A New York Times BestsellerWhat if the person you need the most is someone you’ve never met? Funny and romantic, this tug-at-your-heartstrings contemporary YA debut is perfect for readers of Rainbow Rowell, Jennifer Niven, and E. Lockhart.Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week as a junior at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los … new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.
Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?
In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?
“Three Things about this novel: (1) I loved it. (2) No, really, I LOVED it. (3) I wish I could tell every teen to read it. Buxbaum’s book sounds, reads, breathes, worries, and soars like real adolescents do.” —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of Leaving Time and Off the Page
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I’ll tell you three things I loved about this novel: it’s charming, it’s funny and it rings true. I read this in a day because I could not put it down. Teenagers today may face challenges that we didn’t, but at the heart of everything is love. A perfect read for the beach, or any setting, really.
This is only one of the recent books I’ve read worth sharing. Jessie’s story is of being the new girl and finding that one friend to trust is one to read for anyone who has ever felt alone in a new place.
it was very funny and sarcastic i could relate to this a lot
I rarely read YA, but hear so many great things about this book, so I had to give it a try. I’m so glad I did! It spoke to the teenager in all of us, the feeling of being out of place. And kept this reader hooked with the mysteriousness of who the secret texted was. Well done!
I loved this book so much that as soon as I finished, I wanted to start reading it all over again.
I LOVE the way it was written and I love all the characters.
Awesome story. Highly recommended 🙂
I really loved this book, the characters were so funny and relatable. I really loved the part where Jessie goes back home but everything is not how she left it, I could totally relate to that. I was a little weirded out that Jessie kept thinking that random guy was S/N…it was so random and if I were her I would have never guessed that.
I love this book. I love how truthfully awkward the characters are and their situations.
Jessie has to start a new school after moving from Chicago to California after her dad gets remarried . This is a big change for her , not only is she still suffering from the death of her mom but she has to start a new private school.her junior year if high school . She starts receiving these emails from Somebody/nobody on her first day of the new school . He won’t tell her who he is , can she trust him . Then when feelings start to develop for SN She is left wondering who it is and can she like him in real life .
This book had me guessing the whole.time at you SN was. At first I thought is was her step brother Theo , then I just couldn’t keep my guesses for very long . I went back and forth between Liam Ethan, and Caleb . I wanted it to be one. UT then thinking it was someone else. This book kept me turning the page , needing to know who is was and if he felt the same for Jessie . It was a great young authors book. In the end I was happy with who is was , but I hated the way it ended . I wanted to know what happens with them . An epilogue or something.
To me this book is everything I look for in a book.This book is packed with teen drama and romance but with a twisted beginning,middle,and end. I couldn’t wait to finish a page and go on to the next.This story is quite the page-turner and isn’t like a regular romance story.
I became addicted just by reading the summary! This was a great book!
Terrific homage to “You’ve Got Mail”
Jessie’s mother died of cancer two years ago, and she is still struggling with her grief. As if that isn’t bad enough, her father met a widow online in a grief-support group, fell in love with her, and very recently eloped with her to Hawaii. After their honeymoon, Jessie has been forced to leave all her friends behind, especially Scarlett, her BFF since age four, and move from a working-class neighborhood in Chicago to an affluent enclave in Los Angeles. The marriage seems uncomfortably unequal to Jessie, because her father is a down-to-earth, just-plain-folks pharmacist, but her intimidatingly polished stepmother, Rachel, is a wealthy, film-marketing mogul. With Jessie’s father’s agreement, Rachel insists on paying the exorbitant tuition required to send Jessie, along with her stepbrother, Theo, who is also a 16-year-old junior, to a ritzy, K-12 prep school called Wood Valley. Handsome, flamboyant Theo has attended the school since kindergarten, knows absolutely everyone, and is one of the most popular teens in school. But though he very slowly warms to Jessie at home, he refuses to have anything to do with her pedestrian, Midwestern self at school.
Jessie is feeling abandoned and disoriented in her new surroundings at school when she gets an email from an unknown person who uses the alias, Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her maneuver through the snake pit of Wood Valley’s privileged snobs. Jessie is initially worried this is some kind of set-up, someone with a nefarious goal of tempting her to spill her guts, only to afterwards broadcast what she’s shared and publicly humiliate her. But gradually, as the correspondence deepens and grows, including especially their shared game of, “Tell me three things,” it becomes obvious that SN is a true ally—and potentially could become a very good friend.
Meanwhile, in the real world of her classes at school, Jessie notices a boy who is also a junior who is gorgeous and fawned on by all and sundry, but who holds himself aloof, clearly a loner by choice. She nicknames him, “Batman,” because he wears the same vintage Batman T-shirt and black skinny jeans every day. Then she discovers his name is Ethan Marks, when they are paired up for an important assignment for English. Ethan arrogantly informs her that he will do all the work for the project and, not to worry, because he will get her an A, but Jessie refuses his cynical offer, determined to carry her own weight. And thus begins a relationship that is both intimidating and fascinating.
Because this story is told solely from the first-person point of view of Jessie, there is some effort in the plotting of the story to create a mystery as to who SN is, which is typical for a “You’ve Got Mail” (YGM) type of romance plot. However, since this is a classic, HEA romance novel, it is quite easy to guess who SN is early on in the story. And to me, personally, it seems artistically purposeful in the story that it is only Jessie who is unsure of SN’s identity and several times over the course of the novel guesses wrong.
Overall, this is one of the best YGM plots I’ve seen anyone do, and there have been some quite good ones in the YA genre, most notably, Tweet Cute by Emma Lord—another 5-star read. I enjoyed everything about this story. I experienced it in both Kindle and audiobook format, by purchasing the Amazon WhisperSync option, and I eagerly listened to the narration while following along in the text, because I wanted to savor every word of this outstandingly written novel. The voice talent, Jorjeana Marie, does an excellent job.
For me, this wonderful love story is a keeper, and I am sure I will revisit it many times in the future.
I rate this novel as follows:
Heroine: 5 stars
Romantic Hero: 5 stars
Romance Plot: 5 stars
Family Drama Plot: 4 stars
Setting: 4 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Audiobook Narration: 4 stars
Overall: 5 stars
Saying I like You’ve Got Mail may age me a bit, but this book is really like YGM, but with 17 year-olds, and a slightly different spin. I loved this book. I usually don’t read YA. I would classify it more toward older YA/NA, because of some graphic innuendos and talk of sex. That said, I loved Jessie. And her mystery writer Somebody/Nobody. I usually listen to books on audible but because of the frequent emails/texts I appreciated reading it as paperback. Jessie’s story is heartbreaking and genuine. She’s moved to LA after the death of her mother and her father’s remarriage. Fish out of water. Along comes this mystery guy (or we assume he’s a he) who starts to email her. They become friends. He knows who she is but she is not quite sure who he is. As she finds friends and enemies and weaves her way through her junior year of high school, we take the ride with her. I won’t give away who SN ends up being, but of course the story had a HEA. Ahhh. I loved the fresh voice in this story. It was a quick read for me. Highly recommend! Looking forward to reading another book or two by this author.
This book is one of my favorite books.It’s so fun to read and entertaining.
I literally knew nothing about this book going in. A friend suggested it to me and I checked it out purely on her recommendation. I didn’t look up the synopsis or read any reviews, which is atypical for me with a new author and book I haven’t heard of. I was not, however, disappointed with this book. This is a little “You’ve Got Mail” meets high school, and includes themes of grief, friendship, and learning more about oneself.
The opening scene is an email exchange between Jessie A Holmes and SomebodyNobody (S/N for short). S/N attends Jessie’s new High School. He’s been in the same schools with the same kids since kindergarten. He knows the people and the ropes. And he wants to help Jessie so she can survive her move to the new school. But he wants to remain anonymous, only giving Jessie help through email and IM as the mysterious S/N.
I pretty much liked S/N right away. He’s clever and funny and caring, but still 16. Also, Jessie may be a bit mature for her age (sometimes…but I’m cutting her slack because of the whole grief thing), but again, she’s clearly 16 and still in high school. One of my biggest pet peeves with Y/A fiction is when the protagonists do things and behave in a manner not fitting for their age. If the character is 16, write them like 16 year olds, not 20 year olds. And yes, there is a big difference. A lot changes for kids in those four years. Anyway, I like that I felt like these kids could actually have been in high school. Thank you, Julie Buxbaum, for writing realistic teens.
I digress. S/N is cool and I couldn’t wait to figure out who he was. I had an idea (and ultimately did have it figured out before Jessie did), but it was fun to see Jessie’s indecision and curiosity about it. And I really liked Jessie. She isn’t snobby or mean and doesn’t hate her dad just because he’s “old and uncool.” Does she have moments of selfishness? Heck yes. Again, she’s 16 and grieving and I would expect nothing less. But what I loved is she isn’t ultimately hung up on herself. When some major conflict arises, she is able to see where she was wrong and make changes to herself. And I really liked that.
Scarlett, Dree, and Agnus are good side characters and I enjoyed watching Jessie’s friendships with them ebb and flow through the difficulty of a big move and living in a new place.
I pretty much liked “Batman” (Ethan, Ethan Marks) from the start, too. He seemed so removed from everything happening in the school and didn’t get caught up with the drama. I really liked that.
Liam (with “swinging Earl”) and Caleb add a fun element to the story we wouldn’t have without them. I do wonder about Liam’s inability to see what his girlfriend is really like, but hopefully he just stays wise. Hopefully.
I did not like Theo at first but I warmed up to him pretty quick. He ends up being really cool and I like him. I feel bad for Rachel. I’m sure she had a difficult time trying to navigate this new life she had jumped into. Same with Jessie’s dad (I honestly cannot remember if his name is ever mentioned in the whole book). I cannot fathom the struggles he must have been having. My heart aches for people going through that kind of grief. I’m glad he finally figured a way to talk to Jessie and started bridging the gap they had been living with.
Also, I just have to say that “Book out Below!” is probably the cutest book store name I have ever in my life heard.
Good quotes:
“My favorite word, on the other hand, is waffle. Both a delicious breakfast food and a verb.”
“Though I think of ‘hot’ as altogether different from ‘beautiful.’ ‘Hot’ seems to be about guys liking you. ‘Beautiful’ is about liking how you look.”
Note: grief is probably the main theme of this book. Be aware that this isn’t a necessarily light/funny reading. I don’t really know that’s the way people go into it, but since reading I’ve looked at a few reviews and noticed that most people who didn’t like it expected something else. (Side note: a book can still be good if you get something you weren’t expecting. Keep that in mind when you review.) There is also teen drug and alcohol use, a fair amount of language (it’s a bunch of teens trying to be cool, after all), and talk of teen sex. The sex is off-page, but the girls do talk about it with each other and there is talk about body parts.
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Read by Jorjeana Marie. She’s a good reader but I can’t stand listening at normal speed. I listened at least at 1.5x speed.
it was amazing. i absolutely loved it,
Very, very funny book. The suspense will keep you turning the page until the end.
Loved it!
4.5 STARS!
(Read June/2016)
I simply enjoyed this story. It had a sweet and swoony HEA with laugh-out-loud humor throughout. There were just a couple of underdeveloped elements that prevented me from giving it 5 STARS, but besides that – near perfection. (A 2016 YA Favorite Read!)
I liked this book a lot.
I like this novel because it tells a story of a relatable person to anyone. You kind of wish You were her and it makes you feel sad when you finish the book. It tells a romantic, teen, memorable experience to anyone that reads it. The author, Julie Buxbaum, really captures the life of a teen.