(Photo credit: hellosgiggles.com)
Since you asked… I did not like
Since You Asked by Maurene Goo.
Since
You Asked chronicles fifteen-year-old Holly Kim’s sophomore year. After writing
a scandalous article for the school newspaper, Holly is given her own newspaper
column where she gives her brutally honest opinion about everything regarding
high school. As Holly navigates homecoming drama and crushes, she realizes
everyone may not be what they seem and high school may not really be as
terrible as she originally believes.
First
of all, I must discuss the cover photo. It looks like a freshman girl’s heavily
edited Instagram photo, or the Picnik editing on Facebook photos that was
popular when I was a freshman in high school. The cover did not give me high
expectations for this book. However, it is much worse than I originally
expected.
I
absolutely hate the main character Holly. The only thing that she does the
entire book is complain. My high school years have gone, and I know that I
complained a time or two about assignments and what not. But this girl…
ANYTHING and EVERYTHING is worth complaining about. While this may be the
author trying to make her relatable, she just comes off bratty at times. One
time in particular, Holly complains because her mother is allowing her to pick
out her own Christmas presents. She throws an entire fit and it just makes her
seem so ungrateful.
Another
major problem I have with the novel is Holly’s column. This is what drives the
whole story, but to me, it is very unbelievable that what she would write would
appear in a school newspaper. I was an editor for a high school newspaper and
if a student wrote something like Holly would, they would never get their own column. Besides, Holly actually swears and
tears apart student groups in some of her pieces. This would never be tolerated
in a school newspaper. While I understand this is what moves the story along, as
someone that was in a school newspaper, it comes across as unbelievable.
For
me, this story just didn’t do it. It only manages to earn 2 stars for this reviewer.
Disclaimer: I am not being compensated for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I borrowed Since You Asked from the library.
