up these familial issues without resolving them?
I am incredibly wary to be recommending this book to young teens and readers in general due to the problematic behavior and the pushing of a character to have sex when I think it was wholly unnecessary. I find that JUST FRIENDS sends some potentially harmful messages regarding personal boundaries and sex. Overall, I found this contemporary romance to be nothing of the sweet, romantic Wattpad-esque story I was expecting, but a book of which to be potentially wary.
Thank you to Macmillan / Swoon Reads for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
July 29, 2017
Noooooooooooot for me. I'm sure others will love it but this novel is one of the reasons why I typically don't do YA contemporary.
***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***
Just Friends by Tiffany Pitcock
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Publication Date: August 1, 2017
Rating: 1 star
Source: ARC sent by the publisher
Summary (from Goodreads):
A new spin on the classic smart-girl-and-bad-boy setup, this witty contemporary romance shows how easily a friendship – even one built on an elaborate lie – can become so much more.
Jenny meets Chance for the very first time when she is assigned as his partner in their Junior Oral Communications class. But after they rescue a doomed assignment with one clever lie, the whole school is suddenly convinced that Little-Miss-Really-Likes-Having-A’s and the most scandalous heartbreaker in school have been best friends forever. It’s amazing how quickly a lie can grow―especially when you really, really want it to be the truth.
With Jenny, Chance can live the normal life he’s always kind of wanted. And with Chance, Jenny can have the exciting teen experiences that TV shows and movies have always promised. Through it all, they hold on to the fact that they are “just friends.” But that might be the biggest lie of all.
Debut author Tiffany Pitcock delivers a spot-on depiction of first love and the high school rumor mill in Just Friends, chosen by readers like you for Macmillan's young adult imprint Swoon Reads.
What I Liked:
This is one of those times in which I feel so bad for giving the book a poor rating. I am not a YA contemporary fan but I thought for sure that I would enjoy this book. I love the bad boy/good girl trope, and I love the friends-to-lovers trope. You all know me and romance - I adore romance - and with those two romance tropes in this book, I thought this would be a great book for me. This was not the case.
The book started off just fine though. Jenny and Chance were never friends or acquaintances, but they are classmates. On the first day of the new school year, Jenny and Chance are paired in an icebreaker assignment, to interview each other about one thing they did over the summer and share the interviews to the class. Chance comes up with the brilliant idea to pretend that he and Jenny have been childhood friends since they were little. It works! Suddenly everyone thinks they have been best friends (even though they never acted like they even knew each other before that day). It almost makes sense - the most charming, popular, wanted boy in cool, friends with the quiet, innocent, nerdy, unpopular girl. But both Jenny and Chance start to develop feelings for each other - and they hide those feelings, because they each think the other doesn't feel the same way. What follows is a story of heartbreak and comfort, with humor and a little bit of swoon.
I liked Chance, though I wasn't really understanding how he is classified as a "bad boy" (I'll explore that thought below). He is going through a lot at home, and my heart hurt for him. The adults in his life are terrible people. It's no wonder he held on to his and Jenny's fake (turned real) best friends status. He needed comfort in his lonely world, despite being such a popular and well-liked guy. He has a reputation for being popular with the ladies, but he is honest and upfront about things. Except telling Jenny how he feels about her.
Jenny... I liked her at first, but grew to dislike her a little. Which then made me feel conflicted because she didn't technically do anything "wrong". More on that below. I liked Jenny when she was sweet and naive - not when she was trying to fool herself of this or that.
The ending was a happily-ever-after for Chance and Jenny, which I loved.
What I Did Not Like:
Honestly I think most people who enjoy YA contemporary will love this book (maybe). I didn't, and that's fine, but I don't think my dislike of the book will be a general thing.
My biggest issue was the romance, and Jenny (well, that's two issues). I hated the romance. Jenny and Chance are literally "just friends" or the entire book (until the very last few pages). Now, this wouldn't be so bad except for two things: (1) they fall for each other early on (and want to be with the other), and (2) Jenny starts dating someone else.
You're probably like, whaaaaaat????
Let me explain (and be aware, you might consider these spoilers). Jenny realizes that she has a crush on her new best friend fairly early on. They actually kiss - Jenny has never kissed anyone, and Chance dared her to kiss him. After the kiss, the next day, Jenny starts dating someone else. But even just before the kiss, Jenny knows she likes Chance a lot. After the kiss, she really wants to be with him. For Chance, after the kiss, he realizes that he wants to ask Jenny out and be together. And yet, the next day, Jenny blows a thing out of proportion, and agrees to go on a date with this other guy. A guy that she doesn't really like.
This is when I started to hate Jenny. She has never kissed a boy (until that dare with Chance), or went on a date, or had sex, etc. So when Drake asks her on a date, she says yes. And she goes on more dates with him. And eventually has sex with him (it seems like multiple times - they are boyfriend/girlfriend and very serious, for much of the second half of the book). Nothing is particularly wrong with this EXCEPT that Jenny is deluding herself. She is so stuck on trying to have the perfect relationship, be the perfect girlfriend, and check all of these boxes to say that she has done them. She thinks she cares about Drake but she doesn't. She's with him but thinking of Chance. She is Drake's girlfriend but she wants Chance, leans on Chance, thinks about Chance.
Do you see why I hated this book, the romance, and Jenny? I hate people who fool themselves. I hate people who want this one thing so badly, they don't care who they hurt in the process (in this case, both Chance and Drake). It's not like Jenny is trying to hurt anyone on purpose - she is too naive to realize that (1) Chance is in love with her, and (2) she is fooling herself into thinking that she must be in a relationship with Drake.
It's so fake. And I couldn't stand it.
I hated seeing Chance pine from a distance. And yet he was always there for Jenny, every step of the way. Jenny is an awful girlfriend and an even worse friend. Chance has so many negativity going on at home, and Jenny often puts his problems last. Again, she is so focused on checking off this box and that box. She is a terrible friend to Chance. And a terrible girlfriend, for constantly thinking about another boy, and for (unknowingly) stringing Drake along.
Also? I don't condone Jenny hitting Chance. Violence (whether girl-on-guy, guy-on-girl, guy-on-guy, girl-on-girl) really isn't something to promote. Chance gets into a legit fight with Drake and seriously? That was so cliche and disgusting. Can we not. I went through four years of high school and a grand total of fourteen years of public school, and I never saw any two people fighting over a girl (or guy). Can. We. Not.
So. Love triangle, emotional cheating (on Jenny's part), messy drama (when Drake and Jenny break up). Don't misunderstand - Jenny never cheats on Drake with Chance. Chance never cheats on anybody because he never dates Jenny or anyone in this book (he goes out with a lot of girls, but he never dates, until the very end with Jenny). Jenny likes to judge Chance for all of his "relationships" with all of the girls, but she has no right. If she had wanted to be with him so badly, she should have spoken up. She should have asked him out. She should have told him how she felt. Instead, she misunderstood one thing, ran away like a coward, and wasted months of time with a boy she didn't like, and felt pressured to have sex with. That part drove me crazy! She was so stingy about her virginity in the beginning of the book, and then when she and Drake have a big argument, she throws her virginity out of the window in order to convince him that she wants him. Spoiler alert: she wants the idea of him (a boyfriend). What a waste.
Look, y'all. I don't really care if the heroine has sex with 5453454 guys. (Well, I would care if she is having sex with them WHILE dating the hero.) Sex positivity is a good thing, in YA and in general. I'm not a fan of heroines who throw away their virginity or have sex for a stupid reason or use sex to manipulate someone. I'm not a fan of the fact that Jenny deliberately started (seriously) dating someone when she was totally in love with Chance and thought about being with him, while she was with the other guy. That's wrong.
I mentioned how I wasn't really sure how Chance fit the "bad boy" trope -- I mean, I guess the "bad" aspect of him is that he sleeps around a lot? Is that really a "bad" thing? I'm not saying we should give him a medal or something, but when I think of a "bad boy" in YA, I think of smoking, drinking, tattoos, motorcycles, gangs, maybe even drugs and petty theft. (Don't get me wrong; tattoos aren't really a bad thing. But they are definitely illegal for anyone under eighteen.)
The more I think about this book, the less I like it.
Would I Recommend It:
I don't recommend this book. I started off with a 2-star rating, and then bumped it down to 1 star. This isn't a contemporary novel for me and even though I am not a huge fan of YA contemporary, I could list you at least a dozen better YA contemporary novels with solid, healthy, good romances worth reading. This book was not one in which I could root for the heroine. The hero, yes, I couldn't blame him for very much. (I know there may be people coming after me to say, "boys are never blamed for anything!". Trust me. This one's on Jenny.)
Rating:
1 star. Too many issues with the romance for me. And I started to dislike Jenny and her ridiculous decisions. Yes, I know, Jenny is a teenager and teenagers make stupid decision. Y'all, I'm 22, and even if I had read this book three, or four, or five years ago, my opinion wouldn't have changed. I so wanted to love this book, and I feel bad for rating it as low as I am, but it is what it is.
***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***
Just Friends by Tiffany Pitcock
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Publication Date: August 1, 2017
Rating: 1 star
Source: ARC sent by the publisher
Summary (from Goodreads):
A new spin on the classic smart-girl-and-bad-boy setup, this witty contemporary romance shows how easily a friendship – even one built on an elaborate lie – can become so much more.
Jenny meets Chance for the very first time when she is assigned as his partner in their Junior Oral Communications class. But after they rescue a doomed assignment with one clever lie, the whole school is suddenly convinced that Little-Miss-Really-Likes-Having-A’s and the most scandalous heartbreaker in school have been best friends forever. It’s amazing how quickly a lie can grow―especially when you really, really want it to be the truth.
With Jenny, Chance can live the normal life he’s always kind of wanted. And with Chance, Jenny can have the exciting teen experiences that TV shows and movies have always promised. Through it all, they hold on to the fact that they are “just friends.” But that might be the biggest lie of all.
Debut author Tiffany Pitcock delivers a spot-on depiction of first love and the high school rumor mill in Just Friends, chosen by readers like you for Macmillan's young adult imprint Swoon Reads.
What I Liked:
This is one of those times in which I feel so bad for giving the book a poor rating. I am not a YA contemporary fan but I thought for sure that I would enjoy this book. I love the bad boy/good girl trope, and I love the friends-to-lovers trope. You all know me and romance - I adore romance - and with those two romance tropes in this book, I thought this would be a great book for me. This was not the case.
The book started off just fine though. Jenny and Chance were never friends or acquaintances, but they are classmates. On the first day of the new school year, Jenny and Chance are paired in an icebreaker assignment, to interview each other about one thing they did over the summer and share the interviews to the class. Chance comes up with the brilliant idea to pretend that he and Jenny have been childhood friends since they were little. It works! Suddenly everyone thinks they have been best friends (even though they never acted like they even knew each other before that day). It almost makes sense - the most charming, popular, wanted boy in cool, friends with the quiet, innocent, nerdy, unpopular girl. But both Jenny and Chance start to develop feelings for each other - and they hide those feelings, because they each think the other doesn't feel the same way. What follows is a story of heartbreak and comfort, with humor and a little bit of swoon.
I liked Chance, though I wasn't really understanding how he is classified as a "bad boy" (I'll explore that thought below). He is going through a lot at home, and my heart hurt for him. The adults in his life are terrible people. It's no wonder he held on to his and Jenny's fake (turned real) best friends status. He needed comfort in his lonely world, despite being such a popular and well-liked guy. He has a reputation for being popular with the ladies, but he is honest and upfront about things. Except telling Jenny how he feels about her.
Jenny... I liked her at first, but grew to dislike her a little. Which then made me feel conflicted because she didn't technically do anything "wrong". More on that below. I liked Jenny when she was sweet and naive - not when she was trying to fool herself of this or that.
The ending was a happily-ever-after for Chance and Jenny, which I loved.
What I Did Not Like:
Honestly I think most people who enjoy YA contemporary will love this book (maybe). I didn't, and that's fine, but I don't think my dislike of the book will be a general thing.
My biggest issue was the romance, and Jenny (well, that's two issues). I hated the romance. Jenny and Chance are literally "just friends" or the entire book (until the very last few pages). Now, this wouldn't be so bad except for two things: (1) they fall for each other early on (and want to be with the other), and (2) Jenny starts dating someone else.
You're probably like, whaaaaaat????
Let me explain (and be aware, you might consider these spoilers). Jenny realizes that she has a crush on her new best friend fairly early on. They actually kiss - Jenny has never kissed anyone, and Chance dared her to kiss him. After the kiss, the next day, Jenny starts dating someone else. But even just before the kiss, Jenny knows she likes Chance a lot. After the kiss, she really wants to be with him. For Chance, after the kiss, he realizes that he wants to ask Jenny out and be together. And yet, the next day, Jenny blows a thing out of proportion, and agrees to go on a date with this other guy. A guy that she doesn't really like.
This is when I started to hate Jenny. She has never kissed a boy (until that dare with Chance), or went on a date, or had sex, etc. So when Drake asks her on a date, she says yes. And she goes on more dates with him. And eventually has sex with him (it seems like multiple times - they are boyfriend/girlfriend and very serious, for much of the second half of the book). Nothing is particularly wrong with this EXCEPT that Jenny is deluding herself. She is so stuck on trying to have the perfect relationship, be the perfect girlfriend, and check all of these boxes to say that she has done them. She thinks she cares about Drake but she doesn't. She's with him but thinking of Chance. She is Drake's girlfriend but she wants Chance, leans on Chance, thinks about Chance.
Do you see why I hated this book, the romance, and Jenny? I hate people who fool themselves. I hate people who want this one thing so badly, they don't care who they hurt in the process (in this case, both Chance and Drake). It's not like Jenny is trying to hurt anyone on purpose - she is too naive to realize that (1) Chance is in love with her, and (2) she is fooling herself into thinking that she must be in a relationship with Drake.
It's so fake. And I couldn't stand it.
I hated seeing Chance pine from a distance. And yet he was always there for Jenny, every step of the way. Jenny is an awful girlfriend and an even worse friend. Chance has so many negativity going on at home, and Jenny often puts his problems last. Again, she is so focused on checking off this box and that box. She is a terrible friend to Chance. And a terrible girlfriend, for constantly thinking about another boy, and for (unknowingly) stringing Drake along.
Also? I don't condone Jenny hitting Chance. Violence (whether girl-on-guy, guy-on-girl, guy-on-guy, girl-on-girl) really isn't something to promote. Chance gets into a legit fight with Drake and seriously? That was so cliche and disgusting. Can we not. I went through four years of high school and a grand total of fourteen years of public school, and I never saw any two people fighting over a girl (or guy). Can. We. Not.
So. Love triangle, emotional cheating (on Jenny's part), messy drama (when Drake and Jenny break up). Don't misunderstand - Jenny never cheats on Drake with Chance. Chance never cheats on anybody because he never dates Jenny or anyone in this book (he goes out with a lot of girls, but he never dates, until the very end with Jenny). Jenny likes to judge Chance for all of his "relationships" with all of the girls, but she has no right. If she had wanted to be with him so badly, she should have spoken up. She should have asked him out. She should have told him how she felt. Instead, she misunderstood one thing, ran away like a coward, and wasted months of time with a boy she didn't like, and felt pressured to have sex with. That part drove me crazy! She was so stingy about her virginity in the beginning of the book, and then when she and Drake have a big argument, she throws her virginity out of the window in order to convince him that she wants him. Spoiler alert: she wants the idea of him (a boyfriend). What a waste.
Look, y'all. I don't really care if the heroine has sex with 5453454 guys. (Well, I would care if she is having sex with them WHILE dating the hero.) Sex positivity is a good thing, in YA and in general. I'm not a fan of heroines who throw away their virginity or have sex for a stupid reason or use sex to manipulate someone. I'm not a fan of the fact that Jenny deliberately started (seriously) dating someone when she was totally in love with Chance and thought about being with him, while she was with the other guy. That's wrong.
I mentioned how I wasn't really sure how Chance fit the "bad boy" trope -- I mean, I guess the "bad" aspect of him is that he sleeps around a lot? Is that really a "bad" thing? I'm not saying we should give him a medal or something, but when I think of a "bad boy" in YA, I think of smoking, drinking, tattoos, motorcycles, gangs, maybe even drugs and petty theft. (Don't get me wrong; tattoos aren't really a bad thing. But they are definitely illegal for anyone under eighteen.)
The more I think about this book, the less I like it.
Would I Recommend It:
I don't recommend this book. I started off with a 2-star rating, and then bumped it down to 1 star. This isn't a contemporary novel for me and even though I am not a huge fan of YA contemporary, I could list you at least a dozen better YA contemporary novels with solid, healthy, good romances worth reading. This book was not one in which I could root for the heroine. The hero, yes, I couldn't blame him for very much. (I know there may be people coming after me to say, "boys are never blamed for anything!". Trust me. This one's on Jenny.)
Rating:
1 star. Too many issues with the romance for me. And I started to dislike Jenny and her ridiculous decisions. Yes, I know, Jenny is a teenager and teenagers make stupid decision. Y'all, I'm 22, and even if I had read this book three, or four, or five years ago, my opinion wouldn't have changed. I so wanted to love this book, and I feel bad for rating it as low as I am, but it is what it is.
July 19, 2017
more like 3.5
My Thoughts:
I hate to say that I’m not going to have much to say about this book.
This story is about two completely opposite people. Jenny the stay-at-home book nerd who has built her reputation on getting A’s and can’t/won’t settle for anything less. Jenny doesn’t live, she goes through the emotions but never had any desire to do anything or try anything such as kiss a boy or date one.
Then there is Chance who thrives on his reputation as a “playboy” who doesn’t DO relationships or anything serious. He’s always about using his charm to get his way and just slide his way through school, not at all serious about it.
However, when Jenny and Chance are forced to work on a school assignment, the created a situation like none I’ve ever read before. The assignment was to get to know the other person and what they had done over the summer but since Jenny was boring and Chance was not school appropriate, so they decide to completely make up a false story about their lives together on the spot, and it works!
Afterward, they decide to just keep up the charade that they’ve known each other most of their lives and have been best friends! Well, things progress so where they have a difficult time remaining just friends.
Although the story is quite cute and fun I had some issues. Everything came on too fast it was unbelievable. They’ve been aware of each other for years but just over ONE silly assignment they decide to be best friends and literally hang out all the time and share very personal information and all that? Yeah, I don’t think so. Feeling and emotions call so easily and so fast for them. Here we have two VERY different people who had NOTHING to do with each other and somehow super quickly were able to trust and come together? nah, it didn’t work for me.
Overall it was a fun cute story something that would be cute if it were turned into a movie.
Sexual Content: moderate
Language: moderate/heavy
Drugs/Alcohol: moderate
Violence: moderate
Thank you to swoonreads for this ARC in exchange for an honest review
My Thoughts:
I hate to say that I’m not going to have much to say about this book.
This story is about two completely opposite people. Jenny the stay-at-home book nerd who has built her reputation on getting A’s and can’t/won’t settle for anything less. Jenny doesn’t live, she goes through the emotions but never had any desire to do anything or try anything such as kiss a boy or date one.
Then there is Chance who thrives on his reputation as a “playboy” who doesn’t DO relationships or anything serious. He’s always about using his charm to get his way and just slide his way through school, not at all serious about it.
However, when Jenny and Chance are forced to work on a school assignment, the created a situation like none I’ve ever read before. The assignment was to get to know the other person and what they had done over the summer but since Jenny was boring and Chance was not school appropriate, so they decide to completely make up a false story about their lives together on the spot, and it works!
Afterward, they decide to just keep up the charade that they’ve known each other most of their lives and have been best friends! Well, things progress so where they have a difficult time remaining just friends.
Although the story is quite cute and fun I had some issues. Everything came on too fast it was unbelievable. They’ve been aware of each other for years but just over ONE silly assignment they decide to be best friends and literally hang out all the time and share very personal information and all that? Yeah, I don’t think so. Feeling and emotions call so easily and so fast for them. Here we have two VERY different people who had NOTHING to do with each other and somehow super quickly were able to trust and come together? nah, it didn’t work for me.
Overall it was a fun cute story something that would be cute if it were turned into a movie.
Sexual Content: moderate
Language: moderate/heavy
Drugs/Alcohol: moderate
Violence: moderate
Thank you to swoonreads for this ARC in exchange for an honest review
July 14, 2017
Jenny and Chase are hilariously adorable. This is the perfect book about high school relationships.
Jenny is the nice, quiet girl. She doesn’t like opening up to people and would rather stay at home and read her book than socialize. When Chase is assigned as her partner, the two make up a lie that they have been friends for years, in order to get a good grade. As the school starts to believe their lie, Jenny and Chase continue being “fake” friends, until their friendship turns real, and they realize they may have needed one another for a very long time.
This book was the perfect romance story. First let me start off by saying, no this book is not insta-love. Yes the two characters meet in the first chapter and they find each other somewhat attractive, but in the beginning they truly didn’t like one another and ended up falling love slowly. The other thing I loved about this romance, is that it was extremely realistic to real high school romances. The two characters meet, they don’t like each other at first but end up falling in love, they’re too afraid to tell each other and then the rumours begin, people talk and things happen that start to cause doubts in you relationship. This is the perfect representation of a high school romance, at least it is for when I was in high school, which was only 3 years ago…
I adore both Jenny and Chance so very much. Jenny is such a sweetheart. Watching her character development go from a stay-at-home book nerd to having a social life and dating one of the most popular guys in high school, was absolutely brilliant. She changed so much, but didn’t completely lose herself and become a different person, she definitely changed for the better. Chance is the typicall bad boy with a horrible home life, where you fall in love with him because you feel bad for him. He’s definitely a very strong character for putting up with so much in his home life, and watching his character develop, and him become more open to people and realize that he had no control over what happened to his parents and it wasn’t his fault was really wonderful. Not a lot of children with homes like these are able to make it out and become good people, so it was wonderful to see his story.
I found this book so engaging, that I read the whole thing in one sitting. There was definitely some action, but this book is mostly focused on Jenny and the relationships she has made with people. So, if you’re an action fan, you may find this book a tad broing, but if you’re in it for the romance (which btw would make wonderful summer read), then you will definitely love this book, I’ll even bet on it.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone in high school, as well as people looking for a cute romantic read or a short and sweet summer read. I guarantee you will fall in love with the wonderful characters, the charming romance and the realistic story.
Happy Reading,
Aneta
Jenny is the nice, quiet girl. She doesn’t like opening up to people and would rather stay at home and read her book than socialize. When Chase is assigned as her partner, the two make up a lie that they have been friends for years, in order to get a good grade. As the school starts to believe their lie, Jenny and Chase continue being “fake” friends, until their friendship turns real, and they realize they may have needed one another for a very long time.
This book was the perfect romance story. First let me start off by saying, no this book is not insta-love. Yes the two characters meet in the first chapter and they find each other somewhat attractive, but in the beginning they truly didn’t like one another and ended up falling love slowly. The other thing I loved about this romance, is that it was extremely realistic to real high school romances. The two characters meet, they don’t like each other at first but end up falling in love, they’re too afraid to tell each other and then the rumours begin, people talk and things happen that start to cause doubts in you relationship. This is the perfect representation of a high school romance, at least it is for when I was in high school, which was only 3 years ago…
I adore both Jenny and Chance so very much. Jenny is such a sweetheart. Watching her character development go from a stay-at-home book nerd to having a social life and dating one of the most popular guys in high school, was absolutely brilliant. She changed so much, but didn’t completely lose herself and become a different person, she definitely changed for the better. Chance is the typicall bad boy with a horrible home life, where you fall in love with him because you feel bad for him. He’s definitely a very strong character for putting up with so much in his home life, and watching his character develop, and him become more open to people and realize that he had no control over what happened to his parents and it wasn’t his fault was really wonderful. Not a lot of children with homes like these are able to make it out and become good people, so it was wonderful to see his story.
I found this book so engaging, that I read the whole thing in one sitting. There was definitely some action, but this book is mostly focused on Jenny and the relationships she has made with people. So, if you’re an action fan, you may find this book a tad broing, but if you’re in it for the romance (which btw would make wonderful summer read), then you will definitely love this book, I’ll even bet on it.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone in high school, as well as people looking for a cute romantic read or a short and sweet summer read. I guarantee you will fall in love with the wonderful characters, the charming romance and the realistic story.
Happy Reading,
Aneta
July 17, 2017
I loved the synopsis of this one and was quite eager to get to it.
I loved Jenny and Chance. They're so opposite that it works. Their banter and made up stories were perfect. Jenny's friend Kelsea was also fun. She was sarcastic and added a bit of levity.
Plot wise it was perfectly high school: drama and parties and hot boy singers and break ups and rumors and one amazing bake sale and dictionary fight. There was a bit of push and pull, but it worked. My only complaint is I would have liked a bit more from the ending. It seemed like all of the build up came to a grinding halt.
Overall, it was a cute and fun read with characters I could really root for.
**Huge thanks to Swoon Reads for providing the arc free of charge**
I loved Jenny and Chance. They're so opposite that it works. Their banter and made up stories were perfect. Jenny's friend Kelsea was also fun. She was sarcastic and added a bit of levity.
Plot wise it was perfectly high school: drama and parties and hot boy singers and break ups and rumors and one amazing bake sale and dictionary fight. There was a bit of push and pull, but it worked. My only complaint is I would have liked a bit more from the ending. It seemed like all of the build up came to a grinding halt.
Overall, it was a cute and fun read with characters I could really root for.
**Huge thanks to Swoon Reads for providing the arc free of charge**
August 4, 2017
DNF AT 15%.
I was really looking forward to this but just by reading the first few chapters I knew it wasn't gonna live up to my expectations. I simply didn't feel like suffering through bland and cringey writing.
I was really looking forward to this but just by reading the first few chapters I knew it wasn't gonna live up to my expectations. I simply didn't feel like suffering through bland and cringey writing.
June 17, 2022
When I picked up Just Friends I am really hesitate. Because YA is not my strong forte. When I read the reviews for this book, I am not encouraged to read it. That is why it stuck on my TBR. So this year, I have a mission to just clean as much books on my TBR.
And I am surprised to like Just Friends.
The story/ plot is the usual YA contemporary books. Family, friends, some YA issues such as popularity, social status etc. What I really like is Miss Pitcock's writing. It is really sweet and tender. Not so much OTT drama and the banter is refreshing. I felt hard for Chance. He is certainly deserves much better parents.
Overall, color me surprised!
4 stars
And I am surprised to like Just Friends.
The story/ plot is the usual YA contemporary books. Family, friends, some YA issues such as popularity, social status etc. What I really like is Miss Pitcock's writing. It is really sweet and tender. Not so much OTT drama and the banter is refreshing. I felt hard for Chance. He is certainly deserves much better parents.
Overall, color me surprised!
4 stars
March 11, 2020
Full Review on The Candid Cover
3.5 Stars
Just Friends is a cute and quick read about two teens who fake being friends since childhood after they are brought together because of a school assignment. The opposite personalities of the two main characters are interesting to read about, and both Jenny and Chance visibly transform as the story progresses. I still enjoyed this book, but I found it to be a bit too clichéd for my taste.
This book is so adorable! It tells the story of Jenny and Chance, two teens who meet in an Oral Communications class. On a whim, they successfully convince their class, and the entire school, that they have been best friends for years. However, as the two become closer and actually get to know each other, they slowly become more than friends. I loved how Jenny and Chance make up cute stories about their childhood together and how they are able to create such an intricate backstory even though they just met. The way that all this happens so spontaneously is also enjoyable and makes their interactions so believable. This book may seem like pure fluff, but it actually gets pretty deep, so this is a good one for those looking for a mix of cuteness and seriousness.
One of the aspects that I especially enjoyed about this novel is the fact that Jenny and Chance are complete opposites. Jenny is the good girl who does well in school, and Chance is the bad boy with a bad reputation when it comes to relationships. The book is split into dual POVs, which I really enjoyed. Reading about the two characters pine for each other and getting both sides of a misunderstanding is so entertaining for the reader. Jenny and Chance also really change each other throughout the book, and it is so interesting to see how much they both transform from the beginning.
While I enjoyed the book, I still had one main issue with it that lowered my rating. The story is so unrealistic and hard to believe that it becomes a bit frustrating. For example, no one, not even Jenny’s best friend, thinks to question this friendship that has supposedly been going on for years. I just found it a bit strange how Jenny’s friend doesn’t seem too hurt by this new “best friend” that Jenny never told her about. There are also some aspects later on in the story concerning Chance that I can’t really describe because of spoilers, but his whole family situation seemed a bit far-fetched to me. There are also so many clichés, which I kind of expected, but it becomes a bit cringey after so long.
Just Friends is a cute read about two strangers who fake years of friendship after a school assignment bring them together. I enjoyed the main characters’ differences and the use of multiple perspectives. This book is still enjoyable, but the pacing and countless clichés weren’t for me.
3.5 Stars
Just Friends is a cute and quick read about two teens who fake being friends since childhood after they are brought together because of a school assignment. The opposite personalities of the two main characters are interesting to read about, and both Jenny and Chance visibly transform as the story progresses. I still enjoyed this book, but I found it to be a bit too clichéd for my taste.
This book is so adorable! It tells the story of Jenny and Chance, two teens who meet in an Oral Communications class. On a whim, they successfully convince their class, and the entire school, that they have been best friends for years. However, as the two become closer and actually get to know each other, they slowly become more than friends. I loved how Jenny and Chance make up cute stories about their childhood together and how they are able to create such an intricate backstory even though they just met. The way that all this happens so spontaneously is also enjoyable and makes their interactions so believable. This book may seem like pure fluff, but it actually gets pretty deep, so this is a good one for those looking for a mix of cuteness and seriousness.
One of the aspects that I especially enjoyed about this novel is the fact that Jenny and Chance are complete opposites. Jenny is the good girl who does well in school, and Chance is the bad boy with a bad reputation when it comes to relationships. The book is split into dual POVs, which I really enjoyed. Reading about the two characters pine for each other and getting both sides of a misunderstanding is so entertaining for the reader. Jenny and Chance also really change each other throughout the book, and it is so interesting to see how much they both transform from the beginning.
While I enjoyed the book, I still had one main issue with it that lowered my rating. The story is so unrealistic and hard to believe that it becomes a bit frustrating. For example, no one, not even Jenny’s best friend, thinks to question this friendship that has supposedly been going on for years. I just found it a bit strange how Jenny’s friend doesn’t seem too hurt by this new “best friend” that Jenny never told her about. There are also some aspects later on in the story concerning Chance that I can’t really describe because of spoilers, but his whole family situation seemed a bit far-fetched to me. There are also so many clichés, which I kind of expected, but it becomes a bit cringey after so long.
Just Friends is a cute read about two strangers who fake years of friendship after a school assignment bring them together. I enjoyed the main characters’ differences and the use of multiple perspectives. This book is still enjoyable, but the pacing and countless clichés weren’t for me.
December 22, 2016
Okay, I'm such a sucker for straightforward romances, and since there's a couple kissing on the cover, I was hooked even before I opened the cover and found chapter one. But then, look again at the title - it turns our they really are going to be Just Friends... yeah, right! And, oh my goodness, the agony of Jenny and Chance trying to be Just Friends is so tantalizingly painful, I barely breathed through most of the this book. With such clever plotting and her ability to give our hearts all the push-and-pull she can, Tiffany Pitcock certainly makes us sweat for the longest while. But it's so delicious! Not out until August 2017, so I'm thrilled to have had an advanced peek, but you need to get this on your TBR list now.
November 17, 2017
“Their past might be fake, but their future was real. It was theirs to build. It was real, unscripted and unplanned.”
When Jenny and Chance are paired together for an assignment for Oral Communication, they end up winging the whole thing and making up lies about how they have basically been best friends forever. After the class is over, they just go with it, pretending to be best friends. As time goes on, they learn to trust and rely each other like it’s all true. The more real memories they create the closer they get until their need for each other by their side is undeniable to everyone.
The Story- Pitcock mentions in her acknowledgements that Reality Bites played a part of inspiration for the book, but I honestly have never seen it. However, the entire time I was reading this I had actually wondered if it was a When Harry Met Sally retelling. Which, I completely adore.
Let me be completely candid here. I started this book last night and read till 2AM, woke up and finished it in bed before getting up for coffee. If you knew anything about me there are two things important to me in the morning – washing my face & drinking coffee. So the fact that I just had to finish before marking these tasks off my morning routine has got to show how much I adored this.
I have to admit that the first chapter or two had me wondering if this was the type of book that would talk about how great Chance is with enough cheese factor to put Tillamook out of business. Fortunately after the initial meet-cute it tempered down a bit to a steady and consistent feel goodness. While the whole story wasn’t just cutesy scenes, I think it’s also important to point out that it did have some familial issues that are addressed though they weren’t a heavy influence to the vibe to the book. The issues were used as a way to reinforce the friendship that was so needed between Chance and Jenny. Other common teen issues are lightly used as well, including rumor mills, double standards, and relationship expectations.
I just loved how this book deals with friendship and how they were there for each other first before their feelings became an issue. That’s to say that sparks didn’t not fly from their initial reaction, it just didn’t quite take off in a steamy or confusing romance. Just read this, it’s a good balance of romance and comradery.
There was just one bit that I felt could have been done just a smidge better and that was how many 90’s or 00’s references that were used throughout the book. I think it really dated the Pitcock’s generation, which was okay, but probably could have been a more relevant if it also included some more recent references. Don’t get me wrong, it is the same era that I reference most, but just saying for the target audience that the book is for…
The Characters-Jenny & Chance were stinking cute. I seriously loved their interactions and the stories they came up for their fake past were super cute too. They made it super nostalgic for my childhood best friend. It was incredibly endearing how Jenny & Chance would put the other’s needs before their own over and over despite their own personal issue.
The Soundtrack- At the end of this book Pitcock had already supplied playlists from Jenny & Chance, so I’m not going to list a bunch here. You just have to get the book to see hers for yourself.
Taylor Swift – State of Grace (this was also on Pitcock’s Jenny & Chance playlist)
Rooney – If It Were Up to Me
Feist – Secret Heart
More reviews can be found at:
When Jenny and Chance are paired together for an assignment for Oral Communication, they end up winging the whole thing and making up lies about how they have basically been best friends forever. After the class is over, they just go with it, pretending to be best friends. As time goes on, they learn to trust and rely each other like it’s all true. The more real memories they create the closer they get until their need for each other by their side is undeniable to everyone.
The Story- Pitcock mentions in her acknowledgements that Reality Bites played a part of inspiration for the book, but I honestly have never seen it. However, the entire time I was reading this I had actually wondered if it was a When Harry Met Sally retelling. Which, I completely adore.
Let me be completely candid here. I started this book last night and read till 2AM, woke up and finished it in bed before getting up for coffee. If you knew anything about me there are two things important to me in the morning – washing my face & drinking coffee. So the fact that I just had to finish before marking these tasks off my morning routine has got to show how much I adored this.
I have to admit that the first chapter or two had me wondering if this was the type of book that would talk about how great Chance is with enough cheese factor to put Tillamook out of business. Fortunately after the initial meet-cute it tempered down a bit to a steady and consistent feel goodness. While the whole story wasn’t just cutesy scenes, I think it’s also important to point out that it did have some familial issues that are addressed though they weren’t a heavy influence to the vibe to the book. The issues were used as a way to reinforce the friendship that was so needed between Chance and Jenny. Other common teen issues are lightly used as well, including rumor mills, double standards, and relationship expectations.
I just loved how this book deals with friendship and how they were there for each other first before their feelings became an issue. That’s to say that sparks didn’t not fly from their initial reaction, it just didn’t quite take off in a steamy or confusing romance. Just read this, it’s a good balance of romance and comradery.
There was just one bit that I felt could have been done just a smidge better and that was how many 90’s or 00’s references that were used throughout the book. I think it really dated the Pitcock’s generation, which was okay, but probably could have been a more relevant if it also included some more recent references. Don’t get me wrong, it is the same era that I reference most, but just saying for the target audience that the book is for…
The Characters-Jenny & Chance were stinking cute. I seriously loved their interactions and the stories they came up for their fake past were super cute too. They made it super nostalgic for my childhood best friend. It was incredibly endearing how Jenny & Chance would put the other’s needs before their own over and over despite their own personal issue.
The Soundtrack- At the end of this book Pitcock had already supplied playlists from Jenny & Chance, so I’m not going to list a bunch here. You just have to get the book to see hers for yourself.
Taylor Swift – State of Grace (this was also on Pitcock’s Jenny & Chance playlist)
Rooney – If It Were Up to Me
Feist – Secret Heart
More reviews can be found at:
February 24, 2018
DNF at 26%.
YA Contemporaries have always been a favorite of mine. I've read some really great ones in the past and I thought that this book is promising. At least, the first few chapters. The beginning was unique and it got me hooked. I found it entertaining enough to keep me wanting to read more. Which is always a good thing for a story. But come the next chapters, the novel lost its charm. I was expecting it to be a partly fluffy read with all the "just friends" trope but this book does not really make me swoon at all. I felt myself slowly slipping off the hook that kept me going in the first place.
I find Jenny and Chance kind of bland. Their characters just don't have enough character for me. You see, these two are trying to uphold a stereotype. Jenny is the (in her own words) Miss-I-Really-Like-Having-A's. Chance is (you guessed it) the cliche bad boy. He has this "reputation" that makes people wary of him.
I'm not really against stereotypical characters. In my opinion, if the author makes the stereotypical character interesting enough for my taste, maybe giving it a twist or something, it's not really that big of a deal. I look at cliches as a challenge, and if a writer manages to spin something good out of it then...good.
In this book, we are only told that these characters are this and that blah blah blah. We aren't showed anything. They kept on saying that they are one thing but was there any evidence? No. In the 26% that I've managed to read, there wasn't really a scene where Jenny pores over a book or studies studiously. Neither did Chance did something so badboy-ish. Also, the romance between them is unjustifiable. I get it that they're attracted to each other but I'm not up for it. At over 1/4 of the novel, I don't even care if they end up with each or not.
Moreover, the supporting characters weren't given a chance, in my opinion. In this book, they're like cardboard cutouts put there to fill space as if to make the reader believe that this book is well-rounded when in reality, Jenny and Chance only cared about themselves.
There are some more problematic things in this novel about views on drinking and virginity/sex. I've read a lot of romance novels with even steamy sex scenes, sometimes kinky, and yet this novel makes me cringe. Not because of the idea of teens having sex, but ugh, I've accidentally read a part where a guy (Chance or Drake? I don't know I didn't finish the book) said that Jenny never gave him anything. Like what... WHAT?
Girls, first off, you should not feel bad about not doing anything sexual with your guy if you're not up for it, not ready, or uncomfortable about it. If he makes you feel bad about it, then fuck it, it's not your problem. He's the problem.
So I skimmed the book if there's more of this absurd thing. And sure was, there is. There's a scene where Jenny said something like "If he's ready (and, oh yes, she knew he was ready)...then so was she."
My reaction was LITERALLY this:
You will seriously depend your sexuality on this jerk?! That's it. I'm DONE with this book. Nope, I won't finish it. I won't read any more of this crap.
If you like the best-friends-to-lovers type of story, then I can recommend Adorkable by Cookie O'Gorman. It's one of the cutest stories I've read this year. So much better than this one.
YA Contemporaries have always been a favorite of mine. I've read some really great ones in the past and I thought that this book is promising. At least, the first few chapters. The beginning was unique and it got me hooked. I found it entertaining enough to keep me wanting to read more. Which is always a good thing for a story. But come the next chapters, the novel lost its charm. I was expecting it to be a partly fluffy read with all the "just friends" trope but this book does not really make me swoon at all. I felt myself slowly slipping off the hook that kept me going in the first place.
I find Jenny and Chance kind of bland. Their characters just don't have enough character for me. You see, these two are trying to uphold a stereotype. Jenny is the (in her own words) Miss-I-Really-Like-Having-A's. Chance is (you guessed it) the cliche bad boy. He has this "reputation" that makes people wary of him.
I'm not really against stereotypical characters. In my opinion, if the author makes the stereotypical character interesting enough for my taste, maybe giving it a twist or something, it's not really that big of a deal. I look at cliches as a challenge, and if a writer manages to spin something good out of it then...good.
In this book, we are only told that these characters are this and that blah blah blah. We aren't showed anything. They kept on saying that they are one thing but was there any evidence? No. In the 26% that I've managed to read, there wasn't really a scene where Jenny pores over a book or studies studiously. Neither did Chance did something so badboy-ish. Also, the romance between them is unjustifiable. I get it that they're attracted to each other but I'm not up for it. At over 1/4 of the novel, I don't even care if they end up with each or not.
Moreover, the supporting characters weren't given a chance, in my opinion. In this book, they're like cardboard cutouts put there to fill space as if to make the reader believe that this book is well-rounded when in reality, Jenny and Chance only cared about themselves.
There are some more problematic things in this novel about views on drinking and virginity/sex. I've read a lot of romance novels with even steamy sex scenes, sometimes kinky, and yet this novel makes me cringe. Not because of the idea of teens having sex, but ugh, I've accidentally read a part where a guy (Chance or Drake? I don't know I didn't finish the book) said that Jenny never gave him anything. Like what... WHAT?
Girls, first off, you should not feel bad about not doing anything sexual with your guy if you're not up for it, not ready, or uncomfortable about it. If he makes you feel bad about it, then fuck it, it's not your problem. He's the problem.
So I skimmed the book if there's more of this absurd thing. And sure was, there is. There's a scene where Jenny said something like "If he's ready (and, oh yes, she knew he was ready)...then so was she."
My reaction was LITERALLY this:
You will seriously depend your sexuality on this jerk?! That's it. I'm DONE with this book. Nope, I won't finish it. I won't read any more of this crap.
If you like the best-friends-to-lovers type of story, then I can recommend Adorkable by Cookie O'Gorman. It's one of the cutest stories I've read this year. So much better than this one.
September 26, 2017
I had to read a book that shares the same title as one of my books...LOL
I enjoyed it. Cute YA romance.
I enjoyed it. Cute YA romance.
October 7, 2017
the story was alright, the writing was terrible, and i can't believe i actually finished a book for once.
#rose's quick reviews
#rose's quick reviews
March 8, 2018
I finished this last night and I thought it was super cute! RTC.
August 2, 2017
4 “Fake Best Friends” Stars
ARC provided by the author
Thank you!!!
Adorable. Abso-freaking-lutely adorable.
I think I first heard of Just Friends last year, and ever since I saw the cover and read the premise, I’ve been dying to get my hands on this book. I’m more than happy to announce it was worth the wait.
Other than enemies to lovers, best friends to lovers is my favorite romance trope ever. Be it in YA, NA or Adult, I’m always intrigued when a book promises that kind of romance. This one was ever more special because it had a twist to it.
Jenny and Chance aren’t the childhood best friends everyone believes them to be. After they’re paired up for a school assignment, they end up making up a story on the spot about how they’ve known each other since they were kids and have been best friends since then. The whole thing requires a little suspension of disbelief because everyone else around them buys the story without question, but it’s handled in such an adorable and cute way that I didn’t mind buying into the story as well.
The thing between Jenny and Chance’s friendship is that it won me over from moment one, even though I knew it was fake. Or maybe because of that. I adored how they made up super fun and brilliant stories about their shared fake past. I ended up going with it because I wanted it to be true so badly. I wanted them to have that past because they needed it. Both Jenny and Chance were going through difficult times in their lives, and that friendship (fake or not) was exactly what they needed to get through tough times. Also, have I already said how adorable the whole thing was?
I was pretty much smiling the entire time I read this. My heart was full and I was swooning hard. That’s exactly what I want when reading YA Contemporary Romance.
Now, I have to say I liked Jenny, but she and I had a few problems here and there. I wasn’t a fan of some of her choices (especially one involving Drake—I mean, none of her choices involving Drake actually pleased me, but there was one in particular that almost made me stop reading).
Now, Chance was a different experience altogether. I LOVED him. Absolutely loved him. His vibe, his heartbreak, the way he cared about Jenny, the way he stepped back when he feared losing her, the way he was still there whenever she needed him. Everything. I simply can’t recall anything about Chance I didn’t like.
Chase and Jenny together were adorable, adorable, adorable, and left me wanting more. That final scene with them making up stories about the future was just too much for my poor heart.
Just Friends gave me more than I expected it to in terms of feelings, and the way it added a spin to one of my favorite tropes only made the whole thing a thousand times better. It was so, so worth the wait.
June 29, 2018
I really loved the idea of this because I always love a good fake dating trope, but this was just pretty flat to me. I liked them creating a history and deciding to actually become friends, but the entire situation was just a little too unbelievable, beyond my suspension of disbelief. I thought that Drake was an unnecessary hurdle in Jenny and Chance’s relationship. And I also thought that Chance had the worst family ever. So much of the story was just one dimensional and kept me from loving it as much as I wanted too.
August 24, 2017
DNF @ 13%
March 19, 2017
Ya'll. It's going to take me a while to get over the end of this book. I wanted to live with these characters for (at least) 100 more pages, if not into a new book (here's looking at you, Tiffany! XD). Chance and Jenny have this incredible chemistry and the most hilarious banter that seriously made me laugh out loud. It takes a lot for me to lol mid-read. I know people keep making comments about it being "cliche goodness" but I swear to you that it's NOT! It takes all of the tropes you're expecting to experience throughout the book and flips them on their head with some awesome commentary on why they should be flipped. Watching Chance and Jenny's friendship develop over the course of the book was so real and raw and I appreciated the careful pacing of it all unfolding. And did I mention it's funny? The humor, the pop culture references- they are all spot on. I seriously can't gush enough about this book!
April 14, 2022
okay… i’m going to convince you to NEVER read this book using one quote.
“i’ll admit that me being here is what got you into this mess in the first place, but i’m not going anywhere. you’re better than that scene-boy-wannabe and you know it- besides his band sucks.” - spoken by the male love interest.
need i say more? when i tell you this book is cringey, it is CRINGEY. painful to get through at parts. frankly, it reads like a mediocre fan fiction at best, and i did not find the story compelling at all.
a guy and girl make up an elaborate story about being childhood best friends for a class assignment the first day they ever meet, and decide to then convince the entire school it’s actually true? by page 10 these two are already oddly crushing/in love with the other.
these two main characters, in my opinion, are terribly underdeveloped. they have backstories, yes, but i never felt like i could really enter into the story with them. the author either told us too much, like exactly what they were thinking or saying, or told us nothing at all, nothing that made me feel connected to them.
it’s a romance novel that has very minimal side characters, which is always a pet peeve of mine. a strong suit of a good romance book is when there are good sub plots within the book that do not have to do with the relationship. it makes it realistic because that’s what real life is like.
i gave it two stars because it wasn’t so bad i couldn’t finish it, but i would never recommend this book to someone. tbh, i might’ve liked it a lot more if i was around 12 years old, and that’s a gamble you take when you pick up a YA book (it could be written for like the 18-20 range or it could be written for the 11-13 range.)
“i’ll admit that me being here is what got you into this mess in the first place, but i’m not going anywhere. you’re better than that scene-boy-wannabe and you know it- besides his band sucks.” - spoken by the male love interest.
need i say more? when i tell you this book is cringey, it is CRINGEY. painful to get through at parts. frankly, it reads like a mediocre fan fiction at best, and i did not find the story compelling at all.
a guy and girl make up an elaborate story about being childhood best friends for a class assignment the first day they ever meet, and decide to then convince the entire school it’s actually true? by page 10 these two are already oddly crushing/in love with the other.
these two main characters, in my opinion, are terribly underdeveloped. they have backstories, yes, but i never felt like i could really enter into the story with them. the author either told us too much, like exactly what they were thinking or saying, or told us nothing at all, nothing that made me feel connected to them.
it’s a romance novel that has very minimal side characters, which is always a pet peeve of mine. a strong suit of a good romance book is when there are good sub plots within the book that do not have to do with the relationship. it makes it realistic because that’s what real life is like.
i gave it two stars because it wasn’t so bad i couldn’t finish it, but i would never recommend this book to someone. tbh, i might’ve liked it a lot more if i was around 12 years old, and that’s a gamble you take when you pick up a YA book (it could be written for like the 18-20 range or it could be written for the 11-13 range.)
August 2, 2017
Parts of this book were really charming and funny. Every time Chance and Jenny were making up their past history, I was tickled. So there was some good chemistry there. I probably shouldn't have picked it up - I wouldn't have if the beginning hadn't BEEN so charming. But...lord was this book all over the map.
To start out, the premise of this book is fundamentally ludicrous. I get the impression this isn't that big a big town/school. (Also, random thought, it's set in the South and takes place in the fall and football isn't really even mentioned, which...I don't care if the characters give a shit about sports or not, it's sort of inescapable). But...everyone just miraculously buys that two people who have never been seen to speak to each other in their entire school careers have been life long pals and besties? Even Jenny's ACTUAL best friend, who is clearly weirded out by the declaration, doesn't question the truth of it? I just couldn't wrap my head around it, especially considering they go from zero to full on ride or die in about an hour.
The dialogue/points of view of Jenny and Chance were indistinguishable from each other and not even consistent within themselves. We have Jenny randomly using the word fucking when she hasn't all book and has given no indication that she would. We have two teenagers using phrases like "run inside for a moment" and "so utterly upset" and "quick say something antiestablishment!" and "rather." And look, I grew up with Dawson's Creek. And I read a lot in high school myself. Seventeen year olds can be and are smart and have broad vocabularies and I will buy it, even hope for it. But...it didn't make sense for THESE teenagers? Plus Chance describes Jenny's bedroom decor in huge detail, down to the peach paint on the walls, and it felt weird.
Neither character felt authentic to me. Jenny didn't read to me as a believable modern 17 year old girl - even one who we're TOLD is a little emotionally stunted and naive. We're told she's top of her class and bookish, but we don't SEE that on the page at all (not a mention of an AP or dual credit class anywhere and she's got time as a JUNIOR for a blow off class like Oral Communication). We're told she used to be in all of these clubs but this year she doesn't want to do them? But...she doesn't ever think about the consequences or the future or what that will mean for college and etc. And
Chance was worse. Not in any way did I buy him as a 17 year old dude. Especially one with a "reputation" who assumes Jenny's mom is going to hate him on sight. He has a massive abandonment complex but happily just adopts Jenny as his "best friend" almost immediately. And...we're told he's a mess with a reputation and a bad boy, but he also is in all honors classes (the Peter Pan scene when he is at the park talking about Neverland clearly being based in literature and not the Disney movie is never addressed)? And we're told he's popular and all the girls want him with no explanations as to WHY? He drives a 1999 Dodge Charger we're told is all beat up, but we never know how he GOT it - he clearly doesn't have a job (seems odd with his home life) so did his terrible parents buy it for him?
And I guess that's the crux of my complaint - this book felt way too easy. We have two generic, self insert sorts of characters who quickly decide they like each other but a simple miscommunication keeps them apart. Like, they meet, declare themselves best friends, and just miraculously start sharing all of their deepest secrets. I get that you meet people and click, but I want to see more development of that; I NEEDED more development of the idea that their pride and issues were what kept them from speaking up about their actual feelings considering how the book made such a big deal about how honest and comfortable they were with each other when usually they are each so closed off.
Not to mention Jenny HAS a best friend named Kasey who shows all book that she's smart, cares about Jenny, gets her and supports her, and she basically falls off the page in favor of Chance. And it was deeply frustrating because though we're TOLD Jenny and Chance are best friends and care about each other, it felt SO SUDDEN, and she never, ever talks to Kasey about it.
I can't even talk about the dumb Drake plot.
Then there are the parents. We're told Jenny's mom is great and loves her kids and supports them and etc. She does. But she also doesn't notice when her daughter is out all night on school nights multiple times, with not a single mention of a worried text or call. The book tries to explain this away with her mom being in a new relationship, but I didn't buy that at all. I especially didn't buy that any parent is gonna let a dude hang out at their house until 11 or 12pm on a school night when there are two much younger siblings. I will give the book credit for establishing that Chance's parents suck and it messes him up in a believable way. But then we have Jenny's dad who apparently abandoned the family with no contact (we don't even hear about him calling at Christmas, so I assume they just never talk to him) and there's barely any discussion of that.
I don't know. Like I said, parts of this book were charming and kept me reading. But most of it was the kind of melodrama that maybe I'm just too old for? YA is a really broad genre involving a lot of different kinds of books and stories and authors. I will enter Thunderdome and be the one man who leaves with anyone who wants to stick their nose up in the air about YA. But. I think it's time for me to accept that this niche - fluffy, a little silly, fundamentally uncomplicated romances are starting to skew too young for my grandma sensibilities.
To start out, the premise of this book is fundamentally ludicrous. I get the impression this isn't that big a big town/school. (Also, random thought, it's set in the South and takes place in the fall and football isn't really even mentioned, which...I don't care if the characters give a shit about sports or not, it's sort of inescapable). But...everyone just miraculously buys that two people who have never been seen to speak to each other in their entire school careers have been life long pals and besties? Even Jenny's ACTUAL best friend, who is clearly weirded out by the declaration, doesn't question the truth of it? I just couldn't wrap my head around it, especially considering they go from zero to full on ride or die in about an hour.
The dialogue/points of view of Jenny and Chance were indistinguishable from each other and not even consistent within themselves. We have Jenny randomly using the word fucking when she hasn't all book and has given no indication that she would. We have two teenagers using phrases like "run inside for a moment" and "so utterly upset" and "quick say something antiestablishment!" and "rather." And look, I grew up with Dawson's Creek. And I read a lot in high school myself. Seventeen year olds can be and are smart and have broad vocabularies and I will buy it, even hope for it. But...it didn't make sense for THESE teenagers? Plus Chance describes Jenny's bedroom decor in huge detail, down to the peach paint on the walls, and it felt weird.
Neither character felt authentic to me. Jenny didn't read to me as a believable modern 17 year old girl - even one who we're TOLD is a little emotionally stunted and naive. We're told she's top of her class and bookish, but we don't SEE that on the page at all (not a mention of an AP or dual credit class anywhere and she's got time as a JUNIOR for a blow off class like Oral Communication). We're told she used to be in all of these clubs but this year she doesn't want to do them? But...she doesn't ever think about the consequences or the future or what that will mean for college and etc. And
Chance was worse. Not in any way did I buy him as a 17 year old dude. Especially one with a "reputation" who assumes Jenny's mom is going to hate him on sight. He has a massive abandonment complex but happily just adopts Jenny as his "best friend" almost immediately. And...we're told he's a mess with a reputation and a bad boy, but he also is in all honors classes (the Peter Pan scene when he is at the park talking about Neverland clearly being based in literature and not the Disney movie is never addressed)? And we're told he's popular and all the girls want him with no explanations as to WHY? He drives a 1999 Dodge Charger we're told is all beat up, but we never know how he GOT it - he clearly doesn't have a job (seems odd with his home life) so did his terrible parents buy it for him?
And I guess that's the crux of my complaint - this book felt way too easy. We have two generic, self insert sorts of characters who quickly decide they like each other but a simple miscommunication keeps them apart. Like, they meet, declare themselves best friends, and just miraculously start sharing all of their deepest secrets. I get that you meet people and click, but I want to see more development of that; I NEEDED more development of the idea that their pride and issues were what kept them from speaking up about their actual feelings considering how the book made such a big deal about how honest and comfortable they were with each other when usually they are each so closed off.
Not to mention Jenny HAS a best friend named Kasey who shows all book that she's smart, cares about Jenny, gets her and supports her, and she basically falls off the page in favor of Chance. And it was deeply frustrating because though we're TOLD Jenny and Chance are best friends and care about each other, it felt SO SUDDEN, and she never, ever talks to Kasey about it.
I can't even talk about the dumb Drake plot.
Then there are the parents. We're told Jenny's mom is great and loves her kids and supports them and etc. She does. But she also doesn't notice when her daughter is out all night on school nights multiple times, with not a single mention of a worried text or call. The book tries to explain this away with her mom being in a new relationship, but I didn't buy that at all. I especially didn't buy that any parent is gonna let a dude hang out at their house until 11 or 12pm on a school night when there are two much younger siblings. I will give the book credit for establishing that Chance's parents suck and it messes him up in a believable way. But then we have Jenny's dad who apparently abandoned the family with no contact (we don't even hear about him calling at Christmas, so I assume they just never talk to him) and there's barely any discussion of that.
I don't know. Like I said, parts of this book were charming and kept me reading. But most of it was the kind of melodrama that maybe I'm just too old for? YA is a really broad genre involving a lot of different kinds of books and stories and authors. I will enter Thunderdome and be the one man who leaves with anyone who wants to stick their nose up in the air about YA. But. I think it's time for me to accept that this niche - fluffy, a little silly, fundamentally uncomplicated romances are starting to skew too young for my grandma sensibilities.
September 9, 2017
I really enjoyed this one, which is why I should stop being lazy & write a full review for it. (It's worthy of one, for sure.)
I don't know how Pitcock did it, but somehow she managed to take the MOST ANNOYING trope of all romances I've read (spending half the book with both MC's pining/thinking the other one doesn't want more) and make her book un-put-downable. If you like your romance with an extra helping of best friends slowly falling in love instead of insta-love, I'd reccomend you give Just Friends try.
I zoomed through this is one sitting.
I also want to note that it's so rare that I come across a genuine Young Adult that I can say I enjoyed from start to finished. YA these days is either adult genre content with teenaged characters (not complaining, but still) OR it's teenaged children who have the maturity level of elementary schoolers. This was REAL Young Adult & I enjoyed every minute of it... even the parts that pissed me off because they reminded me of my adolescent years and I already knew the outcome of the MCs' choices.
And while it didn't actually set off the waterworks (certified marshmallow ova here), I did get a little choked up at a few parts. I found myself either smiling or laughing for 85% of the book because these kids are just too damn cute! This was Indeed a Swoon Read.
I don't know how Pitcock did it, but somehow she managed to take the MOST ANNOYING trope of all romances I've read (spending half the book with both MC's pining/thinking the other one doesn't want more) and make her book un-put-downable. If you like your romance with an extra helping of best friends slowly falling in love instead of insta-love, I'd reccomend you give Just Friends try.
I zoomed through this is one sitting.
I also want to note that it's so rare that I come across a genuine Young Adult that I can say I enjoyed from start to finished. YA these days is either adult genre content with teenaged characters (not complaining, but still) OR it's teenaged children who have the maturity level of elementary schoolers. This was REAL Young Adult & I enjoyed every minute of it... even the parts that pissed me off because they reminded me of my adolescent years and I already knew the outcome of the MCs' choices.
And while it didn't actually set off the waterworks (certified marshmallow ova here), I did get a little choked up at a few parts. I found myself either smiling or laughing for 85% of the book because these kids are just too damn cute! This was Indeed a Swoon Read.
February 28, 2017
Tiffany and I share a publisher and a release date, which made me all the more excited to get my hands on an ARC of her forthcoming debut. Just Friends is everything I wanted it to be: cute, angsty, and fun. Main characters Chance and Jenny become friends thanks to the ultimate meet-cute, and they share adorable chemistry. This one’s a romance so the conclusion is expected, but the path we get to travel toward Chance and Jenny’s happily ever after has all sorts of unexpected twists and turns, and it’s populated by an excellent supporting cast. I love how Chance and Jenny grow and change over the course of this story, all the while supporting and caring for each other. Snag Just Friends this August if you love to read contemporary YA romance à la Kasie West.
October 13, 2015
I absolutely loved reading this a few months ago. It was a great late night read to de-stress and I can't wait for it to be published so I can buy it and read it again!
October 7, 2017
I love it so much! Jenny and Chance is really shippable. I can feel their chemistry and their banter
And I really love smart girl as main chara ✨✨
And I really love smart girl as main chara ✨✨
July 28, 2019
I read this book way back in August 2017, and can still remember just how swoony it made me feel, and how much I loved Jenny and Chase's relationship. Both had never met each other before, but when they were partnered together in a class, and the first assignment was was to get to know each other. However, they mess around, and when it comes to submitting their assignment, they flub their answer, and act as if they've always known each other, and make up a backstory for everyone else to believe. However, from that one little lie, people believe they've been best friends forever, and it soon becomes like reality. Except for the fact that it was all a lie. Chase and Jenny, not really knowing each other, can reinvent themselves and not have to be the person that life has tried to mould them into. The chemistry between each other is undeniable, and when Jenny starts to date someone else, it soon turns toxic, and she has to turn back to Chase, and rely on him like she has no-one else.
I think I preferred Chase more than Jenny in this book. Jenny I enjoyed at first, but once she got with Drake - which was a disgustingly toxic relationship - she became someone I just didn't like. She knew from early on she like Chase, but pushed herself into this relationship with Drake, who pushed her into going further than she wanted - even acting like she owed him sex, when she really didn't - and actively said she didn't want to. However, and I do hate this, when she was with Chase, she was much better. I'm not saying he made her a better person - which is awful - but I think that Drake had made her worse, and in turn she was an awful friend for it. That being said, Jenny and Chase were really cute together, and the premise was fantastic, but the whole Drake aspect is what brought the rating of this one down.
I think I preferred Chase more than Jenny in this book. Jenny I enjoyed at first, but once she got with Drake - which was a disgustingly toxic relationship - she became someone I just didn't like. She knew from early on she like Chase, but pushed herself into this relationship with Drake, who pushed her into going further than she wanted - even acting like she owed him sex, when she really didn't - and actively said she didn't want to. However, and I do hate this, when she was with Chase, she was much better. I'm not saying he made her a better person - which is awful - but I think that Drake had made her worse, and in turn she was an awful friend for it. That being said, Jenny and Chase were really cute together, and the premise was fantastic, but the whole Drake aspect is what brought the rating of this one down.
April 8, 2020
I’m not sure why I love this book, to be honest. The story wasn’t anything new but for some reason I just couldn’t put it down. The characters were just too lovable and endearing I guess? It’s a good, easy read! Go for it!
Want to read
October 16, 2015Sounds like cliche goodness. ☺️
May 10, 2023
This one’s going to have a long review, I know it.
[REVIEW]
*Trigger/content warnings in this book for abandonment, emotional cheating, a fatphobic joke, Harry Potter references, slut-shaming, a toxic family household, a toxic romantic relationship, and underage drinking*
I remember buying this book back in 2017. I can’t remember the exact reason why I bought this, but knowing myself back then, I have a few theories: For one, the cover is ADORABLE. Who said people on covers is the worst? Also, the premise gave me Dear Evan Hansen vibes, without all of the serious topics. Two teens with polar opposite personalities somehow convince everyone that they’ve been best friends since childhood—now THAT made me curious! What would make them so desperate to lie about being friends? Why did they feel the need to keep the act up? What would happen once they got caught? I was intrigued to find out!
I actually tried reading Just Friends two times before. Both times, I only got to Chapter 5 before I would put it down and pick up other books. The thing is, it’s actually not uncommon for me to put aside books, especially because I’m the biggest mood reader. I come around to all the books I own eventually. Some I end up LOVING, and some not so much.
And this book? Well, while I’m glad I finally finished this, I didn’t like this AT ALL. From the beginning, I was either bored or frustrated, and eventually found myself skimming by the halfway point. Should I have DNFed it? Probably. But the main reason I didn’t was because it helped with the A-Z title challenge I do every year, so…
MY THOUGHTS ON…
THE PLOT:
•MY biggest peeve with this book was that every scene in this was underdeveloped. Every. Single. One. There were many scenes that would actually start to pique my interest, but then the scene would move on before we could delve into it more. Whether it was emotions, conversations, flashbacks, etc., nothing got more than a page or two before the characters/plot were moving onto the next thing.
•Here’s why Evan’s lie in Dear Evan Hansen worked: Evan was invisible before he met Connor’s parents. No one paid attention to him in school, so no one knew what he did in his free time. Additionally, Evan’s mom was constantly working, which meant that she didn’t always know what was going on with her son. As for Connor, he wasn’t “popular”, but he was known in school AND by his family to be rude to everyone and being a huge troublemaker. But that was it. No one knew much else about him because he didn’t let people in, and people stayed out of his way. Therefore, Evan’s lie about being Connor’s friend worked because he filled in the gaps.
Here’s why Jenny and Chance’s lie didn’t work: There were already people who knew them and hung out with them long before they started lying about being friends. Jenny had Kelsey, and Chance had his friends at the lunch table. Chase MIGHT have been able to get away with lying about it to his family, considering how physically and emotionally absent they were. But Jenny had her siblings, who she needed to take care of because her mom was always out on dates (which I will complain about a little more in a bit). Therefore, because there were already people who were actively present in Jenny and Chase’s life, there was no way they were going to convince everyone that they were childhood friends.
•One trope I’m tired of seeing (mainly in contemporaries) is when the parents of teen protagonists are never wondering what’s going on with their kids’ lives. Don’t get me wrong, I know that these types of parents exist. And I know that if parents were more active in fiction, they would interrupt the main story and teens wouldn’t be getting away with as much. But why is it EVERY PARENT in fiction? I always let my parents know when I was planning to have friends come over. If I was going out, I always had to tell them when and where, and what time I was planning to be back. It wasn’t because my parents were strict and overprotective—they were just being PARENTS and making sure I was safe.
Jenny’s mom, on the other hand, never seemed to wonder why her daughter was going out so much. The explanation was that she was going out with her new partner, so she wasn’t always home to check on Jenny. But I’m calling BS. She was the mother of a four, twelve, and seventeen-year-old. She could have a dating life, but I don’t think it was so engrossing that it tampered her parental instincts. The fact that she never found out that Chase was sleeping in Jenny’s room honestly boggles my mind.
•Why in the world didn’t Kelsey have more of a reaction to Jenny’s confession about lying to her about Chance? I didn’t expect her to go all melodramatic, but I was confused why she found the lie funny? I don’t know, maybe that’s just me.
•The relationship between Jenny and Drake was not only toxic, it was also not challenged. I’m not trying to say that toxic relationships should be entirely banned from YA fiction—I just think, if AN ADULT is going to write one, it better be communicated that toxic relationships are wrong. (Also, if the author is unintentionally writing toxic signs in their YA romance, they need to be told by their beta readers and editors about it)
That was not the case here. There’s specifically one scene where Drake complained to Jenny about her giving him “nothing” (“nothing” meaning sex). Jenny then proceeded to have sex with Drake because if HE was ready, then so should she.
This scene was not only frustrating for me to read about, it was also triggering. So let’s all make something clear: You DO NOT owe your partner sex just because they want it, or because you’ve been in a relationship for x amount of time. If a partner says to you what Drake said to Jenny, know that you are not the problem. Anyone who says otherwise is a manipulative snake who needs to be chucked off a cliff immediately.
THE ROMANCE:
•Small thing, but I hated that Chance kept calling Jenny “Little-Miss-Really-Likes-Having-A’s”. Nicknames are supposed to be short and cute, but this was neither.
•I’m not the biggest fan of the good girl/bad boy romantic trope, but I do think if it’s written well (making the good girl and bad boy three-dimensional), I will still enjoy it. That was not the case for this book. We did see a little bit of Jenny study and make comments about not going to detention, but not much of Chance being a bad boy (even though he’s supposed to have a reputation and make people wary of him). I mean, he did make out with a girl in the hallway and get in trouble for it. And he get into ONE fight, which was at the end of the book. But that was really it. THAT’S what made him a “bad boy”.
Going off of that, Jenny and Chance were so one-dimensional. It’s not enough for characters to be labeled a “good girl” or a “bad boy”. I need to know WHY and HOW they got their label. Is the good girl only “good” because she’s afraid of messing up and disappointing her strict parents? Is the bad boy “bad” because that’s his way of pushing people away and making sure he never gets hurt? Are they actually being MISlabeled before meeting their love interest(s) (i.e. the good girl tends to sneak out, or the bad boy actually loves their little sibling or pet)? GIVE ME LAYERS.
Jenny did have her dad leave, but it contributed nothing to her nor the story. Chance’s parents did fight, and he did have an older brother who never reached out to him. But this really didn’t go anywhere. I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but EVERYTHING about this was underdeveloped, especially the two main characters.
•When you have underdeveloped love interests, you ultimately get an underdeveloped romance. Seriously, folks, the romance was SO RUSHED. Don’t get me wrong, I love fast-paced books, but not when it comes to romance/romantic subplots. I need to get a glimpse of the romantic partners’ lives BEFORE they meet (or, if they’re already friends, at least before they meet up). I need to watch them gradually (emphasis on GRADUALLY) shifting from never noticing each other to being unable to imagine a world without their love interest(s). I need the dialogue, the vulnerability, the PDA, etc. to build up NATURALLY.
Jenny and Chance did not do any of that. If this was supposed to be enemies-to-lovers, that was the QUICKEST shift from hate to love I’ve ever seen in any book. No, Jenny and Chance weren’t saying “I hate you” to “I love you” within a couple of pages. But they DID go from being reluctant class partners to sitting at lunch together within the first chapter. THE FIRST CHAPTER. And then the next day, they started opening up about their personal lives. Within less than a month of meeting each other (which happened in less A HUNDRED pages of the book), these two were already cuddling, wanting to run their fingers through each other’s hair, and thinking about each other every second the day.
•Even though there was tension, it was some of the shortest-lived, most eye-rolling tension I’ve ever read in a romance book. For example, the miscommunication. It lasted until the end of the book, but the consequences once Jenny and Chance sorted everything out were short-lived.
Another example: Jenny being angry at Chance for fighting Drake. She gets angry, but very quickly after expressing it to Chance, they make up and have sex. That is such an unhealthy way to resolve conflict, and I hate it every time I come across it in stories.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Honestly, I don’t know who I’d recommend to this to. I wouldn’t recommend this is you’re looking for a good girl/bad boy romance, because neither characters really fit those tropes. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this if you’re looking for a slow burn, because even though it takes a while for Jenny and Chance to get together, they practically zip through all of the stages of attraction. Maybe if you’re someone who’s encouraged to read a book because of a negative review, go right ahead. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.
GOODREADS REVIEWS THAT GO INTO THE PROBLEMATIC ELEMENTS OF JUST FRIENDS:
ALICE (ARCTIC BOOKS)’S REVIEW:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
DIANNA ☾MIDNIGHT READS☽’S REVIEW:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
[REVIEW]
*Trigger/content warnings in this book for abandonment, emotional cheating, a fatphobic joke, Harry Potter references, slut-shaming, a toxic family household, a toxic romantic relationship, and underage drinking*
I remember buying this book back in 2017. I can’t remember the exact reason why I bought this, but knowing myself back then, I have a few theories: For one, the cover is ADORABLE. Who said people on covers is the worst? Also, the premise gave me Dear Evan Hansen vibes, without all of the serious topics. Two teens with polar opposite personalities somehow convince everyone that they’ve been best friends since childhood—now THAT made me curious! What would make them so desperate to lie about being friends? Why did they feel the need to keep the act up? What would happen once they got caught? I was intrigued to find out!
I actually tried reading Just Friends two times before. Both times, I only got to Chapter 5 before I would put it down and pick up other books. The thing is, it’s actually not uncommon for me to put aside books, especially because I’m the biggest mood reader. I come around to all the books I own eventually. Some I end up LOVING, and some not so much.
And this book? Well, while I’m glad I finally finished this, I didn’t like this AT ALL. From the beginning, I was either bored or frustrated, and eventually found myself skimming by the halfway point. Should I have DNFed it? Probably. But the main reason I didn’t was because it helped with the A-Z title challenge I do every year, so…
MY THOUGHTS ON…
THE PLOT:
•MY biggest peeve with this book was that every scene in this was underdeveloped. Every. Single. One. There were many scenes that would actually start to pique my interest, but then the scene would move on before we could delve into it more. Whether it was emotions, conversations, flashbacks, etc., nothing got more than a page or two before the characters/plot were moving onto the next thing.
•Here’s why Evan’s lie in Dear Evan Hansen worked: Evan was invisible before he met Connor’s parents. No one paid attention to him in school, so no one knew what he did in his free time. Additionally, Evan’s mom was constantly working, which meant that she didn’t always know what was going on with her son. As for Connor, he wasn’t “popular”, but he was known in school AND by his family to be rude to everyone and being a huge troublemaker. But that was it. No one knew much else about him because he didn’t let people in, and people stayed out of his way. Therefore, Evan’s lie about being Connor’s friend worked because he filled in the gaps.
Here’s why Jenny and Chance’s lie didn’t work: There were already people who knew them and hung out with them long before they started lying about being friends. Jenny had Kelsey, and Chance had his friends at the lunch table. Chase MIGHT have been able to get away with lying about it to his family, considering how physically and emotionally absent they were. But Jenny had her siblings, who she needed to take care of because her mom was always out on dates (which I will complain about a little more in a bit). Therefore, because there were already people who were actively present in Jenny and Chase’s life, there was no way they were going to convince everyone that they were childhood friends.
•One trope I’m tired of seeing (mainly in contemporaries) is when the parents of teen protagonists are never wondering what’s going on with their kids’ lives. Don’t get me wrong, I know that these types of parents exist. And I know that if parents were more active in fiction, they would interrupt the main story and teens wouldn’t be getting away with as much. But why is it EVERY PARENT in fiction? I always let my parents know when I was planning to have friends come over. If I was going out, I always had to tell them when and where, and what time I was planning to be back. It wasn’t because my parents were strict and overprotective—they were just being PARENTS and making sure I was safe.
Jenny’s mom, on the other hand, never seemed to wonder why her daughter was going out so much. The explanation was that she was going out with her new partner, so she wasn’t always home to check on Jenny. But I’m calling BS. She was the mother of a four, twelve, and seventeen-year-old. She could have a dating life, but I don’t think it was so engrossing that it tampered her parental instincts. The fact that she never found out that Chase was sleeping in Jenny’s room honestly boggles my mind.
•Why in the world didn’t Kelsey have more of a reaction to Jenny’s confession about lying to her about Chance? I didn’t expect her to go all melodramatic, but I was confused why she found the lie funny? I don’t know, maybe that’s just me.
•The relationship between Jenny and Drake was not only toxic, it was also not challenged. I’m not trying to say that toxic relationships should be entirely banned from YA fiction—I just think, if AN ADULT is going to write one, it better be communicated that toxic relationships are wrong. (Also, if the author is unintentionally writing toxic signs in their YA romance, they need to be told by their beta readers and editors about it)
That was not the case here. There’s specifically one scene where Drake complained to Jenny about her giving him “nothing” (“nothing” meaning sex). Jenny then proceeded to have sex with Drake because if HE was ready, then so should she.
This scene was not only frustrating for me to read about, it was also triggering. So let’s all make something clear: You DO NOT owe your partner sex just because they want it, or because you’ve been in a relationship for x amount of time. If a partner says to you what Drake said to Jenny, know that you are not the problem. Anyone who says otherwise is a manipulative snake who needs to be chucked off a cliff immediately.
THE ROMANCE:
•Small thing, but I hated that Chance kept calling Jenny “Little-Miss-Really-Likes-Having-A’s”. Nicknames are supposed to be short and cute, but this was neither.
•I’m not the biggest fan of the good girl/bad boy romantic trope, but I do think if it’s written well (making the good girl and bad boy three-dimensional), I will still enjoy it. That was not the case for this book. We did see a little bit of Jenny study and make comments about not going to detention, but not much of Chance being a bad boy (even though he’s supposed to have a reputation and make people wary of him). I mean, he did make out with a girl in the hallway and get in trouble for it. And he get into ONE fight, which was at the end of the book. But that was really it. THAT’S what made him a “bad boy”.
Going off of that, Jenny and Chance were so one-dimensional. It’s not enough for characters to be labeled a “good girl” or a “bad boy”. I need to know WHY and HOW they got their label. Is the good girl only “good” because she’s afraid of messing up and disappointing her strict parents? Is the bad boy “bad” because that’s his way of pushing people away and making sure he never gets hurt? Are they actually being MISlabeled before meeting their love interest(s) (i.e. the good girl tends to sneak out, or the bad boy actually loves their little sibling or pet)? GIVE ME LAYERS.
Jenny did have her dad leave, but it contributed nothing to her nor the story. Chance’s parents did fight, and he did have an older brother who never reached out to him. But this really didn’t go anywhere. I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but EVERYTHING about this was underdeveloped, especially the two main characters.
•When you have underdeveloped love interests, you ultimately get an underdeveloped romance. Seriously, folks, the romance was SO RUSHED. Don’t get me wrong, I love fast-paced books, but not when it comes to romance/romantic subplots. I need to get a glimpse of the romantic partners’ lives BEFORE they meet (or, if they’re already friends, at least before they meet up). I need to watch them gradually (emphasis on GRADUALLY) shifting from never noticing each other to being unable to imagine a world without their love interest(s). I need the dialogue, the vulnerability, the PDA, etc. to build up NATURALLY.
Jenny and Chance did not do any of that. If this was supposed to be enemies-to-lovers, that was the QUICKEST shift from hate to love I’ve ever seen in any book. No, Jenny and Chance weren’t saying “I hate you” to “I love you” within a couple of pages. But they DID go from being reluctant class partners to sitting at lunch together within the first chapter. THE FIRST CHAPTER. And then the next day, they started opening up about their personal lives. Within less than a month of meeting each other (which happened in less A HUNDRED pages of the book), these two were already cuddling, wanting to run their fingers through each other’s hair, and thinking about each other every second the day.
•Even though there was tension, it was some of the shortest-lived, most eye-rolling tension I’ve ever read in a romance book. For example, the miscommunication. It lasted until the end of the book, but the consequences once Jenny and Chance sorted everything out were short-lived.
Another example: Jenny being angry at Chance for fighting Drake. She gets angry, but very quickly after expressing it to Chance, they make up and have sex. That is such an unhealthy way to resolve conflict, and I hate it every time I come across it in stories.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Honestly, I don’t know who I’d recommend to this to. I wouldn’t recommend this is you’re looking for a good girl/bad boy romance, because neither characters really fit those tropes. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this if you’re looking for a slow burn, because even though it takes a while for Jenny and Chance to get together, they practically zip through all of the stages of attraction. Maybe if you’re someone who’s encouraged to read a book because of a negative review, go right ahead. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.
GOODREADS REVIEWS THAT GO INTO THE PROBLEMATIC ELEMENTS OF JUST FRIENDS:
ALICE (ARCTIC BOOKS)’S REVIEW:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
DIANNA ☾MIDNIGHT READS☽’S REVIEW:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 7, 2017
2.5 STARS
Just Friends was a mixed bag for me. At times it was sweet and funny and charming. At other times I couldn't look past the plot holes or the dialogue that felt as if it were straight out of the 1950's. I'm a sucker for a good YA contemporary but this one was too inconsistent to really work for me.
Jenny and Chance's meet-cute while being paired up for a class assignment was cute but also not believable. In a school where it seemed that everyone had grown up together and known each other for years, how was it that everyone bought Chance and Jenny's made-up story about being best friends? Despite never being seen together, not knowing each other's friends... everyone just believes their made-up-on-the-spot tale of years of shared history.
I'm a stickler for dialogue. It has to be believable. It has to flow and ring true. And that was an issue here. Case in point: Chance described his car as "a lovely black 1999 Dodge Charger." What teenage boy describes his car as lovely?? Has any teenage boy used the word lovely since... oh, 1955? There were many times that Jenny and Chance would use a word or phrase that felt so clunky and out of place that I was instantly pulled out of the story.
There was a distinct lack of parental involvement, too. In Chance's case it was explained away with a generally crappy home life. But Jenny's mother was a hard working, hands-on mom at the beginning of the book. She seemed to be involved in her kid's lives and the family seemed to be a strong unit. However, as soon and Jenny and Chance became instant best friends and spent all their time together, Mom suddenly disappeared. There were several instances of Jenny staying out all night (as in not returning home until the next morning) but there was never any mention of calling home or her mother even being aware she didn't come home all night. It was way too convenient and felt too unrealistic.
But there were highlights, too. Chance and Jenny's friendship, while seemingly developed overnight, felt genuine and they truly became a strong support system for one another. Chance felt able to share a measure of the truth about his home life with Jenny that he hadn't shared with anyone else. In turn, Jenny confessed some of her own secrets and fears and trusted Chance with them. The pretend-history that they made up at random times was always sweet and funny and I enjoyed the "memories" they shared. Chance in particular seemed to change over the course of the story as he dealt with his fractured family.
I had high hopes for this debut novel but unfortunately it had too many issues to be a truly satisfying read.
Just Friends was a mixed bag for me. At times it was sweet and funny and charming. At other times I couldn't look past the plot holes or the dialogue that felt as if it were straight out of the 1950's. I'm a sucker for a good YA contemporary but this one was too inconsistent to really work for me.
Jenny and Chance's meet-cute while being paired up for a class assignment was cute but also not believable. In a school where it seemed that everyone had grown up together and known each other for years, how was it that everyone bought Chance and Jenny's made-up story about being best friends? Despite never being seen together, not knowing each other's friends... everyone just believes their made-up-on-the-spot tale of years of shared history.
I'm a stickler for dialogue. It has to be believable. It has to flow and ring true. And that was an issue here. Case in point: Chance described his car as "a lovely black 1999 Dodge Charger." What teenage boy describes his car as lovely?? Has any teenage boy used the word lovely since... oh, 1955? There were many times that Jenny and Chance would use a word or phrase that felt so clunky and out of place that I was instantly pulled out of the story.
There was a distinct lack of parental involvement, too. In Chance's case it was explained away with a generally crappy home life. But Jenny's mother was a hard working, hands-on mom at the beginning of the book. She seemed to be involved in her kid's lives and the family seemed to be a strong unit. However, as soon and Jenny and Chance became instant best friends and spent all their time together, Mom suddenly disappeared. There were several instances of Jenny staying out all night (as in not returning home until the next morning) but there was never any mention of calling home or her mother even being aware she didn't come home all night. It was way too convenient and felt too unrealistic.
But there were highlights, too. Chance and Jenny's friendship, while seemingly developed overnight, felt genuine and they truly became a strong support system for one another. Chance felt able to share a measure of the truth about his home life with Jenny that he hadn't shared with anyone else. In turn, Jenny confessed some of her own secrets and fears and trusted Chance with them. The pretend-history that they made up at random times was always sweet and funny and I enjoyed the "memories" they shared. Chance in particular seemed to change over the course of the story as he dealt with his fractured family.
I had high hopes for this debut novel but unfortunately it had too many issues to be a truly satisfying read.
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