{Review} My Junior Year of Loathing by Jennifer DiGiovanni @jendwrites @SwoonRomance

Posted November 17, 2016 by Michelle @ Book Briefs in Reviews, Young Adult / 1 Comment

{Review} My Junior Year of Loathing by Jennifer DiGiovanni @jendwrites @SwoonRomanceMy Junior Year of Loathing by Jennifer DiGiovanni
Pages: 186
Published by Swoon Romance on October 25, 2016
Series: School Dayz #2
Genres: Young Adult, contemporary, Romance, mystery
Source: eARC from Publisher
three-half-stars

Junior year is supposed to be tough. Exams, term papers, homework, college tours, and participation in extra-curricular activities can all add up to non-stop stress. But Melinda Banner has goals to achieve and dreams to make real. This year, she’ll be unstoppable. But even over achievers need a break.

While walking in the woods to take a break from the stress of it all, Melinda meets a boy named Connor. After a few more run-ins, the two settle into an uneasy friendship, if you can even call it that.

But Connor's closed and mysterious. Whenever Melinda asks too many questions, he suddenly has to go or is no longer interested in talking. When they’re together, she’s torn between wanting him to open up and running away as fast as she can. Still she can't seem to shake her budding interest in him.

Connor has his own way of looking at the world, and his views often conflict with Melinda’s practical nature. Can you like someone and loathe them at the same time? Is he even worth the emotional tug on her heartstrings or distraction from all things Junior year?

And, as if she needs another project right now, Melinda starts to obsess over the abandoned estate she passes on the way to school each day. Between Connor and the old estate, Melinda's beginning to think she's taking on too much.

But Melinda's smart. She finds a way to indulge her interest in the estate and fulfill her obligations. She will uncover the truth behind the aging edifice for an epic article in the school newspaper.

But when her investigation reveals a connection between Connor and a tragedy long-since forgotten, Melinda has a choice: put off her junior year achievements to save a local landmark and a boy who constantly pushes her away or put them both out of her mind for good and focus on making the grade.

Also in this series: My Senior Year of Awesome
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YA ReviewMy Thoughts

My Junior Year of Loathing is the second book in the young adult School Dayz series by Jennifer DiGiovanni. Each of the books can be read as standalones. They each focus on a different couple, and as you can tell from the titles, this book focuses on a younger couple than the one in My Senior Year of Awesome. I feel confident that you can pick up this book and not be missing anything if you had not yet read the first book. However; the first book in the series was pretty cute, so I would still recommend you check that one out as well.

I really liked both the couple and the concept of My Junior Year of Loathing. Melinda and Conner are a n interesting couple. Melinda is your typical straight laced type A personality student. She needs her resume to be s padded as possible and all of the stress of school makes her a bit tightly wound. Conner couldn’t be more different, but not in the way you might think. Conner is super mysterious. He kind of just shows up and disappears in the story at various points. At first, I found this to be super strange but as the mystery aspect of the story unfolds, which takes a bit of time by the way to pick up speed, it all went together.

Which brings me to what I really liked about My Junior Year of Loathing. I loved that it was so very different than the first book in the series. This one is a bit of romance and a bit of mystery all mashed together. I loved it. It is a quick read that turned out to be something totally different than I was expecting. And that is always a pleasant surprise.

Bottom line: My Junior Year of Loathing is a quick read with a nice little mystery, and some romance, woven in. Read it whether you have read My Senior Year of Awesome or not. I think it is worth a read. The School Dayz series is turning out to be a complete surprise. I have no idea what the next book will bring, but I do know one thing- I can’t wait to find out.

blue3.5My Junior Year of Loathing by @jendwrites was a 'total surprise'- @Bookbriefs #Review @SwoonRomance Share on X

 

 

About Jennifer DiGiovanni

Jennifer lives in a small town near Philadelphia, PA with her husband and three children. In college, she double majored in English and business, and later went back to school for her MBA. She currently works as a freelance writer and owns a small business. She also spends time cheering at her kids’ soccer games, re-learning algebra to help with homework assignments, and cooking up healthy dinners that nobody eats. When she’s not doing any of those things, you can find her reading, working on home design projects, or running (though she’s much better at walking). At night, when her house is finally quiet, she brings her YA characters to life. My Senior Year of Awesome is her first novel.

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