Slingshot is a novel that I didn't care for. While the writing was competent, the protagonist is a rather terrible 15-year-old young woman who reads like a person who's older, and quite mean. She fantasizes about and claims to love her much older teacher, cusses him out for having an adult relationship, then proceeds to be jealous with her new friend/boyfriend, and slut-shame a girl who tries to be friends with him. The book is aimed, supposedly, at the Young Adult demographic, but there's enough adult content in here to take Young out of the equation. It's okay to write a darker or edgier character, but there should still be a moral lesson or redeeming quality about flawed protagonists if the story is targeted at teenagers. Because the protagonist, Gracie, is continually rude or mean to others, and engages in immoral and illegal behavior continually, I can't recommend this book for youth.

I wanted so much to love this book. It was witty and comical at some parts but a lot of it was more inappropriate and unnecessary. Being "in love" with your teacher is a plot point I couldn't get past. Especially with current events and inappropriate relationships between students and teachers. Some characters were just plain mean and the author tried to make it comical. I'm not sure this is a book I will be recommending.

I had to sit with this one for a bit before I could fully write a review because this one was definitely a little bit all over the place.

I appreciated the teenage angst that dripped through the writing and overall storyline, and did feel like Heinwein captured the teenage high school experience pretty well. However, the book starts with this “in love with my teacher” storyline and as a teacher, I just got a super uncomfortable vibe from the start. As a result, I had to force myself to pick up the book as I continued and considered not finishing it a few times.

I did feel like the second half of the book, from the point where Grace spends her spring break at school onward, was much more cohesive than the first half of the book. There was a solid and consistent storyline from that point on, and even though Grace was extremely unlikeable, she begin to endear herself to me a bit at this point and I felt like she became more humanized and understandable toward the end as well.

The end of the story bummed me out a bit as well, as I was hoping for a different one. However, I think that Heinwein handled the ending with care and I do understand why it had to end the way it did, even if it wasn’t the ending I wished for. In the end, this story redeemed itself for me and it was okay, but a little too shaky for me overall.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for my free electronic ARC in exchange for my honest review.

DNF @ 10%. Unfortunately, I just couldn't hang with the crush on the teacher and the MC's attitude when she found out he was in a relationship. Having a crush is one thing, but having the delusion that they return the feelings (unless of course they do, but that would be a much darker story not a romance) is another. She was very rude to him and other characters. Wasn't for me.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.

I stopped reading this book about 20% in. The description of the book sounded interesting, and the setting and Gracie's voice reminded me of John Green's Looking for Alaska. However, the book opens with Gracie confessing her love to her biology teacher (and then her not being switched out of his class, somehow?), and that honestly ruined the rest for me. Gracie had a very witty and distinctive voice, but she grated on me as a character. She was whiny and self-centered -- which, to be fair, is realistic for a fifteen-year-old -- but I wasn't invested enough in her character arc to keep going.

Gracie reads really young, but some of the content that I've encountered so far -- the pining for her teacher and the profanity -- would be better for older readers.

Thank you for Wednesday Books for the ARC.

I enjoy reading YA knowing full well I am not the intended audience (as a mid-thirties mom of two). But I always come back for the young love, high school antics and big feelings you get from a good YA novel.

This story centers around Grace, who saves the new boy Wade with the flick of her slingshot. That one moment changes her entire sophomore year and the book is really about the trajectory that follows.

I think this might be better suited for a reader who really enjoys character-driven storylines, as you see the evolution of Grace, Wade and even secondary characters throughout. I struggled a bit with the dialogue and Grace as a character, which I think held me back from connecting more with the book overall. It was a really quick read though!

Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Final Score - 3.5 Stars

I normally like to read a book first before getting an idea of where it's headed. But, with this book - I kind of needed more. So I looked at some of the reviews. Boy, did I wish I had not. While some were favorable, other's were not so much. One in particular stood out - the reader couldn't imagine young people using offensive language. I nearly spit my coffee out with that one! This reader must not be around children much and/or teenagers. Ride the NYC public transit system - every child from the age of being able to talk well into adulthood and beyond use offensive language. Seriously? Puh-leze!

In regards to this story, I have to admit - the premise is what hooked me. And while I was reading it, yes ... YES I wanted to chuck it out of the nearest window. I wasn't bothered by the language or the causality of sex in the book. I'm not a prude. It was the fact that I was reliving my high school years - ALL OVER AGAIN. Granted, I graduated in the early '90s, but it funny how somethings remain the same (cliques are still a thing, huh?) God I hated HS and all that went with it.

In any case, Slingshot was most definitely a frustrating read for me - but I got thru it. Much like I did in HS. Gracie. Oh Gracie - you called to me girl. My loner, rebellious heart, thumbing and middle fingering the world around you. However, that's where the similarities end. Even I knew in HS you don't have sex just for boredom. Beside, HS guys are gross. I repeat - HS GUYS ARE GROSS.
Wade. Wade was definitely a friend - they kind you always keep close, make sure to engage with, and if possible, you could fall in love with him. But there was something about this attitude that was off putting (and later on we find out why). I too was Wade. Family dynamics sure do suck, don't they Wade?

Other than the main characters, Beth, Georgie, and even Derek - I found nothing redeemable about any of the other characters (Gracie's/Wade's Parents, the school administration, Anju!). I could have done without them. The romance aspects were alright (I don't have personal experience with HS romance/teen angst as I stayed away from that and actually focused on just making it out of that hell), but the friendships formed were what spoke to me. Those should have been explored/nurtured more. And the ending felt lack luster. That has to be my biggest issue - the potential for a great ending, only to be left with a letter and the unknown.

This book's premise sounded good initially, and the cover was interesting. The book is definitely written for a different audience than me so I suspect many will enjoy it and relate to the characters.
There are definitely parts of this book that I really felt worked. Towards the beginning of the book, after the protagonist, Gracie has discovered that her crush, the adult biology teacher has a fiance and she is devastated by it, she skips the class and heads outside to the school grounds. While expecting to be alone outside to let out her grief, she suddenly realizes that some older boys are bullying a new boy and she pulls out her slingshot and takes aim. She manages to hit one of the older boys and is instantly in trouble. This was the best part of the story for me, which is saying that my expectations were quickly lowered. Gracie is an unlikable protagonist who I did not find myself pulling for or even seeing as a freshman in high school. Certainly some of her antics were age appropriate but it was difficult to tell if she was mature for her age, often engaging in thoughts or activities that are more typical of kids about 5 years older, versus naive and peer pressured into doing things she wouldn't have normally done. For instance, she was described as an introvert who was happier alone but then immediately began to act as though she was much older than her age. I wouldn't have a problem with a teen acting age inappropriate except that this character flip-flopped back and forth between the two.
Overall, this might appeal to a YA/NA audience, it did not work for me. The inconsistencies in the story were too bothersome for me to fully engage in the plot.
#Slingshot #NetGalley #StMartinsPress #WednesdayBooks

*Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy for review.

CW: depictions of abuse, mentions of suicide

Wow. Where to begin with this one. Slingshot started off pretty bumpy for me, but it quickly picked up steam and the last 75% I could barely put the book down.

Gracie is not very likeable in the beginning. She doesn't conform to the typical high school girl persona. She's very stand-offish and she's happy with that. Or that's just what she wants you to think.

Wade comes barreling into Gracie's atmosphere and he's not budging whether she wants him to or not.

This story takes you through ups and downs of young love, heartache, and navigating tough decisions as a teen. I highly recommend it because I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This book was disappointing. Gracie's character was unlikable, and while sometimes an unlikable protagonist can work, in Slingshot, it did not, for me, at least. I felt Gracie was incredibly narcissistic and her actions not fitting the age of the character. Word choice - "raping my ears," for example - was cringeworthy. I really wanted to like this book - its cover is cute and the blurb enticed me to request it - but overall, I did not find the book well developed or well written.

I DNF’d this book about 25% of the way through. I thought it started interesting enough with Gracie crying in the bathroom after a teacher she had a crush on told her he had a fiancée. However, it immediately went downhill - Gracie is the absolute worst character I’ve ever read. She is entitled and whiny in her mind and outwardly mean to nearly everyone she encounters.

The dialogue is cringe and just feels like something we’ve moved past. For example - Gracie’s roommate is playing ABBA and Gracie says the music is ‘raping her ears’. That just didn’t sit right with me.

I gave up on the book, so this isn’t a review of the complete work but I could not force myself to finish it.

I echo similar reviews. This one was not for me. The character was unlikable. I also went in thinking this would be a sweet story but it wasn't. The ending was decent, but not enough to fully redeem the book for me.

2.5 stars

This was definitely not the book for me. I think that is the most I got out of this read.

Based on the premise and the adorable cover (like seriously, this is a great cover), I really thought I would love this book. It sounds like just the kind of YA contemporary romance that would be right up my alley. But this is was not. Like at all.

From the very first chapter, this book rubbed me the wrong way. We find out that the MC Gracie is upset because she just found out that the teacher she is "in love" with has a fiance. So automatic turn-off for me, but hey, at least this man twenty years older than her isn't, like, encouraging her in any way.

From there, we find out that Gracie is just the most unlikable main character ever. Internally, she is whiny and bratty and just annoying, honestly. Externally, she is a huge jerk to everyone. Seriously, everyone. Very few redeeming qualities at all.

If that wasn't bad enough, she also takes "young people make mistakes for the first time" to a whole new level. She's fifteen and has sex, and smokes cigarettes, and just generally acts/talks like the seniors she's around, if not older. I am not naive enough to know that, sure, some fifteen-year-olds do things like this, but I mean, it wasn't anywhere near my experience, so it just felt off.

I'm not going to go much into the main plot of this book, just because it really isn't worth explaining. Plus, I won't spoil it for anyone who wants to put themselves through this book. But there are just terrible things after terrible things. A senior girl gives her truly horrible advice, and of course, she takes it and basically ruins the one good thing in life. Ugh. Just so frustrating. In general. The whole book.

Anyway, I guess there were some good things. I did enjoy Gracie's family history (her mom was 19, her dad 16 years older and his "real" family lives in California) for its uniqueness. And I mean, clearly, this is why she's messed up. But the author really doesn't do enough to explore that and have her come to terms with her life and grow from there.

In general, there isn't much character growth at all. She's still a jerk by the end, and while there is one moment where I guess she grows, it's just not enough to justify the rest of the book.

Overall, it was a fun read in like a "watching a car burn on the side of the road" type of way. Otherwise, I can't say I recommend it too much.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending this ARC for my review. All opinions are my own.

I DNFed this about 25% in, so this review is based on that and some skimming of the rest.

CW: child abuse, mental abuse, bullying, language that supports rape culture (may not be all due to DNFing the book)

So the good things - the cover art is beautiful, and I liked Wade as a character.

The not so good things - this book slaps you in the face with a 15 yr old lusting after a teacher, which was gross. I get kids/high schoolers having crushes but the MC was deeming them soul mates and cursed out the teacher when she found out he had a fiancée, all in the first 2%. Thankfully this didn’t get worse with the teacher reciprocating. It did get weird when Grace compared her liking her teacher to her mom being a mistress to her dad (who was living a whole other life with a wife and kids elsewhere).

I did not like the authors use of rape in the phrase “your music is raping my ears” and I searched and it is used a few times in the book. It is just poor word choice and should have never made it past edits. This language supports rape culture and there was not discussion around it.

The dialogue was cringe inducing and was just not well written. Overall the writing was unimpressive.

I think there are tons of books that do so much better at addressing the themes this book was trying to convey.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of SLINGSHOT by Mercedes Helnwein. I really the loved this book. I was more of a Georgina than a Gracie when I was in high school, but I also for sure had some Gracie-like friends so despite what a lot of people are saying on Goodreads—teenagers like this exist. I was pulled in immediately by Gracie's voice and I related to the urge to lash out at others when you feel badly about yourself and to the intensity of young love. It brought me right back to how it feels to be a teenager. It definitely wasn't a light, sweet romcom. I'd compare it more to Eleanor and Park or the movie Lady Bird. It was a realistic view of teenage love and heartbreak and needing to find yourself. The characters were flawed and relatable and sometimes hard to look at—because they were so real. At about 40% I genuinely struggled to put the book down until the end. I could see this not being the right book for everyone—it doesn't hold back from the grittiest aspects of teenage life, especially in a less-than-preppy, non-highly academic environment. But I really enjoyed it and all its gritty realness. I'd recommend it.

An angsty look at the trials and tribulations of the teenage years from a snarky, unhappy girl in boarding school.

This is the kind of YA I used to love but I guess have sort of moved past. Grace, the narrator, is definitely a love-her-or-hate-her kind of character. You'll either love being in her head for 300 pages .. or not. Grace's mom has some (unspecified) mental illness, she's in love with her science teacher, she's lonely and confused, and the boy she's crazy about doesn't seem to reciprocate, so she tries to get his attention in a variety of ways.

Also, was it me or did this book feel like it should have been set in then 1990s? To me, there was a retro feel, though the characters did have modern technology so I guess not. There was something about the writing or the overall vibe that made it feel like it took place in the 90s or early 2000s.

If you love books with a very strong voice and a not-always-likeable main character, definitely check this one out!

If the age of the main characters were never stated I would have assumed they were awkward, jaded adults.. not 15 year olds.
It felt like the author was trying to manufacture teenage angst, it was too much. The narration and even dialogue felt unrealistic. No 15 year old would refer to sex as 'sexual intercourse' outside of a classroom.
While I'm sure some people will enjoy this, I unfortunately was not one of then.

Somehow mixes the gritty messiness and gray morality closer to an adult book with the most melodramatic instincts of YA, all told through the eyes of a tender, abrasive narrator. A sort of modernized Catcher in the Rye or a darker, genderswapped Looking for Alaska, it’s well-written, specific and incisive particularly in terms of its main character, although it packs too much into the last quarter, and its not necessarily a happy or even pleasant read.

I am not often one that gravitates towards YA by choice, but I was approached by the publisher and asked if I would want to read a copy in exchange for an honest review so I gladly accepted.

I think one of the things that you have to go into YA stories with is the understanding that these are usually high school level problems, personalities, and behaviors. For that sense, this book did a great job painting the picture of a teen's first major love and the drama that goes with it for school.

I honestly felt like the ending was perfect for the story because it never painted a perfect fairytale picture to make you feel like everyone lived happily ever after. It was actually a very realistic ending and it worked for the lives of Wade and Gracie. The story did not keep up the facade that kids stay friends forever, but more so that friendships and relationships can be circumstantial and occur at different times in a life.

The writing flowed very well and kept me needing to read more about Gracie and her adventure with Wade and Dereck. More so, it showed how much those relationships, between the different characters helped everyone grow and develop, especially Gracie. She started out very angry, resentful and isolated in the beginning before she really started to open up, branch out, and find her real self.

Slingshot by Mercedes Helnwein
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Slingshot starts off with a heartbroken 15 year old girl who’s packing a slingshot. She is so angry and hurt. Angry with her parents, who are soooo weird. Angry with her teacher, who just got engaged but is supposed to be her soulmate. And just angry with the world in general. On a whim, she uses her slingshot to defend the new boy in school from being harassed by the “cool kids”. The only problem is now he won’t leave her alone. Ugh. *queue hilarious dramatic teenage sarcasm*
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Ok, so. I will start with, I can completely understand why this book may not be for everyone, BUT...I sort of loved it. ❤️❤️❤️👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
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What I loved:
-This book was SO FUNNY. I was cracking up laughing reading it.
-It also hit me in the feels several times. Any book that can make me tear up on one page and then crack up laughing on the next is cool in my book.
-Gracie’s dramatic, hormonal teenage feelings felt real. I am not a teenager (obvi), but I remember being a teen and how everything was SUCH a big deal! My crush doesn’t like me; it hurts so much I could die, I don’t even exist!
-Gracie escapes into her music when life is too much, and her favorite band is Smashing Pumpkins. Ok, but anyone who was a teen in the 90s? This was real, right here!!! SP had these edgy lyrics that just made you feel seen, like you weren’t the only one that was feeling like you were. I LOVED that.
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What I didn’t like:
-I think the only thing I didn’t like about this book was Gracie had such a potty mouth. 🤬🤬🤬 It was funny! And probably teens today swear like crazy, but my mom heart was a little offended by the AMOUNT of swearing. 😇😂😂
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4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 and I really thought about giving it 5, because I loved it so much and flew through it, but the swearing was a bit much for me.