Foolish Hearts

by Emma Mills

When Claudia accidentally eavesdrops on the epic breakup of Paige and Iris, the it-couple at her school, she finds herself in hot water with prickly, difficult Iris. Thrown together against their will in the class production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, along with the goofiest, cutest boy Claudia has ever known, Iris and Claudia are in for an eye-opening senior year.

Smart, funny, and thoroughly, wonderfully flawed, Claudia navigates a world of intense friendships and tentative romance in Foolish Hearts, a YA novel about expanding your horizons, allowing yourself to be vulnerable, and accepting--and loving--people for who they really are.

A contemporary young adult novel by Emma Mills about a girl whose high school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream leads her to new friends--and maybe even new love.

Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance, Fiction, Young Adult Contemporary, LGBT, Realistic Fiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published December 5, 2017

About the author

Emma Mills is the author of several novels for Young Adults.

She holds a PhD in cell biology and is known for her YouTube channel, Elmify. She is also the co-creator and co-host of the "life skills" channel How to Adult, which ended in 2016.

Mills lives in St. Louis, Missouri.

Reviews

[chai (thelibrairie on tiktok) ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, who let me get so emotionally invested in this book that not only was I incapable of putting it down but I also wanted to flip back to its first chapter as soon as I had read the last line?

This book was like a face mask for my soul. And I think it could really use an extra page or two. Scratch that, maybe it's me, I just need more pages of:

✨ girls loving girls
✨ platonic displays of affection between boys
✨ siblings bonding over their shared love for video games
✨ just god-tier relationships in general
✨ boy bands and Shakespeare plays
✨ a game of fuck, marry, kill where Voldemort surprisingly doesn't get killed
✨ and a wholesome romance that made me painfully aware of the lack of cuddling I'm experiencing right now.

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS IS THE BEST EMMA MILLS BOOK.

How did I wait so long to read it??? How was it so good???? How can I pull the high school experience of the protagonist out of this book and live it for myself, despite it being fictional and me being in my twenties?????

My ability to work out such questions is even more ineffective than usual, because I have DIED of CUTENESS. I have only recently been resurrected from DEATH ITSELF, because this book is so overwhelmingly ADORABLE it MURDERED me in COLD BLOOD.

Sporadic CAPS for EFFECT.

You can tell just from the number of shelves this is on that it's got the Me Endorsement. Let's do a list of them, for proof (and flair).

- 4-and-a-half stars:
That's a high-ass rating, boi!
- auto-buy-authors
Emma Mills made it to this list because her contemporaries are mediocre-to-good and the covers are beaut as hell. GUESS WHAT. This is my least favorite of her covers but the word mediocre belongs nowhere near this book I'll tell you that much!
- best-contemporaries
Yeah. I said it. It’s going on the most coveted shelf of all. (Just kidding favorites would be that, or at the very least favorites-2018, but please let’s not be ridiculous and just be grateful for what we have.)
- couldnt-wait-to-read
Honestly this shelf and its brethren, cant-wait-to-read, are lies. There is not a book on Earth I can’t wait to read, because this book came out a million years ago and has been on my TBR since pre-release and look how long it took me. BUT STILL. It conveys an excitement.
- funny
BOOKS ARE ALMOST NEVER FUNNY. Do people ever laugh at books?? I don’t. Except this time! Fooled you. This book is very hilarious.
- i-love-these-characters
This is...actually perhaps the highest praise I can offer any book. I Never love YA characters. They are always boring and interchangeable. Except, guess what, AGAIN NOT THIS TIME. This book: defying all expectations I set up for you in literally the previous sentence.
- recommend
Obviously.

THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD. The friendships are amazingly well-done. The family relationships (okay maybe not parents but definitely siblings) are fantastic. Gideon, the love interest, is the crown prince of my heart and my new favorite YA guy of all time, or at least this moment before I forget. Like, a boy with...charm? A personality? A sense of humor? In my YA? It’s more likely than you think.

I would say “book boyfriend,” if I didn’t hate that term and find it unbearably cringey/cheesy/embarrassing.

But I do, so.

Also there’s a FF relationship between two supporting characters (one of whom is indicated to be bi) and it’s just the sh*t. It does seem like Emma Mills may keep on writing hetero-ass romances for all times, but I’ll be more okay with that if she keeps giving me this fantastic adorable LGBT+ rep along the way.

The relationship development and the character development and the friendship development...it’s all just. <3.

The fact that I am losing the ability to use words and am instead using vintage-style pre-emoji emoticons is not a good sign. Time to wrap it up. EVEN THOUGH I COULD GUSH ABOUT THIS BOOK FOR A THOUSAND MILLION YEARS.

Bottom line: YESYESYESYESYESYES YESSSSSS!

---------------------
pre-review

THIS IS THE BEST EMMA MILLS BOOK!!!

HOW DID I WAIT SO LONG TO READ IT!!!!

REVIEW TO COME, ONCE MY ENTHUSIASM LEVELS DIP JUST ENOUGH THAT I CAN TAP THAT CAPS LOCK KEY AGAIN AND STOP SCREAMING AT YOU ALL!!!!!!!!

[Elle (ellexamines on TT & Substack) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, first of all, this book made me so deeply fucking happy. like, on a level of my soul I did not know existed I am happy. It was a weirdly emotionally cathartic read for me because it’s a happy book, but it also doesn’t shy away from the fact that these are all teenagers dealing with their own shit.

Foolish Hearts follows Claudia, who, after accidentally witnessing the great breakup of Her School’s Popular Sapphic Couple, is forced into a rivalry with the exceptionally closed-off and hurt Iris. Here are some things that resonated with me about this book:

➽There is a romance and it’s freaking adorable, but the main developing arc of this book is a friendship – that between Iris and Claudia. you wanted developed female friendships? you got developed female friendships.
➽ I love Iris, so fucking much. Iris starts out the book as a really mean character, very closed off from other people and bad at pulling herself out of her shell, and then she develops into one of the most compelling and freaking amazing female characters of recent years.
➽I love the cast of this book so much. I would give my life for Iris and Paige and Gideon and Claudia and Zoe and Alex and Noah and Del and even fucking Lena, and I just… don’t know the last time I liked a full cast so much. Oh my god.
➽And of course, this book is freaking hilarious. Like, some of the best humor I have ever seen. I don’t know if this will be for everyone - humor is a super subjective thing, after all - but I found this book absolutely freaking hilarious in its entirety. Take a look at this shit:

”Kill Darth Vader, and marry Voldemort,” Zoe finishes.
“What the hell?” Alex says. "That’s the exact wrong answer.”
I don’t want to participate, but I can’t stop myself: “Why would you want to marry Voldemort? Why would you not kill Voldemort?”
“I think-“
“No, literally, who chooses not to kill Voldemort?” Alex says.
“I think I could change the course of his whole life,” Zoe says simply.
“You don’t think you could change Darth Vader?” I say.
“Nah, girl, Padme tried."
“I feel like I would fuck Darth Vader, because he’s got like powers and stuff, you know?” Alex says. “How would the force factor in? How would we negotiate the suit and stuff? It’s a guaranteed wild ride from start to finish.”

[I was screaming at this. It's so in character for all of them and it's also something I would say and I adore it. nahgirlPadmetried.gif]

The reason I really liked this book is that I think this book is a super authentic portrayal of the fact that teenagers are people, each with their own passions and obsessions beyond just “hanging out with friends.” Which seems like such a basic point, but trust me, in current contemporary YA, it's really not. The lead character being a gamer girl and bonding with a new friend over a boy band, without either of those things being belittled, is something I think I’ve literally never seen before. Also, the portrayal of being an unpopular person in high school is so… not-over-the-top. It’s not like Claudia is all alone and it’s all she ever thinks about and oh, woe is me; it’s just that she isn’t as close to any of her school friends and she wishes for more. Also, very accurate humor and dialogue; the phrase “my guy” was used properly within this book, and at one point a character calls another character “Straighty McHetero” and it’s basically the funniest thing I have ever read. And then there’s the entire portrayal of a high school drama department being accurate, and so much more. Basically, wow, finally someone gets what high school is actually like beyond the cliches.

in summary: it's a super emotionally real but also freaking hilarious book . I adored this and I could not recommend more.

Blog | Goodreads | Twitter | Youtube

[bruna · Rating 4 out of 5]

★ 4.5 stars

𝅄 𓂃 𖥻 “Sometimes, around some people, I feel like I have to, like... try, you know? But with you—when I’m with you, I can just... exist. You know what I mean?” 𑇛 ۫

so. freaking. adorable.


as someone who isn’t a fan of young adult books, it’s quite hard to find one that i can find truly gripping and captivating. for that reason, i rarely pick up books from this genre and when i do, i tend not to have the highest of expectations; i’m fully aware that there’s a high chance that i might not completely love it, so i don’t expect much because i don’t want to set myself up for disappointment. but this book... this book really surprised me. in the best possible way, of course.

Foolish Hearts had been on my to-be-read list for quite some time. over two years, to be exact. i’ve never been particularly interested in picking it up, but a few days ago i was scrolling through my tbr looking for something short & light to read and i came across it and thought, “eh, let’s go with this one right here”. i thought i would find a simple, sort of immature story with not a lot of depth — but i couldn’t be more wrong. i mean, i guess this book might be considered simple in a certain way given the fact that it doesn’t have a complex, multi-layered plot, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s immature and/or shallow. not at all. this is one of those books that sneaks up on you and offers something different than what you initially expect. i was really surprised and pleased.

there’s a significant depth to the story as a whole and to the characters. and when i say the characters, i mean all of them — not only the ones that were the main focus of the book, but also the ones that were side characters. i can say, without a second thought, that every element of the story is so perfectly crafted. the romance, the friendships, the dynamics between all of the characters, the characterization, the writing. there’s just... so many great things about this book, guys. it was hard not to fall in love with every aspect of it.

i loved a lot of things here — which is obvious, i don’t even have to say that — but let me tell you, in details, the things that i mostly loved:

✦ Claudia, Iris Gideon, Noah. ➞ as i said, this book has a lot of well-crafted characters and i liked many of them — but those four are my absolute favorites. they have a special place in my heart now. i loved them as individuals (each one of them have incredible personalities, trust me on this) and also as a friend group.

✦ the friendship between Iris and Claudia. ➞ Claudia and Iris’s friendship is pretty much one of the main points of the book. they are two completely different people, and at first they do not like each other that much and they don’t seem to match each other’s vibe, but they slowly form a friendship that is so sweet and heartwarming and also funny. words can’t express how much i adored to see the unexpected friendship between them blossoming. their bond is everything.

✦ the ‘bromance’ between Gideon and Noah. ➞ the perfect bromance, are you kidding me? while their friendship wasn’t exactly the main focus of the book, i still had so much fun reading about Gideon and Noah’s friendship. they love and care for each other so dearly.

✦ the romance. ➞ there are two romances in this story; Claudia and Gideon’s and Iris & Paige’s — and they are both adorable. the relationship between Claudia and Gideon develops leisurely over the course of the story, and it’s so cute and natural. i felt so giddy reading about them. Iris & Paige are also so cute together, i enjoyed to see their vulnerable journey and i couldn’t help but root all the time for them to get back together.

✦ the plot. ➞ this book, like i said, doesn’t have a multi-layered/complex plot, but i still had so much fun with the simpleness of it. everything felt so authentic, so heartfelt, so realistic. it’s a flawless balance of romance, friendships, warmth and humor. it kept me hooked from the beginning to the very end. never a dull moment.

my only complaint is that i wish the the ending was more detailed and less abrupt — i would’ve loved it if the story was longer also. but apart from that, i adored it.

after having so many disappointing/mediocre reads, i needed something to remind me that great stories still exist and this one proved me that. it’s such a refreshing feeling. thank you, Emma Mills, for writing such a lovely and fun book.

i loved and had the best time with Foolish Hearts, it’s a book that i’ll cherish forever. and, needless to say, i think that everyone should read it at some point. i promise it’s worth it. it’s one of the best and most captivating stories i’ve personally ever read, after all.

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

December Owlcrate ♥ Close-us and descriptions in the link below picture.



MORE PICS

OMG! Stick me with a fork, I'm done! I gave this book 5 freaking stars because it made me feel all fluffy inside and I need some fluff because I'm losing my stuffing! < -- And my mind!



I loved it so much! I thought I wouldn't like it. Lol, just goes to show what I know!

I love all of the characters! Claudia is such a wonderful person! She has a best friend Zoe that goes to another school than her < -- reasons. And Claudia's older brother Alex and Julia. Claudia, Alex and Zoe play an online game called Battle Quest. I want to join them but I don't do computer games because my computer hardly works as it is and I suck and that stuff.

Moving on. Claudia overhears a couple breaking up and she ends up getting caught. Duh duh duh.. and it's one of the mean girls, Iris. But things are not always as they seem and Iris and Claudia become great friends. Then there is the love interest, Gideon. He's a nut and it's slow going with them leading up to anything. Claudia is not in a good way with boys since her first boyfriend was a jerk hole.

There are a lot of other people in the book that I loved. I loved everything about this book. The games, the music interests, the school stuff, some drama, just everything a ya book like this should be without some dumbarse story line.

And whether you love it or not, I do and that's all that matters to me. =)



Happy Reading!

Mel ♥

MY BLOG: Melissa Martin's Reading List

AMAZON: REVIEW

[Nikola · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jakie to było nudne 🥲

[jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

i wish could take the all of the warm fluffy feels of this book and fashion them into a cosy jumper to comfort my soul for the rest of my days. emma mills has truly perfected the art of a warm YA contemporary.

and i have to say that this story particularly stole my heart because of the shakespeare component and how it made everything so light-hearted and fun. this is the kind of book that doesnt take itself too seriously, so its easy to have a good time with it!

↠ 4 stars

[♛ may · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review posted:

Emma Mills must have like a special sauce she consumes before writing a book bc the way shes able to craft these fluffy, emotional, heartwarming stories with important undertones is truly a work of art.

THERE’S SO MANY AMAZING ASPECTS TO THIS BOOK WHERE DO I START???

1. fantastic sibling rep:

His eyes light up upon seeing the cookies. “Did you make them?”
“My sister did. They’re just the break-and-bake kind.”
“Those are my favorite.”
“No they’re not,” Victoria says.
“Hey, how about you head upstairs and start getting ready for bed?”
“It’s seven o’clock.”
“How about you head upstairs and just … stay there?”
They look at each other for a long moment and seem to be having some kind of nonverbal sibling communication. Finally Victoria sighs and steps away from the door.
“I get half of those cookies.”

2. A beautiful wholesome, strong bromance:

“Did you ever want a brother too?”
“I already have one, remember?” he says, nodding toward Noah.

3. Girl friendship:

She reaches out and pats my shoulder awkwardly.
I blink through the tears. “What are you doing? What is that?”
She pulls her hand away. “I don’t know, I’m bad at this. Do you want a bottle of water?”
“What? Why?”
“I don’t know! They keep them in the car! And you’re like … losing fluids. I said I was bad at this.”
I let out a weak laugh.
“Hey, look at that,” Iris says, and she almost looks proud. “Maybe I’m better than I thought.”
I wipe my eyes on the back of my arm. “Maybe.”

Nerd culture and epic family dynamics and friendships and accepting yourself and teenage drama if I try to quote them I’m going to end up quoting the ENTIRE book (im not even kidding, I was 0.4 seconds away from quoting chapters)

It’s cute, its funny, its fluffy, it’s got meaning and merit and it made me sob.

Idk how the heck but this book made me cry BUT I WAS CRYING OVER A GREEN BARRETTE things are getting bad wow
My heart just feels so FULL when I read these type of books aaahhhhhhhh

5 stars!!

[Korrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread on January 23 2018: I loved it even more than the first time. I fell in love with all of the characters so much more. This has become one of my favourite contemporaries of all time.

Original review, posted on May 8 2017: Oh my gosh, this book was so fantastic! I feel so light and happy after reading it. It may just be the funniest book I've ever read...I honestly don't think I've ever laughed out loud so much while reading a book like I did this one. Bahhhhhh! SO GOOD.

[lila · Rating 4 out of 5]

yeah i’m obsessed with #justgideonprewittthings so what

[Chelsea (chelseadolling reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED THIS SO MUCHHHHHHH. If you like boybands, this is a must read. My heart is SOARING.

I buddy read this with Melanie and Jane <3

[Larry H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm between 3.5 and 4 stars on this one.

Every so often, after I've read a number of thrillers, crime novels, or even emotionally draining books in a row, I seek out what I like to call a "literary palate-cleanser," essentially a book which appears to be a little bit lighter in tone and one which won't have me eyeing my neighbors and delivery men, expecting a crime to break out.

The "palate-cleanser" term isn't meant to be a disparaging one—sometimes I'm just looking for a book that's funny and/or sweet, that won't send my psyche or my suspicious nature into overdrive.

Emma Mills' new book, Foolish Hearts , seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. And to be honest, when I saw the book was ranked #1 in Amazon's category of "Teen & Young Adult Theater Fiction," I thought, as a former theater kid, how can I miss? But this is so much more than a book about the theater—it's a book about friendship, family, telling yourself and others the truth, facing your fears, and realizing that people are so much more than they seem upon first (or even second or third) impression.

Claudia attends the exclusive Prospect-Landower School for Girls, mainly because her father is a teacher there. She's much more comfortable hanging out at home, playing video games with her best friend Zoe and her older brother, and living a life in which she doesn't have to interact too much with her much wealthier classmates, some of whom are obscenely rich, and some are private-island rich. Claudia isn't interested in stepping outside her comfort zone at all since her boyfriend broke up with her a few years back.

"In truth, we are rarely all on the same page. More often than not, they're all on one page, and I'm on a completely different one. It can't be helped most of the time. Society itself puts us on different pages. They drive Range Rovers and have celebrity deejays at their sweet sixteens. I had to scrape and scrounge and toast subs, and remake the subs that I toasted badly, just to buy a car."

But in an effort to try and be more involved in school for her senior year, she attends a luncheon party thrown by one of her classmates, and almost instantly gets herself into trouble, as she winds up inadvertently overhearing the breakup of the couple in her class, Iris and Paige.

"Together, [Iris] and Paige hold the titles of class president three years running (Iris), most popular girl in our grade (Paige), and cutest couple in our school (collectively). Thought 'cutest' isn't quite right. I don't think anyone who knows her would use the word cute to describe anything relating to Iris Huang...she's also ruthless and unforgiving and, some would say, ill-mannered and incredibly unpleasant."

When Iris realizes Claudia has been eavesdropping on such a traumatic moment, she threatens to destroy Claudia if she tells anyone what she heard. And when an assigned pairing for an assignment goes completely awry, their "punishment" is to audition or be in the crew for the school play, A Midsummer Night's Dream . Although Iris gets a small part and Claudia gets to work on the costume crew, the two are thrown together more times than either can count, and Claudia starts to wear Iris down, at least a little, until Claudia realizes that Iris is uncharacteristically obsessed with a boy band that she enjoys, too.

As the two try and build something resembling a friendship, Claudia also keeps getting thrown together with Gideon Prewitt, the goofy, handsome star of the play. Gideon keeps sending Claudia signals that he'd like to get to know her better, and everyone, except Claudia, seems to understand this. But the more she starts thinking about Gideon that way, the more her fears keep tripping her up, so she keeps finding reasons to keep their relationship as fun and platonic as possible, because she can't imagine Gideon would reciprocate her feelings, or if he did, would she be discarded just as quickly?

Foolish Hearts is sweet and funny, full of flawed characters who won't tell anyone how they really feel, but it utterly warmed my heart. While high school is so much more complicated than it was back in the dark ages when I attended, Mills still evoked an incredible feeling of nostalgia for me, a longing for simpler times, when the biggest anxieties were doing well on exams and wondering whether someone liked you back.

The plot isn't necessarily surprising, but it is tremendously enjoyable. I liked the way Iris and Paige's relationship wasn't a source of drama or controversy, it was presented in a matter-of-fact way, simply as another plot point.

Foolish Hearts definitely fit the bill for what I was looking for in a read, and I'll be sure to read some of Mills' other books. If you enjoy YA fiction that doesn't necessarily come with any heavy drama or messages, give this a try.

See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....

[may ➹ · Rating 5 out of 5]

nov 2024: just downright evil that i only mentioned gideon and never iris so shoutout to her my fav mean lesbian

——————

12/31/22: Gideon Prewitt I would become straight for you I mean haha joke but not really like I’m kidding but also not

bumping up to 5 stars because this time really made me think wow romance is real? friendship is real? family is real? LOVE IS REAL??

——————

4/16/21: no other book will give me the levels of serotonin that this book does

// buddy (re)read with the gang

——————

3/6/20: if men were more like Gideon... then yeah I’d understand why they think they’re superior to women

——————

I am so upset with myself that I waited so long to read this.... I’m never doubting you all again these 2 are officially added to my valid hets list and I am reading all Emma Mills books immediately

[Chelsea Humphrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Won via Goodreads Giveaway 🎉🙌🏼

[Cece (ProblemsOfaBookNerd) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so delightful. I sat down intending to read 50 pages and instead I read 270. I honestly cannot deal with how cute this book was gahhhh

Also, and I don’t really intend to type up a full review of this, but I just have to say: thank GOD for this book about girls who are friends with each other and aren’t competitive or jealous of their friends having friends. Thank god for these women being funny and loving and supportive. I love them. I love them all.

[megs_bookrack ((struggling to catch up)) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will be forever grateful to OwlCrate for bringing this book and its author, Emma Mills, into my life.



YA Contemporary is not a genre I have really felt compelled to read prior to this.

After completing Foolish Hearts, however, I am ALL about it and have been scooping them up left and right!



I was blown away by how smart, witty and downright hilarious the dialogue in this book was. The banter between the characters had me literally laughing out loud on multiple occasions.



Claudia, our protagonist was such a good, sweet girl, not in a naive way, but in a really goofy and endearing way.

I found her to be absolutely relatable and loved her story arc of finding herself and opening herself up to give and receive love. So many feels.



The relationships between so many of the side characters were amazing as well. Particularly between Gideon and his best friend.

They were such a great example of what a supportive MM-friendship can be. It played out so well and added a lot of substance to this overall lighthearted story.



Additionally, the relationship between Paige and Iris, and eventually Claudia and Iris, was so well done.

The added bonus of having the story center around a high school production of a Midsummer Night's Dream was the icing on this delicious YA Contemporary cake.



I would give this book ten stars if I could and will probably read it again someday. In short, I loved it!

[kenzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

if adorableness were a book

[emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

foolish hearts deserves all the hype radio silence has been getting.

i know, right?



don't get me wrong, i liked radio silence a big deal and i'm not here to compare them in any way or pit them against each other, i just simply want you to acknowledge emma mills as the genius that she is!!!

foolish hearts gave me everything i want in a contemporary. and that comes from a fantasy type person. i do enjoy a contemp every once in a while, but usually they don't really do it for me.

so what makes this one so special and different?

honestly,,??y???Y????? i can't really tell you. maybe it's because it made me laugh out loud, which doesn't happen very often. maybe it's because it was so god damn easy to read with its deliciously short chapters and simple writing. maybe it's because it just spoke to me personally. i actually feel kinda attacked, to be quite honest. because this book was written about ME and i'm going to sue miss mills for ripping me off so blatantly and turning me into a fictional character called claude without even TELLING ME ABOUT IT. imagine the audacity

no but really, this book felt like a breath of fresh contemporary air. the romance wasn't forced at all, if anything it developed very naturally. i also love that friendship is still a main focus. enemies to lovers is the best trope, but enemies to FRIENDS?? bitch. bitch. i live for that shit. genius, i'm telling you.

there's also a w/w relationship in this. it's like emma mills asked herself how she could make this book even better and threw a lesbian as one of the main characters in there!! hell to the FUCK YEAH. iris is the literal embodiment of "gay panic" and i love her.

hey also, what the fuck was emma mills thinking when creating gideon prewitt?? she just created the perfect boy, and i'm kinda mad about it. how dare she just sprinkle some fairy dust and ✨ bibbity bobbity here's the most flawless version of a male specimen that you can think of?? literally PISS OFF i already have unrealistic expectations

in conclusion: all the characters (but especially gideon) make my heart go badump BADUMP and i would die for them all

the story is easy to follow, the characters are very likeable and the dialogue is actually realistic (emma mills really did a 5 year study to figure out how to capture the essence of Fangirling huh). i do wish it focused more on the theater plot and some of the scenes were less cringey but other than that i have zero complaints

foolish hearts is the equivalent of a soft warm hug from a person that you love. and i'm so glad i got to read this beautiful book! it's definitely worth checking out, if you ask me.

rating: ★★★★

[lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

i genuinely can’t for the life of me remember the last time i so thoroughly enjoyed a YA contemporary … be right back, trying to reassemble the pieces of my heart that went missing somewhere in the depths of this book.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable read!!

[patrycja ୨୧ ‧₊˚ · Rating 3 out of 5]

— 3 stars ⟡ ݁₊ .

﹙ 𖧷 ﹚ "Sometimes it's hard to know if something's for real? It's hard to believe it, even if you want it to be real. Even if you want it so badly. Sometimes it seems...safer, you know. Not to risk it."⠀︵⠀⊹

‿ ⟡ my thoughts ◌Ⳋ𝅄

this was such a cute, light-hearted and heartwarming read. i smiled, i laughed, i was upset. not only was it story about love, but also friendship and all of it was executed really well. the characters were explored in a way that made them easy to connect with. the author managed to give depth to every relationship here, which many authors fail to deliver when it comes to standalones. i had so much fun while reading this till...i didn't. because i got into a slump, i just couldn't focus on what i was reading and that's why i was getting distracted pretty easily. this for sure has affected my reading experience, which made it not as enjoyable as it would've been, if I hadn't been in a slump.

‿ ⟡ characters ◌Ⳋ𝅄

⊹ claudia

she was a pretty likeable fmc. i related to her in some ways, especially the awkwardness behind meeting new ppl. tho, near the end she kinda pissed me of but maybe bc i didn't fully understand why she made such a big deal out of this one situation. like chill, it's not like they killed your cat. they just secretly dated. but also, i've never been in such a situation so what do i know? 🤷🏻‍♀️

⊹ gideon

in the world of boys, he's a gentleman. he's such a fun boy to be around! what i loved the most ab him was his thoughtfulness in making everybody feel safe and comfortable around him. he's such a precious boy.

⊹ iris

at first, i wasn't the biggest fan of her but as time was passing, she slowly started to grow on me. i loved how she learned how to be the better version of herself, and understood that ppl can love her for who she was, without expecting nothing in return. i adored the friendship that was formed between her & claudia – it was so fun to read about! i mean, there's no better way to bond over with somebody than music hello?!

⊹ claudiagideon

if adorableness were people, it'd be for sure these two 🥹

‿ ⟡ quotes ◌Ⳋ𝅄

"Sometimes...around some people, I feel like I have to, like...try, you know?...But with you-- when I'm with you, I can just...exist."

"When I'm interested in a thing, I want to know about that thing. Extensively."

"It just feels like..." Her voice small. "Sometimes it just feels like I'm faking."
"Maybe everyone feels that way.

"Maybe I don't think the first part is the best part. Maybe I like the part later on. Hearing a song so many times you know all the little ins and outs of it. Experiencing something so many times that you can just... live in it. Maybe I like that better."

"Everything is Gideon Prewitt sensory overload, but then I don’t think there could even be such a thing. I don’t think there could ever be too much of him."

[Misstdennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars

"You need Google Maps to find your way out of my eyes, or at least a comparable navigation app"

Hello, hi, I'm coming to you from riding the longest a roller coaster ride of emotions of 2018.
Yes, we are like 4 days into the new year, but that's beside the point.
This book was so damn cute!
I read this book in almost one sitting, and I say almost, because for some unknown reason my boss thought my day job was more important than reading???

Yes, this is just another YA Contemporary but this was such a refreshing read!!
Not once did a read that eye rolling, cliche bullshit line "He smelt like sandalwood as I moved closer to kiss him"
Cringe!

This book had me laughing hard on one page, then the next I'm sitting in a pool of my own tears with snot dripping from my nose.
Foolish Hearts is the YA Contemporary you need to pick up this year. The characters in the book tug so hard on your heart strings they'll stick with you for a while.
Claudia, Iris, Zoe, Alex, Noah & Gideon... My sweet little babies, I love you so much.

"If you could have any superpower, what would it be"
"Super spit" he said without hesitation”

I'm giving this adorable page turner a 4.5 star rating because I'm not totally hooked on contemporary novels and this book(in my opinion) wasn't perfect, but that's okay!
But maybe, just maybe, this is the book that changes my view on this genre...

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

“Sometimes...around some people, I feel like I have to, like...try, you know?...But with you-- when I'm with you, I can just...exist. You know what I mean?”

I read my first Emma Mills book earlier this year and it wasn’t the biggest hit for me. After reading Foolish Hearts, I can see why so many love her. This was a great read for me and I’ll definitely be picking up more of her back list.

I enjoyed Claudia and her group of friends. I really, really loved the love interest in this book and my favorite thing about it was that it had some good old high school theater in it. Nostalgia at it’s finest. This book made me smile and gave me lots of feels. It wasn’t a five star favorite, but I enjoyed it lots!

[ahana ⊹ [ ia ] · Rating 4 out of 5]

🫐 ― 4 stars ₊ ˙ ⟡

ill keep you far away, from me like a star
hard not to fall for you, i gave you all my heart

                   ⤿ fallen star, the neighbourhood

this silly little book managed to captivate my foolish heart in the span of two days. i was giddy with happiness as I flew through this at an alarming rate. when i wasn't reading, my mind was constantly transfixed on these characters. and when I was reading, i was smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. all the characters were so well written and thought out. this standalone romance novel made me feel more than what huge series have failed to do so. it made me laugh, i may have teared up a little but most of all, i was so incredibly content when i put the book down. the play added such a fun aspect to it, helping us meet more lively characters and really set the tone of the book to be enjoyable. the newfound friendships, heartbreak and young love were constructed in the most heartwarming fashion.

𖧧 ⋆ claudia - i love her, it was so fun to read this story through her perspective. i could relate to her in ways that she wasn't the best at branching out and meeting new people but preferred to keep quiet and stick along with whom she was comfortable with. meeting iris got off on a rocky start for her, but their unlikely friendship only grew stronger as time passed on. she made iris open up to her and was there for her. they were such a great and funny duo "you look really pretty,” i say. “keep it in your pants,” iris replies, but I catch her smile in the mirror as she turns away. claudia and gideon are so cute ah! even though their romance was not the main focus, i still adored every one of their interactions. i could see that she was hesitant with him at first, but they turned out to be perfect 🥹 apart from them, her relationship with her brother was also heartwarming. they had their differences, but they were there for each other when it mattered the most. i think her character was beautifully developed and i loved who she became at the end.

“maybe i don’t think the first part is the best part. maybe i like the part later on. hearing a song so many times you know all the little ins and outs of it. experiencing something so many times that you can just … live in it. maybe i like that better.”

𖧧 ⋆ iris - oh my favourite complex girlie <3 she was known as this unpleasant, blunt and judgy person, but she was just terribly misunderstood. when I first read about her, she came across as rude as well. but then I came to know more about her, see her walls break down slowly and see her for who she was. her soft side was actually the sweetest thing ever and her obsession with a boy band was adorable 🥹 there’s an en suite attached to iris’s room—id have expected no less—and i jump when i flick on the lights. “holy shit.” “what?” iris says from the other room. i stick my head out the door. “there’s … another kenji in here.” “that’s will you stay tour kenji,” she says. “and that one?” i point to the cutout in the corner of her room. “that’s all of us tour kenji.” i cackled here oh my gosh, no way she had a cutout of her favorite member of the band in her restroom 😭 i loved how her friendship with claudia evolved throughout the book and how it made her let loose a bit more. they understood each other so well and i live friendships like this! honestly, she was so cool and spoke her mind about things and i definitely admire her for that.

“if you only like one version of your favorite, then they’re not your favorite,” she says primly, and I can’t really argue with that.

𖧧 ⋆ gideon - where do I even start with him? from the very start when he was introduced, he was nothing but the bubbliest and most precious boy ever. he was friendly with everyone and made them feel so comfortable around him. he would go to any lengths for his loved ones. the way he cared for claudia and readily agreed to help her out whenever she needed him made me love him even more. his friendship with noah was just precious 💌 how they grew up together almost like brothers was one of my favorite parts <3 my silly, goofy gideon you will always be loved !!

“number six, best laugh. ever.” his eyes land on me, fix there for a moment. “when you make claudia wallace laugh, you feel like you’ve earned something.”

this was the fluffiest, light-hearted and quickest read that will no doubt ensure you have a great time. im so glad i discovered this book through bruna and im forever grateful for that 💗 my ya romance loving heart is always excited to read books like this <3 i need everyone to go pick it up right now!

love,
ahana ⊹

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

“It's like a snort," I say. "Like a snort chortle. It's a snortle."
"Is that a Pokemon?”

This book was so amazing! Emma Mills is fast becoming one of the best contemporary writes I've ever read! By now, I will pick up absolutely anything any everything she writes.

If you want to read a realistic YA contemporary, focusing primarily on awesome friendships - Claudia and Iris are such a brotp!! - and also family dynamics, try out this book! And then read This Adventure Ends. Both are as good as the other!

Seriously, there's something about the author's books, her writing, and especially her characters - how realistic and witty and completely loveable and just human they are. There are no high school YA stereotypes, every one of the characters in this book has a certain kind of depth. Even Lena, the girl who could be sorta mistaken for a 'Mean Girl' has shown depth to her. Each and every one of them are so loveabley human.


“Are you ready to put the ‘fun’ in Fall Fun Fest?” he says as I slap his palm.
“I can at least put the ‘trip’ in ‘Triple F.’” A pause. “By being clumsy, I mean. Not by, like, sharing drugs with the group.” Three sets of eyes are on me, and I can’t stop myself from talking. “I don’t have any drugs. In case you were worried. Or, in case you were … expecting me to have drugs.…”
Gideon grins.”


Each Emma Mills book also does include romance, but when it comes to her work, I always focus on something else apart from the - admittedly adorable - romantic aspect of the story.

This Adventure Ends had Sloane and her writer dad, as well as a lot of new friendships.
Foolish Hearts primarily focuses on all the friendships. Claudia and her long time friend Zoe. But especially Claudia and Iris, and their character development.

The romance also starts out as friendship at first. To be honest, I didn't think I would love the romantic aspect here at first, as much as I ended up doing so. But then Gideon became very dear to my heart after a few chapters in, when I realized he really cares about all of these people around him so freaking much, he was just so open to everyone around him and such a nice, gentle soul in a way I have not encountered too much of in most YA contemporary heroes. And also: I have to say, slightly reminded me of a more flirty version of Gansey from TRC?? So yep, I ended up loving him alsongside the rest of the cast.

Though my ultimate favourite character ever was Iris // alias: a queer girl pretending to be all tough and uncaring and stuff while being an actual cotton candy inside (well sometimes)! Her character development and friendship with Claude was AMAZING.


“All these freaking cast bonding activities,” Iris said when I mentioned it after rehearsal on Wednesday. “I don’t want to bond. I specifically want to not bond. What’s the opposite of bond?”
“Alienate?”
“I want to alienate.”
“Well, you’re pretty good at it.”
“Hey.”


This book aslo focuses on a Midsummer Night’s Dream school play, a roleplay video game and boy band love. One of which I can ehm, not relate to *the boy band stuff* But I immensely enjoyed reading about all of these things anyway!

Overall: I'd highly, highly recommed for you to read this book if you are in the mood for YA contemporary, written in a 100% enjoyable, relatable (and not dense at all) way, and are tired of seeing the focus being only on the romance. Emma Mills books do have amazing romances (my favourite, so far, being the one in here!!), but they have so much more going for them too!

Friendship, as well as family dynamics, are always the most central part to her books! I'd highly rec for you to go check out both Foolish Hearts and This Adventure Ends. Oh, and it was also loads of FUN, I love Emma Mills's humour! 4.5 stars

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a sweet, friendship-based story that reminded me a lot of a Morgan Matson type vibe. I really loved it. Iris and Paige break up in a terrible fight that Claudia overhears. She and Iris become the unlikeliest of friends, and as Claudia’s circle of friends expands through work on the school play, she begins to open up, as well as develop new anxieties. Very relatable, and the relationship that slow burns between Claudia and Gideon, as well as Iris/Paige is heartwarming. These characters feel so real. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

[Maya ︎☁︎︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Sometimes it's hard to know if something's for real? It's hard to believe it, even if you want it to be real. Even if you want it so badly. Sometimes it seems... safer, you know? Not to risk it.”

“Your second Emma Mills’ book in two days?” I hear you cry! Yeah, I’m trash for her work, and I’m totally not ashamed of that fact. I need tooth-rotting fluff periodically throughout the year or else my soul will wither and decay, and I’m pretty sure Mills’ catalogue has more than enough to get me through even 2020’s challenges with a smile on my face. Honestly, I really don’t know how I’m going to cope once I’ve finished all of her books, and I’m not sure who else could write touching, light-hearted, and passionate YA contemporaries with awesome, breath-taking friendships and tight-knit, supportive family dynamics quite like her. Basically, I need Mills to write at least two books a year for the next decade, but as that’s not likely to happen any time soon, you shouldn’t be surprised if you see me re-reading everything she has to offer within the next six months. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of all of these characters, romances, and adventures that feel like they were written just for me.

So! Foolish Hearts starts off with our protagonist, Claudia, accidentally eavesdropping on the breakup of the school’s it-couple, Paige and Iris, at a party (she begrudgingly attends) one night. She’s caught by the latter once their fight is over, and despite Claudia’s apologies and promises to keep her mouth shut, Iris is determined to make her life a living hell. So, when Claudia’s thrown against her will into the class production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream alongside her newfound archnemesis, it all begins about as well as you'd expect. However, when she discovers Iris’ love of boybands, a beautiful friendship starts to blossom. And, if Claudia plays her cards right, love might be on the horizon with an unlikely, charismatic candidate…

I’m really struggling to put into words how deeply, fervently, and hopelessly in love I am with this book. Just like with This Adventure Ends, once I started Foolish Hearts, I couldn’t find it in myself to put it down until my heart had left my throat and my tears had finally stopped. I could feel myself falling in love with these brilliant, relatable characters from the very first chapter, and I couldn’t bear to let them go in the end. Claudia was easily my favourite, and I found her sharp, witty, and heartfelt inner monologue a delight to lose myself in for a few hours. She’s infinitely kind, compassionate, and loyal, and if I had to sum her up in one word, it’d be ‘Hufflepuff’. I don’t know many people who wouldn’t be quickly swept away by her unreserved and inviting personality, and while she had her flaws, they only served to make her more human in my mind. If you want a single reason to read Foolish Hearts, I’d look no further than her.

I love the relationships between Claudia and Gideon. They fell in love so slowly, so naturally, that I actually forgot they weren’t already a couple a few times! Gideon is a fantastic complement to Claudia, and he’s so adorably wholesome and caring. I don't think I'm ever going to stop swooning over how protective and considerate he is of his friends, especially Noah. I can’t name a more gentle, thoughtful character, but if I was making comparisons, I’d call him a softer version of Gansey from TRC, so if you love him, you’re going to love this adorable, flirty loser endlessly. <3

“It just feels like..." Her voice is small. "Sometimes it just feels like I'm faking.” “Maybe everyone feels that way.”

I’m always complaining about how criminally underrated strong and loving platonic friendships are in YA, which is why I’m so ride or die for Emma Mills – she writes beautiful, all-consuming friendships which are as important to the plot as her romances. Iris and Claudia’s relationship was so wonderful to watch unfold, and when I look back at the parts of Foolish Hearts I loved the most, it’s probably a scene that involves these two together.

Iris also quickly became one of my favourite characters, mostly because I'm a sucker for complex, multi-layered women. She’s a queer teen who’s hiding her (numerous) insecurities behind the façade of the stereotypical ‘tough, uncaring’ popular girl act. I loved how her walls slowly started to crumble as her forced closeness with Claudia began to flourish into a genuine, lasting friendship. I also found her unapologetic obsession with her favourite boyband, TION, utterly endearing, and I was practically bursting with happiness when Claudia embraced her friend’s passion with open arms and ended up genuinely loving the band herself! I swear, the bonds teenage girls form over their favourite bands will never be broken!

Also, her relationship with Paige was stunningly, convincingly written, and I think a lot of young adults will relate to the tumultuous ups and downs the two experienced. Their last scene together made me bawl up so badly, and I can't get over how much I love them both together.

“It's like a snort,” I say. “Like a snort chortle. It's a snortle.” He moves a little closer. “Is that a Pokemon?”

Emma Mills also shines a spotlight on family dynamics in Foolish Hearts, and, of course, I was totally captivated by her realistic, healthy, and tear-jerking take on familial love. The relationship between Claudia, Julia, and Alex was like a breath of fresh air, and I hope Mills will tackle sibling relationships more often in the future because she’s terrific at this kind of rep. The three of them spent a lot of time together playing video games, and I couldn’t get enough of how wonderfully heart-warming and contented those scenes made me feel!! They were all so loving, and supportive, and attentive, and while they did fight occasionally, they would do anything for each other at the end of the day. Even though I wish they’d had a few more moments together throughout Foolish Hearts, the ones they did share were memorable and poignant. Julia, especially, was such a remarkable and nurturing character, and I can’t believe Emma Mills pulled that stunt during the last few chapters! I don’t think I’m ever going to emotionally recover���

Overall, I think you can probably tell how much I loved Foolish Hearts. It was fluffy, heart-breaking, and satisfying, and I wish I could've bottle up how I felt while reading this book and share it with the world. If you love charming romantic heroes, well-written and thought-out family dynamics, and intensely beautiful friendships, I’d highly recommend this book, quickly followed by This Adventure Ends! I promise these books will warm even the iciest of hearts!

“There's something soft in his expression that I don't know what to do with, so I take another drink and then say, 'There's also this wizard we really want to fight'.”

[hillary · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

If you think I read this book because If We Were Villains changed my life and made me want to read more books about people who play Shakespearean characters...
You would be correct.
Though, I wasn’t expecting to laugh this much and melt into a puddle of feels in the process.

This book was something else. It was so easy to fall in love with all the characters, especially Claudia. I feel like it's the first time I encounter a character like her. She cares about everyone and makes friends with everyone, but still thinks she doesn't have a lot going on. She's open-minded and kind and respects people. I admire her way more than I should admire a fictional teenage character. Is it weird that I want to hug her?
Then comes Gideon, the perfect love interest. What this book shows is that teens can be responsible and not be exclusively living stereotypes. Like the other characters, Gideon is almost adult and teen all at the same time, which is how I think it should be, if that makes sense. I didn't know I needed to read about someone like him. I want more goofy love interests, please ☺️

Though, honestly, the thing that shines the most in this book is the unexpectedly close friendship between Claudia and Iris. I just love that two girls like them, who seemed like very different people with different interests at the beginning, get closer and closer and warm to each other. There is nothing better than sharing your passions with someone else and getting them into those as well. TION sounds like a really classy boy band, I wish I could listen to their music. Scandal Season would probably be my favorite song by them 😁

This book doesn't follow that usual linear rom-comy or coming-of-age story structure as most of YA contemporary books. It has that moment where everything goes wrong, but not in the way you expect. There are so many layers to this story that work perfectly together. If I had to compare these feelings I have to something more tangible, this book would be the incarnation of "not like other girls".

Foolish Hearts is a 360 degrees glance into Claudia's life. It talks about her relationship with family, friends, school, extracurricular activities and free time activities. It delves into all of this without ever getting repetitive or cliched or tiring. All these themes get proper page time and at the end you feel so satisfied with how the story went. Also, the dialogues between the characters feel incredibly natural and it's a pleasure to read them. These are my favorite things about this book and I'm going to read everything that Emma Mills wrote and is going to write in the future. This was just too good.

[jenny✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm... crying in the club rn

This book was everything I could've ever wanted and then some, and *I* WAS TRULY THE FOOLISH ONE FOR DAWDLING PICKING IT UP

God. Stories about family and friendship hit me with all the force of a punch to the solar plexus—an uplifting, joyous, punch to the solar plexus, that is.

Below you will find quite possibly my favourite passage in the whole book (though it was pretty hard to decide; I highlighted the crap out of it):

“It’s not like I want to date him,” she replies.
“But… then what else is there?”
“What else is there besides wanting to date someone? It’s fucking sad you have to ask that.”
“Not like—obviously I know in general, I just meant, like, in… boy band circumstances.”
“He is my small son,” Iris says, and even though the words coming from her lips are completely ridiculous, her expression is 100 percent serious. “I want him to be happy, and healthy, and to be with people he cares about, and do things that he loves. I want him to know how much he’s appreciated and how much he’s changed people’s lives by… just being who he is. And by helping us be who we are.”

Add in a wholesome-as-heck love interest (seriously, I'm fed up with assholes. We need more Gideons in literature and irl); diverse characters; a high school production of A Midsummer's Night Dream; band fandom amazingness; online roleplaying games as metaphors for life; enough witty, quirky, banter to make you laugh until you pee your pants every other page—

And you have Foolish Hearts. AKA a fucking amazing book that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard or smiled so wide.

[maria ₊˚ෆ hiatus · Rating 5 out of 5]

: ̗̀➛ 5 stars ˚ · .

“Maybe the best thing's not always the best thing. Maybe shitty things have to happen to get you to the right place.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ˗ˏˋ ꒰🧸꒱ ˎˊ˗ my thoughts .ᐟ

I think this book found me at the exact right time and hit in the exact right spot. What makes this book so special, so beautiful, is the simplicity of it. The normal, natural story of it literally makes it real, palpable, it touches your soul. I'm not saying it's perfect, it's far from that, but it has so much depth, so much feeling in it, that I couldn't stop reading it, or shedding tears or laughing or enjoying it. I don't even have enough words to express it, you just have to experience it for yourself, sure it might seem immature and annoying, but I think it portrays life and friendship and love and teenage times so right that I just loved it. Sure, some parts of it didn't follow my beliefs and stuff, but that didn't change the overall experience of it all 🥹 I don't know if I make any sense but it has been ages since a book made me so heartbroken and just felt so close to my soul

“Sometimes... around some people, I feel like I have to, like... try, you know? Like really hard. But with you - when I'm with you, I can just... exist.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ˗ˏˋ ꒰🦋꒱ ˎˊ˗ the story .ᐟ

How I said, the plot itself is basic, not multi layered with twists and turns, but that doesn't mean it's boring or bland! It's far from that 🥹 It's about teenagers in their last year, it's about friendships and siblings and love and being afraid of change and the ups and downs of high school. It's about so many things, that seem so normal, but that are so important and shape us! Maybe I loved this one more as I am finishing school too and it felt even more real to me, but the words felt like they were written for me, from the depth of my soul. And the fact that I connected with the characters made the entire experience lovely and that they were so diverse and so well build, with such a crazy development for some. I think we get so immersed in unexpected plots, with a swoony life changing love or story, with crazy world-budlings, that we forget how sometimes the best and most memorable things are the normal ones, the everyday small stuff, how everything isn't about being grand, but being good, peaceful, happy.

“Maybe I don't think the first part is the best part. Maybe I like the part later on. Hearing a song so many times you know all the little ins and outs of it. Experiencing something so many times that you can just... live in it. Maybe I like that better.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ˗ˏˋ ꒰❤️‍🩹꒱ ˎˊ˗ the relationships .ᐟ

I want to talk about the friendships formed along the way. I want to talk about the things that bond us, even the smallest one, during the most unexpected times with the most unexpected people. I want to talk about siblings relationships that are so important and matter so much. I want to talk about teenage love, that is so innocent, so pure, so cute, that it's not about lust, it's about knowing the person next to you, caring about them and not about a physical stuff. I want to talk about valuing ourselves and not listening to all the things people say about us or to us. I want to talk about so many stuff that this book portrayed so well, but then it will be just me mindlessly writing for hours and I could not say enough.

“Sometimes it's hard to know if something's for real? It's hard to believe it, even if you want it to be real. Even if you want it so badly. Sometimes it seems... safer, you know. Not to risk it.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ˗ˏˋ ꒰🎀꒱ ˎˊ˗ quotes .ᐟ

“I know it's silly, but it's just, you know. Senior year and all. Everything we do is sort of the last time we get to do it. So it should be perfect, right?”

“Nevertheless, I wait until Iris gets inside before driving off. Because that's what you're supposed to do when you drop someone off. Even if you drop them off in front of a house roughly the size of a shopping mall. Even if they're not exactly friends.”

“-What will be so fun about it?
-YOU'LL BE THERE”

“-So... I watched the TION movie the other day.
-You should've told me.
-Why?
-We could've seen it together.
-I... figured you'd seen it.
-Of course I've seen it. I love it. I would live in that movie if I could. It's just... fun sharing fandom stuff with other people.”
THIS!!! GOODREADS THIS IS WHAT YOU DO AND I LOVE YOU FOR HELPING ME FIND THE BEST PEOPLE!!

“-Because. You're you. You just... say and do whatever. You give zero fucks.
She shakes her head minutely, and her voice is quieter when she replies: -I give a lot of fucks.”

“It's not hard to pretend to love her. It's the rest of the time, having to pretend like I don't.”

“-You got Battle Quest.
-I did.
-How come?
-Because you like it.”

“No, because whether or not you're a good one isn't decided by some... committee, or something. Or society. Or anything. You decide that. You choose what kind of mom you want to be. You choose... what kind of adult you want to be. Right? So maybe you're an adult who plays Battle Quest. And spills chili sometimes. Maybe you get things wrong occasionally. Maybe that's okay.”

“-You forgive me?
-Of course.
-Just like that? It's that easy?
-Sometimes. Sometimes not.
-But this time?
-Yeah. It's that easy.”

“-Do you remember Spooky Tree?
-Yeah.
-Thank you for kicking Spooky Tree.
-Claude, I would kick a thousand Spooky Trees for you.”


──★ ˙💖 ̟ preread !!

leaving on a family trip and reading this on the plane 🤭 can't wait to escape from life (and all the school books) 🙈