The Course of True Love • Foolish Hearts

There are a lot of things Claudia wasn't expecting to happen to her. She didn't think she'd find herself on the outs with one of the meanest girls in her year, nor did she expect to be forced to partner with her for a paper. She also didn't expect to be made to try out for the school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. She didn't expect to form new friendships, develop a boy band obsession or to be thrown together time and again with the goofiest, most adorable boy she's ever met. As her life gets filled with fandoms and friends, Claudia's entire perspective on her own life might just start to change...

Plot? I'll be honest and admit that I didn't remember anything about the story when I first cracked open this novel. It's actually got a plot that falls on the quieter side of contemporary YA, as it pretty much details what happens in Claudia's life over the course of a couple of months. I thought Mills had an excellent handle on developing Claudia, her relationships and chronicling some of the typical sorts of things that many of us have gone through in our own teen years. Even though it has a 'day in the life' vibe to the storytelling, it still was a novel that I found to be both relatable and remarkable. 

Characters? Oh my goodness, I loved the characters in this story! (So much so, in fact, that I ended up creating a gift guide for main characters Claudia and Gideon.) I was drawn immediately to Claudia mostly because I identified with her in many ways - the obsession with role-playing games, the close-knit ties to her family, her desire to be helpful and also to fly under the radar when possible, to name a few. And, of course, I immediately fell head over heels for Gideon, who was sweet, goofy and an all-around wonderful guy. Plus, there's Claudia's family, and her friends (old and new), all of whom she had real relationships (with the ups and downs) with. I thought Mills did a bang-up job of creating real personalities that felt like they came right off the page, and who I would have loved to get to know in real life.

Writing? One of the things I've always loved about novels from Emma Mills is how compulsively readable her writing is. She writes in a way that makes for easy reading but doesn't sacrifice any of the nuance or detail when it comes to her characters or their relationships with one another. I was, as always, impressed by the way she wove all the elements of a good book - strongly defined characters, well-constructed relationships, a compelling tale - in one very neat package.

Overall? In case you couldn't tell, I loved Foolish Hearts. It was a story I just couldn't put down once I'd started it! The combination of reading this book at just the right time, really identifying on a personal level with the main character and feeling all giddy and swoony by the end really made this one such a satisfying story to read. I'd highly recommend checking it out!

What's your favorite Shakespearean play? This is a very difficult question for me to answer, to be honest, since I actually quite love Shakespeare in general. It's going to be a copout to pick two, but I'm going to do it anyway - Romeo & Juliet (which is the first one I ever read) and Twelfth Night (which I find absolutely hilarious).

Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) | Publication Date: December 5, 2017

Source: ARC received from the publisher (Thanks!)