When Claudia accidentally eavesdrops on the epic breakup of Paige and Iris, the it-couple at her school, she finds herself in hot water with prickly, difficult Iris. Thrown together against their will in the class production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, along with the goofiest, cutest boy Claudia has ever known, Iris and Claudia are in for an eye-opening senior year. Smart, funny, and …
Smart, funny, and thoroughly, wonderfully flawed, Claudia navigates a world of intense friendships and tentative romance in Emma Mills’s Follish Hearts, a young adult novel about expanding your horizons, allowing yourself to be vulnerable, and accepting–and loving–people for who they really are.
more
I was a bit skeptical about this book when I started it because it’s not my usual genre, but I was pleasantly surprised. The story is cute and relevant. Claudia reminded me of myself in high school and I was able to relate with what she was going through and thinking. I just wish I had been as quick with comebacks as she was.
I thoroughly feel in love with Gideon. I can see why Claudia fell for him. He’s funny and lighthearted. He is also a huge flirt and I can understand why Claudia did not trust him. His best friend, Noah, is a gem as well. Gideon is very protective of Noah and when Claudia turns down Gideon, Noah is right there to explain Gideon’s actions that Claudia has witnessed and that have made her not trust him. The two of them show you what true friendship really is.
Iris and Claudia’s friendship is a strained one that grows slowly. Iris is very standoffish and seems angry about everything. The reader never really gets a full explanation as to why she is this way, but you are able to get an idea from her home life. I love how Claudia interacted with her and helped her see life differently and, although they weren’t great friends, Claudia still made her feel accepted.
Emma Mills is a new author for me, but after reading this book I will definitely be reading more by her.
At a “Last party before Senior year starts” party, Claudia has escaped to the restroom where she is the unwilling witness to favorite couple Iris and Paige’s breakup. Caught in the act, Claudia tries to stay out of the rather mean girl Iris’ way, but ends up getting paired with her for a school assignment. Iris is not over her breakup and hates Claudia for witnessing it so isn’t the greatest partner for a project and surprise!… they fail. In order to get extra credit, their teacher makes them try out for the school play A Midsummer’s Nights Dream. There, Claudia’s world is upended. She meets a flirty boy, makes new friendships, and discovers a whole world outside her comfort zone. Oh, and she totally gets William Shakespeare.
I was totally surprised by Foolish Hearts. The premise wasn’t that unusual, but the author did a great job of capturing the flavors of new friendships, betrayal and first love. Claudia was used to living in the secure world she knew. Best friends with Zoe, the girl she grew up with, she never needed any other friends. Going to an all girl school, while Zoe remained in public school, Claudia was content with her world, but it was time for a shakeup. When she witnessed Paige and Iris’ breakup, she feels bad for Iris, even though she’s really hard to be around. When they both start work on the school play Claudia becomes the friend that Iris never wanted. I really loved how Claudia just kept going back for Iris’s abuse and saw through her mean girl act.
Gideon is the class clown, but the clown everyone laughs with and not at. He is uber popular, cute and an all around nice guy. The dialog between Claudia and Gideon was written so well. Even though it was PG-13 it was clever and full of wit, I found myself smiling at the great energy these two made together. He was not all surface charm and had hidden depths that came out as the story developed. This made Gideon multi dimensional and even more enjoyable to read.
There was a lot of drama in this high school romance, but there was also a lot of fun. The story and dialog was intricate and I got totally wrapped into the plot and characters forgetting that I am not the target reader for this type of book. That is a true compliment to the author. She made me forget my age! (If only more books could do this! LOL) Truly, Foolish Hearts had a great story that was easy to love and characters that learned and grew as the story moved forward. The name Foolish Hearts was apropos for the amount of relationship drama featured in this book, but I think it’s also a play on words to the relationship drama found in Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Maybe the author should rename this book Clever Hearts instead!
I just really enjoyed this book, and I was very happy where all the characters ended, but there needs to be an “angsty” option for the descriptors. Because it tugged at the heartstrings but it was never tragic and things were resolved.