Title: You’re the One that I Want
Author: Simon James Green
Publisher: Scholastic Fiction
Length: 384 Pages
Category: YA Contemporary Romance
Rating: 4 Stars
At a Glance: When all is said and done, this book is a fun and breezy read with a little poignance to keep it from being fluffy. The drama was OTT in all the right places because drama kids, and I loved the way Freddie saves the day in the end through nothing more than saying “Yes!” to life.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Blurb: According to the rule, Freddie has to say “yes”.
Freddie believes that he’s unremarkable, that he isn’t living his life to the fullest. So, he decides to follow a new philosophy designed to transform his social and romantic life: saying ‘yes’ to every opportunity that comes by. It’s not long before Freddie finds himself auditioning for the school musical (Grease), going to the popular kids’ parties, and flirting with hot new boy Zach! He’s becoming a whole new Freddie.
But the path to love is never smooth – and Freddie comes to learn that sometimes getting things wrong is an important part of figuring out what – and who – you really want.
Review: If you could go back in time, would you consider doing high school over again? That’s one of those questions I’ve contemplated only long enough to give it an emphatic “Hell. No.” Would it be a wee bit more tempting, though, if you could go back with the advantage of all the life experience you’ve managed to accumulate since then? Simon James Green’s You’re the One that I Want is an utterly delightful and frequently comical reminder of why I would never want to relive those years, with some sharper truths and near-universal hurts that . . . are again a blatant reminder of why I don’t want a do-over.
Freddie Bennett is sixteen, all but invisible—his best friends, Ruby and Sam, are the only two people who even know his name—and he lives with his workaholic mom, the producer of what promises to be the next big hit on MegaFlix: a teen drama, starring actual teens (not a single high schooler with crow’s feet in sight, tyvm). His career-driven mom and their lack of relationship beyond her making sure he’s fed, clothed, and has a roof over his head figures significantly into Freddie’s emotions, actions, and the decision to turn his life around. That’s when The Freddie Project is born, which means he’s going to start saying “Yes!” to life.
The “Yes!” is how Freddie ends up auditioning for the school play, Grease, despite a past incident that means this epic feat of “Yes!”ness is not exactly what he meant when he started this whole Freddie Project. In truth, it was a guy, the hot new guy, Zach. The hot new gay guy, Zach. Zach is the real reason Freddie agrees to audition for the play. Could it have gone worse? Sure. But only if Freddie had actually died from the embarrassment of it all.
Reading YA is a lot of “Oh no . . .” when you see characters making mistakes, walking headlong into bad decisions, or can smell a con a mile away. Simon James Green lets his teenagers be teenagers, and I appreciated that. The drama kids were dramatic (so much drama), the non-drama kids were also dramatic, because everything feels epic when you’re trying to figure out life and first love. And when you suddenly find yourself on the receiving end of what looks and sounds a lot like flirting from the cutest guy in school, but you’re trying to keep it cool—for reasons—it can feel like euphoria even as your heart takes some good bruising along the way because your all-in even though you’ve promised to keep it fun and casual so you don’t risk losing the first guy who’s ever paid attention to you. Love can be so messy sometimes.
There was a nice twist in Freddie’s romantic journey that made You’re the One that I Want a better book. Not that it wasn’t entertaining in the first place, but it elevated the Third Act Conflict to something just that little bit better than it might have been if the author had gone the more anticipated route with Freddie’s happy ending. When all is said and done, this book is a fun and breezy read with a little poignance to keep it from being fluffy. The drama was OTT in all the right places because drama kids, and I loved the way Freddie saves the day in the end through nothing more than saying “Yes!” to life. Even if it was a scary thing to do.
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