I'm not really sure what I was thinking picking this book. This is an official turning point for me - I need to be a lot more selective about which YA books I invest my time into. Also, Readthons?! A very recent discovery for me, and I do find it enjoyable to be completing a challenge amongst the community. But reading books that fit prompts for the sake of it ends now. Those of you that run readathons, I apologise, as I will be that person in your DMs letting you know I'm joining in but breaking all the rules and reading whatever is on my TBR, and not conform to restrictive prompts. I cannot end up reading something like this again because it was a total disaster. Rant over. This book follows Esme Pearl and her best friend Janis who are part of a babysitters club. New girl Casandra from their school - to their surprise - decides to join. Turns out Esme and Casandra have more in common than they thing and discover a lineage of powers and magical rituals... It isn't exactly possible for me to give this a fair rating as I couldn't finish it. I have nothing against people reading YA, or even reading children's books if that is where they get enjoyment. For me however, this book reminded me of books I adored when I was 12 like Girl, 15, Charming but Insane, or Girl, 16, Pants on Fire - ridiculous books following a teenage girl that consistently embarrassed herself in front of boys. The number of AF, OMG, WTF, IDK, LOL, IRL abbreviations used had me cringing. The times they talked about being woke and referred to their parents as dweebs...it just had me rolling my eyes to the point of a headache. I completely understand that this book could be a huge hit and maybe would have been if I was 14 years younger. However, as of right now, reading this book was not an enjoyable experience for me. Something I will give this book major credit for however, is the cover design! The second in the series has also been announced for September 2020. If you collect books merely for the cover art, I'd consider investing in this series!
Anyone that thoroughly enjoys books for this demographic, or is a young teen I would recommend this to. I expect it was about to get 'good' at the point that I gave up. A classic conundrum of too many books, too little time for me to be wasting it on something that just isn't for me. Initial Prediction: 4 stars
Final Rating: 1 star (unfair rating as I couldn't finish)
Publication Date: 17 September 2019
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
# of Pages: 368
Please don't bother unless you really like books for teens about teens. I'm not sure what I was thinking!!
Yikes! I really think this wouldn't be my kind of book. Now I'm even more convinced after your review.