Review: Her Good Side by Rebekah Weatherspoon
From the publisher:
Sixteen-year-old Bethany Greene, though confident and self-assured, is what they call a late-bloomer. She’s never had a boyfriend, date, or first kiss. She’s determined to change that but after her crush turns her down cold for Homecoming—declaring her too inexperienced—and all her back-up ideas fall through, she cautiously agrees to go with her best friend’s boyfriend Jacob. A platonic date is better than no date, right? Until Saylor breaks up with said boyfriend.
Dumped twice in just two months, Jacob Yeun wonders if he’s the problem. After years hiding behind his camera and a shocking summer glow up, he wasn’t quite ready for all the attention or to be someone’s boyfriend. There are no guides for his particular circumstances, or for taking your ex’s best friend to the dance.
Why not make the best of an awkward situation? Bethany and Jacob decide to fake date for practice, building their confidence in matters of the heart.
And it works—guys are finally noticing Bethany. But things get complicated as their kissing sessions—for research of course!—start to feel real. This arrangement was supposed to help them in dating other people, but what if their perfect match is right in front of them?
Review:
Ok, when I saw that Rebekah Weatherspoon was releasing a YA novel, I wasn’t sure how it was going to go. If you’ve read Xeni or Rafe, you know what I’m talking about, however, it was amazing. The story follows Bethany and Jacob. Bethany is hopelessly crushing on an idiot who doesn’t see her, but rather what he thinks her WNBA stars turned basketball coach / sportscaster moms can do for him. She’s also trying to overcome the unfortunate nickname of Crybaby Bethany after bursting out into tears her freshman year of school when her friend confessed losing her virginity to her longtime partner. She’s an emotional crier, it happens, but because of this, no one will date her. Jacob was an awkward kid who bloomed over the summer and is now the guy all the girls are fighting over. He’s had two relationships and hasn’t gotten past a month with either of them and is afraid he’s doing something wrong. When Bethany and Jacob agree to fake date to get past their reputations, they realize that maybe they’re actually perfect for each other.
Rebekah managed to capture the emotions of teenagers so well, it brought me back to my own high school days— the awkwardness with the opposite sex, the ride or die friend group, the rumors, the judging, the feelings of every small thing being the end of the world. It was captured so incredibly well. Another thing that Rebekah did well was the diverse cast of characters that make up Bethany’s friend group. Everyone accepted them and their sexuality, race, and prefered gender was not touched upon after introducing them—as it should be. There were no parents fumbling over pronouns, no one being harassed for their sexuality, no token characters at all—everyone was fleshed out and had their own stories and it was glorious.
I honestly loved this book. It was a great YA debut for Rebekah and while not in the genre I typically read, I will be seeking out her future YA novels.
5/5 Stars