Call It What You Want By Brigid Kemmerer [Review]

RELEASE DATE: June 25th 2019
AUTHOR: Brigid Kemmerer
GENRE:    Young-Adult, Contemporary, Romance.
PUBLISHER:   Bloomsbury YA
SUMMARY:

When his dad is caught embezzling funds from half the town, Rob goes from popular lacrosse player to social pariah. Even worse, his father’s failed suicide attempt leaves Rob and his mother responsible for his care.

Everyone thinks of Maegan as a typical overachiever, but she has a secret of her own after the pressure got to her last year. And when her sister comes home from college pregnant, keeping it from her parents might be more than she can handle.

When Rob and Maegan are paired together for a calculus project, they’re both reluctant to let anyone through the walls they’ve built. But when Maegan learns of Rob’s plan to fix the damage caused by his father, it could ruin more than their fragile new friendship…

This captivating, heartfelt novel asks the question: Is it okay to do something wrong for the right reasons?

“One choice doesn’t determine your whole future.”

Brigid Kemmerer is one of my favorite YA authors. I absolutely loved her Letters to the Lost duology and also her YA fantasy A curse So Dark And Lonely. Call It Want You Want was her latest YA contemporary book and once again she didn’t disappoint me. It’s a heartwarming story between two struggling teenagers who’re having family issues. I enjoyed both the main characters, the romance, and the moral of the story.

Both Rob and Maegan are outcasts in their school. Rob used to be a famous lacrosse player in school, but after his father was caught embezzling funds from half of the city, his whole world turns upside down. He becomes a social pariah in school and no one wants to be his friend. After his father’s suicide attempt, they have to take care of him 24×7. Maegan is an overachiever and because of her one mistake in SAT exam, she becomes a cheater in everyone’s eyes. Her father is a cop. Her sister is in college but when she returns home pregnant, she needs to hide it from her parents which was becoming harder with each day. When Maegan and Rob paired together on a calculus project, they’re reluctant to work together because they’re both hiding family secrets that can ruin them. Over time they slowly open up to each other and soon becomes friends and something more, but when Maegan learns about Rob’s plan to fix his father’s mistake, she don’t know that she could trust him anymore.

I loved Meagan and Rob! They’re both flawed and interesting characters. Meagan is envious of her older sister who’s perfect in everything unlike her. She tried to cheat on her SAT tests and ends up getting caught. Her parents are disappointed with her. I didn’t like Meagan at the beginning because she was a bit judgmental towards Rob, but as the story progressed  I started to like her. Rob on the other hand, I enjoyed his character from the start. I felt sad about his situation. Because of his father’s mistake, he turned from a popular guy to a pariah in his school. It’s sad how everyone treated him like a criminal. The slow burn romance between Rob and  Meagan was great and loved their character development. Coming to the secondary characters, I liked Meagan’s sister Samantha, and Rob’s new lunch friend Owen. He was hilarious. Meagan and Rob’s best friends turns out to be jerks. I’m sorry I didn’t like both of them. Connor’s reason for his mean behavior in the school was totally lame. Meagan’s best friend was not memorable enough to describe and her boyfriend was a mean a-hole.

The plot was well written! It’s a thought provoking story that focuses on whether it is okay to do something wrong for the right reasons? It’s an emotional and dark story. If you’re looking for something fluffy then this is not for you. The family aspect in this book was very well done. Everything seemed very realistic. Although I predicted some major twists in the book, It didn’t hinder my enjoyment at all. The pacing was perfect. The author’s writing was amazing. The book was told in dual POV’s. The whole small town setting was pretty nice.

Overall, I loved this book! It was a great stand-alone YA contemporary read filled with family drama, friendship, and romance. I can’t wait to read the author’s next emotional read.

Recommend it?

If you love YA contemporary then you must check out all of her books! I highly recommend every one of them!

MY RATING:

[4.5/5 Stars]