Lena struggles when she realizes she is attracted to the new girl in school. She dives into a journey of self discovery which leads her to realize sexuality isn't so black and white. While most coming out books only focus on being either straight or gay, this book looks at what its like to be bisexual. What does that mean? Is it just a stopping point before you realize you really are gay? I loved that this book didn't feel the need to make Lena one or the other but really delve into her feelings to discover who she was.

The struggle Lena has coming out to her parents and the story behind Juliet's cousin Laykin are well done and honest. Even the way her friends react when they find out is very real. The characters in this book are likable and the story fun and relatable.

It was like meeting up with an old friend. Characters I am hard pressed to forget and will always remember fondly. Still as beautiful now as it was the first time my eyes took in this world.

The cover was the best thing about this book.

I'm not even kidding. The writing itself was mediocre and sounded like something that someone wrote as a final project in high school or early freshman year of college (I know there are some incredible young writers, so obviously age is not always an indication of talent, but a lot of people need to take some writing classes in order to hone their craft, is all I'm saying). There was a lot of telling instead of showing, a lot of dialogue that didn't sound realistic, some friendships that didn't feel natural or real, and the span of time didn't make any sense. Also, I'm not sure if I just missed things, but I didn't really remember what anyone looked like except for Juliet, because her hair was described over and over because she was the LI, and the MC's best friend Lacey, who had the unfortunate job of being the dark-skinned aggressor. I didn't know what part of the US they were in; I'm assuming the midwest or east coast because there was snow and a cold winter. I don't know a lot about the midwest, but I can tell you that mini-golf places aren't open in New England in the winter. This group somehow went mini-golfing in February (which doesn't make sense if they're in the midwest, because February is generally snowy, right?), and somehow didn't all take their SATs at the same time (which doesn't make sense because everyone makes a huge deal out of the SATs and would likely take them together), and somehow were able to buy things all the time and do things even though I don't think any of them had jobs? Plus, Reagan didn't do a good job of describing some scenes (senior picture day, for example) and there were a few times I had to reread sentences and then just give up because I had no idea what Reagan was trying to say.

Lena, the protagonist, realized she was bi, the girl she likes was a lesbian, and the girl's cousin was gay and had a boyfriend who rounded out their group. Queerness all around! I wanted to like them, I really did. There were some group moments that annoyed me and I realized it was because I'm almost 30 and teenage antics annoy me, which I guess means the scenes were realistic. But those moments were few and far between, since so many other scenes involved the word "homo," or Lena constantly having to remind Lacey that she was bi, not gay, or someone outing Lena without her permission, or someone saying they "weren't okay with homosexuality" but wanted to be friends anyway. And poor Lacey. The stereotypical bitchy cheerleader who was "dark skinned" and basically a walking stereotype. I don't know if Reagan knows any black women, honestly, because Lacey was a caricature of a person. She slammed her hand on a table and picked up a fork and said "I'll cut you" at one point, and said "steppin up" even though at no other point had her verbs lost the "g" at the end, and I can't even remember any of the other things about her descriptors that made me mad. There was a bit about casual sex that I appreciated, because I think it's important to show that women are allowed to want sex, but that's about it.

And then! We got a description of someone,

Spoiler

Juliet's girlfriend in London, because this book had Juliet and Lena break up so Juliet can go to London, and then used like eight pages fast-forwarding through their lives and ending up at the cousin and his boyfriend's wedding, so Lena and Juliet could get back together

and she is described as having "African skin."

What the fuck?

First of all, do you know how goddamn big Africa is? It's a CONTINENT that has SO. MANY. different people and cultures and skin tones and I just??? AFRICAN SKIN? Are you saying she's black? Because you can just say she's black. Or mixed. Or something, just don't compare her to a food or say she has the skin of an entire continent. Also, hey, there are some white Africans (again, HUGE CONTINENT), so if you're trying to say she has dark skin, say that. Even fucking say that her family's forefathers were from a particular country or something. Was SHE from Africa? Were her parents from Africa? I feel like Reagan didn't feel comfortable saying "black," but also didn't want to pick a specific country because she didn't want to be wrong about anything, so she just went for what she thought was better.

And then at the end I got annoyed and nitpicky because of the African skin comment: Universal Studios aren't called "Orlando Studios," and a "quick trip to Disney World" is not a thing unless you live in/near Orlando and have an annual pass. If you're talking about a honeymoon to Orlando, you're likely going to go to WDW over Universal, because Universal is doable in a day or two, while Disney World is a minimum of four days.


UGH. EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK ENRAGED ME. Reagan needs to take a few writing courses and meet some people of color. I don't know why this book has over 4 stars, I really do not.

Would have felt complete without the epilogue, leaves a decent book hangover with it. Other reviews tell you mostly what to expect from the book. I found it highly enjoyable.

4/5 stars

“My heart skipped a beat when I realized that at some point I’d stopped thinking about Juliet kissing someone and started thinking about her kissing me. Fantasizing about it, really.”

I got this book off of Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited feature, after my best friend recommended it to me.

And wow, I was not disappointed.

Usually I don’t care for long, drawn-out coming of age novels, but with the subject matter, Just Juliet was one that really resonated with me.

Full review on my blog: https://vellich0rs.wordpress.com/2018/02/10/review-of-just-juliet/

I am in love with this book. It’s not perfect but it makes you feel warm and fuzzy and as a person who doesn’t like super romancey stuff, this is a sweet and adorable romance and it makes you all squishy inside.

The story takes place over the final year of high school for Lena and her friends. From the first day of school through the weeks and months Reagan progresses the story through the year, often jumping time. It doesn’t feel rushed but it keeps a good pace, the whirlwind of new friends and a budding romance pulls you along comfortably.

Lena’s exploration about her own attraction and sexuality is slow and believable, having gone through 17 years of thinking one way it’s a lot to process when you start thinking another. I enjoyed this slowness between Lena and Juliet, it’s a great progression from friend to girlfriend and with self discovery thrown in the mix it’s bound to take some time. I liked that Reagan allowed Lena time to be confused and to be uncertain, and having a confidant to explore her feelings.

There are some excellent characters to fall in love with. Lakyn, Scott and Juliet are great, complex characters and people who Lena feels a connection with, something with Reagan brings across in her writing. I loved Lakyn and Scott. I loved those boys so much and from the moment they’re introduced I felt connected to them. Their fun relationship is adorable to see and while Lena and Juliet were wonderful as well, there is a delightful charm about those boys that made me smile.

There are a few tough topics briefly discussed such as drug use, and a brief discussion about suicide, but it isn’t the focus of the story and instead helps to expand on characters and their lives. Reagan is also clear on how talking is important and seeking professional help has changed things for the better so nothing is glorified but neither is it dismissed.

I’m really glad I picked this book up because not only does it have wonderfully real characters, but it has diversity and challenges that are relatable to everyone, even if they aren’t teenagers.

A longer version of this review was published on my blog Lost in a Good Book

Accidentally read this book twice- should say a lot about how rememberable it was lol