High school senior Keely Collins takes on firsts, lasts, and everything in between in this sweet, sex-positive rom-com for fans of Meg Cabot and Jenny Han.It seemed like a good plan at first.When the only other virgin in her group of friends loses it at Keely’s own eighteenth birthday party, she’s inspired to take things into her own hands. She wants to have that experience too (well, not exactly … experience too (well, not exactly like that–but with someone she trusts and actually likes), so she’s going to need to find the guy, and fast. Problem is, she’s known all the boys in her small high school forever, and it’s kinda hard to be into a guy when you watched him eat crayons in kindergarten.
So she can’t believe her luck when she meets a ridiculously hot new guy named Dean. Not only does he look like he’s fallen out of a classic movie poster, but he drives a motorcycle, flirts with ease, and might actually be into her.
But Dean’s already in college, and Keely is convinced he’ll drop her if he finds out how inexperienced she is. That’s when she talks herself into a new plan: her lifelong best friend, Andrew, would never hurt or betray her, and he’s clearly been with enough girls that he can show her the ropes before she goes all the way with Dean. Of course, the plan only works if Andrew and Keely stay friends–just friends–so things are about to get complicated.
Cameron Lund’s delightful debut is a hilarious and heartfelt story of first loves, first friends, and first times–and how making them your own is all that really matters.
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What would you get if you mixed SEX AND THE CITY with AMERICAN PIE? This hilarious and cute book.
I’ve just stayed up half the night to read a book, and even though my eyes feel like they’ve been rubbed with sandpaper, I don’t regret a second of it. THE BEST LAID PLANS made me giggle, grin, blush, and snicker like the awkward teen I used to be. Keely, Andrew and the gang are charming and real, and bursting with hormones and convictions about life, as teens usually are.
Speaking of Andrew . . . I usually prefer the hate-to-love trope but Lund might’ve swayed me into the friends to lovers trope. Okay, sway is a weak word. I now need to find more friends-to-lovers books. Recommendations?
I loved THE BEST LAID PLANS* and urge you to one-click it!
* Intended for older teens.
There are several books and movies that uses high school as a theme but this one is the best. The teenagers groups, the anxieties of their age, their attitudes and behavior are so well demonstrated, so real, but in a funny and smart way. The main plot is the subject that torments every teenager along with all the bullying that comes along with it. It’s fun, it’s romantic. I’m not inclined to friend-to-lovers stories but this one totally gripped me.
Fresh-voiced and heartfelt, this debut pairs irresistible friends-to-lovers tension with vital questions of first love. It’s a witty, welcome entry in the rom-com resurgence.
Realistic, funny, and honest.
An authentic, hilarious, and heartwarming debut. The Best Laid Plans is the pitch-perfect rom-com you’ve been waiting for!
Filled to the brim with heart, The Best Laid Plans is a raunchy and hilarious quest to get it on — and all of the high jinks along the way.
Keely is a high school senior and worried about her inexperience as she starts dating a college guy. To calm her fears, she turns to her best friend Andrew to help show her the ropes.
This was a lighthearted and quick read, but it definitely felt like you were back in high school with the characters and their drama. I liked how it showed the complexity of sex in high school as Keely navigates her own insecurities and peer pressure. I do wish there was more to address the slut shaming and the double standard between the men and women, but I don’t expect these kids to quite have it all figured out at 18.
I’m a sucker for the friends-to-lovers trope so I ate up all the cheesy moments between Keely and Andrew. The characters were real and made mistakes and felt authentic from my own high school days.
My awkward teenage self would have appreciated this book back in the day so pick this up if you want a cute YA read!
This book should be read by anyone who’s ever felt scared about their first time. This book reminds us that you can’t plan something like that. It’ll happen when it happens. It’s a part of life. Most people do it. Some people don’t. Whatever the case, you can do it or screw it. It’s really that simple.
I probably would have given this book a five-star rating if I read this when I was younger and even though I’m still young now and reading it at the age that most people should, I feel like a grandma, reading about something that happened to me a long time ago and will never happen to me again.
Anyway, in conclusion, really good book and I appreciated that the author is as big of a pizza fan as I am!
This book was so much fun to read! I was immediately swept in by the characters and the authentic voice of main character Keely, a high school senior who feels like boys treat her differently than the other girls in her small-town school, and who worries she is the only one who is still a virgin. I picked up this book because I was looking for a light read to escape the worries of daily life right now — and THE BEST LAID PLANS did not disappoint! — but I was also delightfully surprised by the depth and complexity of the relationships in this book, both romantic relationships and friendships. Cameron Lund deftly portrays that strange time of the end of high school, when you are on the cusp of forging ahead into your adult life, excited about breaking away from everything & everyone familiar, but also nostalgic for the fleeting days you are living…the end of an era. I became very emotionally invested in the characters and did not want this book to end!
BookishFirst First Impression Based on Preview: This looks like a very interesting story with lots of great characters that the author is very good at give detailed descriptions of to better help the reader imagine them and draw you into the story easily. I look forward to reading more of this story in the future.
If you love a good RomCom situation this book is for you! I love how realistic this story is about teenage love, its messy..lots of miscommunication…and they don’t really know what they’re doing. The characters are cute & funny & feel like a family. I finished this book in one sitting because it was just hilarious and adorably cute! I think it would make a cute Netflix movie btw! I highly recommend this book & believe you won’t be disappointed.
While the story itself is predictable RomCom, I had a wonderful time reading it. Read it in a single sitting and found myself laughing, cringing and turning pages to keep up with the characters. Cute.
The Best Laid Plans by Cameron Lund
This YA novel is a great, fast read. It is the Senior Year of high school in Small Town, USA. The kids have been going to school together most of their lives. They all know who has dated who, who has a crush on whom, who has lost their virginity and who has not. Keely and Andrew have been best friends since birth, but as they mature will their friendship be able to withstand the drama of their senior year? Dating? Hook ups? First jobs? Prom? Graduation? And finally, the summer and off to college. This will jog your memory of high school and maybe be a helpful reminder of all the angst and confusing emotions our young kids are facing today.
”Falling in love with a high school boy is the single stupidest thing you can do.”
I have been chomping at the bit to read The Best Laid Plans ever since I read the sneak peek on BookishFirst. In my opinion Cameron Lund provided YA perfection with this story. Her writing is tight and flows so easily. I was constantly turning pages and could not get enough of these characters and their banter.
I’m not going to rehash the synopsis, because that’s not my strongest skill. All I’m going to say is that Keely and her gang of friends come to life on these pages. There were parts that made me laugh, parts that made me cringe, parts that made me mad, and parts that made me happy. I honestly felt like I was back in high school with some of the dialogue and banter. Some of the dynamics between characters, just the petty stuff that goes on. This story is at its heart trope-y YA high school goodness, but there’s also the exploration of virginity that feels pretty realistic. Yes, some characters say the absolute wrong things in this one, but if every character in this story said all the right things it would be boring. It wouldn’t give the chance for other characters to say “that’s not right, right?” Everyone’s sex journey is different, and the way everyone feels about virginity is different, and it takes awhile to get to that point in this story, but it’s the message at heart here.
Plus, if you love cute and fun YA with a whole lot of trope, then you can’t beat The Best Laid Plans. It served a delectable trope buffet.
I truly truly hope we see more of these characters in the future, and I can’t wait to pick up this authors next book.
Though this book seems to be very realistic to this day and age regarding the nonchalant attitude toward sex by teenagers, I am not sure it should be read by 14 yr olds. But a part says yes because teenagers are engaging in sex a lot younger now. I don’t think the book really had a good plot to it. You have teenagers having sex one minute, the boy go downstairs, the girl comes down the stairs 10 minutes later and everyone at the party is aware of what happened. And then we have Keely who told she is now the only virgin left at their school that is a virgin and she is portrayed as the odd one out. This book almost sounds as if it is delivering the message that being a virgin in high schools is wrong and as the book says “a curse”. This book would probably be a good read for parents to understand what kids attitudes are towards sex these days and maybe better equip themselves for “the talk” that needs to happen with their kids. I didn’t find this book particularly a good read and I found it to be a mundane read.
I received an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed are honest and are completely my own
18 year old Keely, a high school senior, is determined to lose her virginity before heading to college in the fall. After meeting Dean, a college guy, she is more determined than ever. But, will he still be interested in her after he finds out she’s a virgin? To calm her fears, she decides that maybe she should sleep with her lifelong best friend, Andrew, first. Sounds like a solid plan, right? I’m sure nothing will go wrong … or will it? Find out in this fun, sweet, and entertaining Young Adult romance!
“Love is when your weirdness matches up with someone else’s weirdness.”
This was a bittersweet read for me since it looks like my high school senior son will not be going back to school this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As much as I enjoyed the characters’ antics, it also was sad for me knowing that he might not have a prom, end of year senior activities, an honors awards night… or even a graduation. But please don’t let that stop you from reading this rollicking, romantic debut about first love!
Location: Prescott, Vermont
I received an advance copy of this book from BookishFirst. All opinions are my own.
This book definitely brought back all the memories (good and bad) of high school. The clicks with certain groups of people, the parties, sex, gossip, etc all felt so very real. I loved the best friend relationship between Andrew and Keely and Hannah as well. It was nice how they had each other’s back and were there for each other when needed especially as confidants. All the secondary characters were great as well. I thought both Keely and Andrew’s parents were awesome especially how the parents were best friends and that it made their (Keely and Andrew’s) friendship so much more special that they grew up together. Not to give too much away but I thought it was such a great ending and HEA for Keely ad Andrew.
The Best Laid Plans by Cameron Lund was a sweet, hilarious story that I could not put down. With lovable, relatable characters, this friends to lovers novel was drama filled and ansgty yet it will give you butterflies in your stomach and remind you of your high school days. Keely had excellent character development in this story and you will enjoy seeing how she changes as a person. I loved Andrew and seeing the friendship between him and Keely really added to the story. Apart from friendship, this novel had steamy scenes, some mean girl vibes and the author did a good job capturing the double standards about sex that’s maintained in high school. This story about the realities of high-school friendships was a great read and I would recommend it to all lovers of YA romance.
Oh my goodness, I adored this book so much! I mean, it doesn’t hurt that very early in the book the main character announced herself as being a Hufflepuff, and as a proud Hufflepuff myself, that immediately made me even more invested in this story.
On the one hand this wasn’t completely original, you know it was the story of the boy who was the best friend having a crush on the main character and she never knew it. But I really liked how the author handled the situation. Because even though there were times that Andrew was maybe about to tell her or almost tell her, the way he handled it was realistic to me. A teen, feeling jealous, and her acting like she wasn’t interested at all, yeah, of course he’d do what he could to save face.
Along with the romance, there was a bit of mean girl business going on with Keely’s friends and the other girls in the school. One that wasn’t necessarily expected, but I kind of had a feeling about early on. There were times I was a little irritated with Keely too though, for being so obtuse about Dean, and his behavior. However, I guess with someone as inexperienced in all the ways that she was, it kind of makes sense. But then it doesn’t make sense, because she hung out with Andrew and his guy friends all the time it sounds like, so she knew how guys were. The things we find out about that situation later in the book do clear up her still being a little clueless though.
Another perfect sweet, escape from the reality of our world today read for me. I was able to read the whole thing in one day. Not that it was hard, I could barely put it down to do the things I needed to do for school. Highly recommended, and while I will definitely be buying a copy for my school library next fall, this is also an ARC I’ll want to keep on my own bookshelf!
Everyone is doing it, so everyone thinks and Keely wants to do it also. What is the “it”? It is getting laid. Keely witnesses her friend getting laid at Keely’s 18th birthday party and she feels left out. Her goal, after getting to work with a hunky college guy, Dean, who wants her, is to get laid so that he will not know she is a virgin. She asks her best friend, Andrew, for some help. Andrew has been with many girls, so Keely thinks, and they grown up together, so who better to ask for help. There is some kissing in the book, a little boob grabbing, and talk of condoms. There is slut bashing, alcohol, and more kissing. Nothing in great detail. Fun read but more of the emotional ties involved. Would recommend for age 18 or a very mature 16+. Thanks to Ms. Lund, Penguin Teen, and Bookish First for the opportunity to read and review this book.