Preachers’ daughters aren’t supposed to be atheists. They’re also not supposed to make pacts to lose their virginity by the end of the year, but high school senior Meredith Beaumont is sick of letting other people tell her who to be. Spending the last four years as Mute Mare, the girl so shy just thinking about boys could trigger panic attacks, Meredith knows exactly what it’s like to be … what it’s like to be invisible. But when a vindictive mean girl gets her manicured claws on the anti-virginity pact and spreads it around the school—with Mare’s signature at the bottom—Mare’s not so invisible anymore. She just wishes she was.
Now the girls mutter “slut” as they pass her in the hall, and the boys are lined up to help complete her checklist. When she meets a guy who knows nothing of the pact, their budding romance quickly transforms from a way to get her first time over with to a genuine connection. But when the pact threatens to destroy her new relationship and the fragile foundation of her seemingly perfect family, Mare has to decide what’s more important: fixing her reputation and pleasing her parents, or standing up for the person she wants to be.
The Anti-Virginity Pact is a dark and emotional full-length YA Contemporary Romance novel that can be read as a standalone, or the reader can continue on with Johanna’s friends-to-lovers college romance in The Anti-Relationship Year.
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*Received ARC in exchange for an honest review*
Rating: No rating unless I really have to, then its 3 stars.
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*Disclaimer* I am a huge fan of Katie’s youtube channel and watch her religiously. She’s actually the reason I made a NetGalley account, and this was my first ever NetGalley ARC.
With that said, I’m a little sad I couldn’t get into this book. I thought this book was going to be a little bit more mature, because of the subject matter but it actually reads somewhat young. The main character’s inner monologue reads like a 15 or 16-year-old when she is actually a senior in high school.
I really tried to give this book a chance but I finally had to DNF it at around 30%. I didn’t connect to the characters and I found myself bored most of the time and it actually made me not want to read if it meant having to read this book.
Two friends want to lose their virginity before college so they can have it over and done with. Only, Meredith is the daughter of a preacher, and if this pact gets out, it could ruin her. Meredith already has a tough time with things. She doesn’t believe in what her father preaches, and because of her family, she faces a lot of bullying in school. If it wasn’t for her best friend Johanna, she wouldn’t have any friends at all. This makes the story multi-layered with several real-world issues that face teens today.
The next two paragraphs might contain spoilers.
The story started easily enough, but the thing that stands out to me is how many times these people are raising their eyebrows. (Five times in the first chapter alone). I knew then that this would not be the best story for me, but I stuck with it. Meredith is an immature character who doesn’t act 18 years old. She over polices her best friend. It surprised me Jo stayed friends with her because I couldn’t put up with that kind of constant badgering. But Jo wasn’t all that supportive either, so it was a fairly toxic friendship. We’re led to believe Meredith never talks and is close to mute when she is anything but. I’m baffled why Meredith wouldn’t report the extent of the bullying. Your car is getting destroyed, heck, you get kidnapped, and you say nothing?
When we pass the halfway mark of the book, the pace picks up speed and things happen at a breakneck pace. With the rape, the repercussions get glossed over. I understand the book was trying to portray the ultra-religious, but why is there a slur in place of the word gay or lesbian, multiple times? Mere’s parents attempted to send her to a conversion camp because she’s an atheist, but they would be okay with a gay daughter? It was just an offensive and poorly addressed way to tack on yet another issue. Same for the dogfighting. It was all just too many insufficiently addressed things. If the focus would have stayed on just a few issues, the book would have packed a bigger punch. There could be a good story underneath with some editing.
3.75 stars
This book was going really well until that very abrupt ending. I am thinking maybe the author could have spent more time on the ending and less on the beginning half of the book where not a whole lot happens. I really related to the meredith’s anxiety. although I did think she was pretty naive for an 18 year old, I kind of understand how sheltered she would be growing up in that sort of family. I absolutely Loved Jo! We all need a friend like her who is willing to push us out of our comfort zones and also be there when we fail spectacularly. I really liked the book all in all and can’t wait to see what the author does next.
On a side note I sort of thought “those camps” were a kind of urban legend. Anyone else?
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.
First of all I love the cover, and that is what first caught my attention. After reading the blurb this sounded like a very interesting book full of teen angst, which I love by the way. I don’t read a lot of coming of age/Young adult novels but I wanted to give this one a try. I was definitely intrigued and looked forward to what would happen. However, the second half/last quarter became a bit of a mess. It was very chaotic and a lot was going on, some of it felt a bit unrealistic in my opinion. Also I had a very hard time connecting to the main character Meredith. However, the author was able to keep me curious enough to finish the book, which isn’t always easy. But at the end of the day this was just an okay read for me. I wasn’t sucked into the story, and I was just on the outside looking in. I didn’t feel anything for the characters, which is a big deal for me when I am reading a book. Maybe it is just me, so if you are intrigued by what you read in the blurb then I say give it a go.
The Anti-Virginity Pact is an astonishing read. In other words, this novel is darker than the synopsis reveals. Many of the issues that occur throughout the story came as a shock to me. The Anti-virginity pact is composed at a perfect pace. My attention was solely on the book from the very beginning. I had trouble putting it down and could have read it till the end in one sitting. The characters can be related to in many ways, and the emotions come to life from the pages. I came to love all of the characters. Overall this novel was amazing, and Wismer’s writing technique is incredible. I will be recommending this book to everyone who wants a new read!