Tell Me Three Things

Product Information

When Jessie meets Ethan to work on The Waste Land, she can’t ignore that she has a huge crush on him. They discuss The Waste Land as they walk; Ethan puts on his sunglasses and looks even more unreachable. He shares that he has most of the poem memorized, since he reads poetry when he can’t sleep. Later, as Jessie and SN text, they start a game in which they each share three things. SN’s third thing is that he likes Jessie. Jessie feels the same way, but she also feels weird—SN could be anyone. To earn Jessie’s trust, SN shares that his sister died a year ago. He admits that he counts the days, hours, and minutes since she died. At about the same time, Liam texts Jessie asking about work, Ethan texts Jessie about The Waste Land, and Scarlett texts Jessie a picture of her homecoming dress. Wait wait wait, before I forget - you know that thing of how all women want to have bulimia? No? Well this book sure does! “According to Crystal, Gem’s out with a stomach flu and is ‘like, you know, puking her guts out, hashtag jealous.’” Jessie has had her life flipped upside down over the last few years… the death of her mother two years ago was just the beginning. Now her father’s suddenly met someone new and married her of all things. But that’s not the only surprise. They’re selling the house she grew up in in Chicago and moving to L.A. for her junior year of high school and she gets no say in the whole mess. We have our potential SN guys: Caleb, a rando who doesn't really play a big role throughout the book, but is very convincingly like SN. Liam, a senior, who plays a larger role in the book, and has been nice to Jessie from the start. And Ethan, Jessie's English partner for a project, who is good-looking but also a bit cold. Distant? He plays a huge role in the book, especially as Jessie's partner for the English project.

A lot of the girl hate in this book is combined with another, less common but still thrilling type of hate: Californian hate/rich people hate/hippie hate??? I don't really know what to call it, but our main gal Jessie had to move from Chicago to California and she is so mad about it, you guys. Examples! I didn't care much for S/N, which is kind of sad as anonymous communication is my absolute favorite trope. I'd love recommendations if anyone has any! I predicted who he was early on, as it was very obvious. I’d avoid the meat loaf too, just to be on the safe side. in fact, stay out of the cafeteria altogether. that shit will give you salmonella.All the authors handle the anger/betrayal/hurt differently, and I just always seem to love how it’s handled. It adds a layer of diversity to each book that makes me all giddy and weird-but, in the end, always incredibly happy. Because A) Wouldn’t you be pissed if someone you were falling for kept their identity a secret from you? And B) A lot of times, it’s the guy who knows first and he doesn’t like the girl in real life he thought he knew so well online. I LOVE THIS. Animosity from a broody man boy anyone? No takers? I’m the only weirdo? Cool. More Misha [etc.] for moi. In the beginning, there was A LOTof girl hate and of course the whole love-triangle thing BUT SURPRISINGLY THE LOVE TRIANGLE DIDN’T BOTHER ME wow im a changed person Maybe I’m becoming one of those cynical readers who criticizes everything (*screams*) but finding a realistic, relatable contemporary that has a good message and is enjoyable to read just seems so difficult lately. This book surprised me in the best way possible. I don't regret accepting the review request even one bit because it was so very worth it. Julie Buxbaum is now an insta-buy for me, and I have no doubt she will be an insta-buy for you guys as well once you get a dose of this beautiful, funny, cute, light-hearted story.

Ich hatte ja mit vielem gerechnet, aber nicht mit so viel Emotionen. Es kommt wirklich nicht oft vor, dass mich ein Buch so sehr emotional abholen kann, und erst recht nicht wenn die Protagonistin erst 16 ist.Plus, there's that typical “type of girl” line (along with its close relative, “one of those girls”). They say don't mess with the classics!!! I have been watching you at school. not in a creepy way. though I wonder if even using the word “creepy” by definition makes me creepy? anyhow, it’s just…you intrigue me." I don't like the comments Jessie make about other girls she sees at her school. Some skinny-shaming, slut-shaming, girl-hating-on-girls, etc. There are also some stereotyping. I've loved so many books in the past years, a fair amount of them contemporaries. And many of the contemporaries I've super enjoyed - like Faking Normal, Emily and Oliver, What We Saw - the best I could give them were4 stars. The 5 stars that I've awarded is reserved for books like Anatomy of a Misfit - books with such amazing narration that feels not only real but also so very authentic to the point that the teenage me of yesterday comes out of her hidden depths just to cry out, "This character is so me. Her feelings, her fears, her insecurities are so me. SHE IS ME!" The girl-on-girl hate and the not-like-other-girls got on my nerves. I've successfully avoided books with these tropes for a while (yay to that!), but it was annoying here.

PLUS, DID I MENTION HOW IT'S SO DARN CUTE?! I WAS SMILING SO WIDELY BY THE END OF THE STORY, DAMNIT.

Become a Member

The romance, the character and relationship development, the hows and whys of online connections... man. How do I even begin? This book is the straight version of Simon Vs. the Homo-sapiens Agenda, and while they are very similar, it actually didn't bother me that much. I enjoyed each book for different reasons. PHILIPPINE RESIDENTS!!! FILIPINO BOOKWORMS! YOU CAN WIN A CHANCE TO READ THIS BOOK EARLY! JOIN MY GIVEAWAY HERE! you make me want to know what goes on in that head of yours. I’ll be honest: I’m not usually interested in the contents of other people’s heads. my own is work enough. And the constant L.A. stereotypes were more annoying than funny. Maybe I don't have a right to be annoyed by this just because I've lived out here for a while, but some of them are just so blatantly untrue that it feels like the author knows nothing about the city. Everyone is definitely not skinny. Girls do not always wear skimpy dresses (in fact, L.A. is super casual compared to the U.K. and most people wear jeans and baggy tees). No, people do not always watch movies instead of reading. Girls are definitely not all blonde (high Hispanic and Asian population, actually). No, the grass is not always bright green just because it's always summer (sun + drought = not a good recipe for green grass).

Perfect days are for people with small realizable dreams. Or maybe for all of us, they just happen in retrospect; they’re only now perfect because they contain something irrevocably and irretrievably lost.” A heartfelt, wryly perceptive account of coming to terms with irrevocable loss when life itself means inevitable change.”— Kirkus Can I also say that I wanted more Theo? I love the bond that formed between him and Jessie despite the way things may have started (temper tantrum anyone?). They were good for each other and it was lovely to see the way their relationship develop. And just the slightest argument against women being in control of their own promiscuity: “So my sister goes to UCLA, and she’s like this huge hobag there, right? And she says that sleeping with all these randos is her way of owning her sexuality.” HA! Ridiculous! She thinks she can sleep with however many people she wants? She thinks it's her body? Hilarious!!

Need Help?

I'm finding this review hard to write... That typically happens when I'm so angry at a book that I can't even see straight. This isn't the problem I'm facing with TMTT. I liked it so much that there are so many things I want to say. I've truly never faced this issue before with a contemporary book before. It's my least favorite genre to read. Not including John Green books, I don't think I've ever been excited to finish a contemporary book before this... I really thought about it too and nothing comes to mind. I read this in summer 2016 and three-starred it. I remember it as being fun/fluffy/fine/cute/easy/etc. Good contemporary words.