Review: Foolish Hearts - Emma Mills

Foolish Hearts
Emma Mills
Series: n/a
Genre: Young Adult,  Contemporary
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

A contemporary novel about a girl whose high school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream leads her to new friends—and maybe even new love.

The day of the last party of the summer, Claudia overhears a conversation she wasn't supposed to. Now on the wrong side of one of the meanest girls in school, Claudia doesn't know what to expect when the two are paired up to write a paper—let alone when they're both forced to try out for the school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

But mandatory participation has its upsides—namely, an unexpected friendship, a boy band obsession, and a guy with the best dimpled smile Claudia's ever seen. As Claudia's world starts to expand, she finds that maybe there are some things worth sticking her neck out for.

Back in September, I shared a list of authors I NEED to read. Emma Mills was on this list, and I cannot believe it took me so long to read one of her books! This book was such a joy to read, and exactly my cup of tea.

I am not quite sure where to start with my outpouring of affection for this book, but I am going to try.

• Claudia was so wonderful! I related to so many of her worries and the baggage she was carrying from a past relationship, but also found her to be such a genuinely kind person. She made mistakes, but she also knew she made mistakes, and worked hard to remedy those transgressions. I just adored her and wanted to be her friend, as well as a part of her guild too. 
• Gideon!!! There was a LOT more to this uber-popular boy than we were led to believe. He came off a little goofy and not very serious, but as the story progressed, we learned about what a beautiful and kind person he really was. I would totally have Gideon as my "majestic space prince" any day. And if he was older or I was younger, I would eat soggy cereal with him. 
• In general, this book is packed with superb characters. They were quirky and interesting and felt real to me. I was super eager to spend time in their world, and I couldn't have asked for a better group of characters to do it with. 
• I love romance, and my heart just exploded from the romances in this book. There are three to watch, and all are sweet and adorable, and I shipped them all. Claudia's romance was the main focus, and it was so adorably awkward and perfectly "her". I just couldn't get enough of it. 
• Claudia's narration was so fabulous! I just loved being in her head, and I found her voice to be perfect. 
• Growth, growth, and more growth! I felt like a lot of characters experienced significant personal growth in this book, but most notably, Iris and Claudia. Iris learned how to be a better friend and a better person, and Claudia learned to love and appreciate herself more. I am always on board with personal growth, and found Claudia's to be an important journey to share. 
• The family ties were tied nice and tight in this one. Claudia's family was total #FamilyGoals. Her parents are very present in this book, but we see more focus on the sibling relationships, which were quite lovely. I love that they maintained contact over the miles by playing an MMORPG together. You know what they say, the family that plays together, stays together. Mills really did a wonderful job with the family dynamic, and I couldn't get enough of this clan. 
• This is my favorite kind of book, because it was quite fun, packed with great and witty banter, and low drama. It's almost as if Mills wrote this book just for me. 

Overall: A wonderful story filled with family and friendship, which left me with an incurable case of the warm-fuzzies. I have now found an new author for my go-to list and am eager to read every book Mills writes.

**I would like to thank the publisher for the advanced copy of this book.

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