Begin Again (Review)

Calling all co-eds! This one will take ya back to college — where you had big dreams and even bigger crushes.

The vibe

Book / Headphones / Teapot  / Top / Bottoms / Shoes / Tumbler / Backpack / Scrunchie

Andie has a preppy style for sure, and she’s always running around helping out her friends (usually neglecting her own studies) so she needs an outfit to support her on-the-go personality.

The review

Andie Rose has a plan — well, she always has had this plan. Transfer into Blue Ridge State — a small, competitive school where her parents met — and major in psychology to be the next big self help expert of her generation. She’s already got in, and her transfer means reuniting with her boyfriend, Connor. But from day one, Andie’s plans are foiled. She does manage to make a floor full of friends, much to the chagrin of the grumpy R.A. Milo who likes things quiet. Her to-do list keeps growing — like finding her roommate Shay a major, collect double the ribbons to get into the best secret society group, and more. With the crushing workload, Andie has to reevaluate some of the motivations in her big plan as well as her relationship with Connor.

Emma Lord is an absolute joy of a young adult writer. I adore her characters — usually an amalgamation of her own chipper, punny personality — and her humor. She’s just a warm hug of a writer, and I will always read whatever comes out of that brain of hers.

I feel like Andie was the biggest Emma Lord-esque character yet. I quite literally pictured Emma throughout the whole book. And I loved this Grumpy-Sunshine trope where there was no (?) miscommunications and grumpy Milo was actually very rarely too grumpy and not too mean at all. I loved all of her friendships and it made for such a refreshing read. Thinking back the biggest conflict overcome in the book was really Andie dealing with her own expectations of herself. Which like, wow, very college of her, ha!

Read if… you loved Pitch Perfect and can eat your weight in bagels.

Audiobook thoughts: I liked this on audio! The narrator isn’t my fave — maybe a bit whiny at times, but I think the novel itself works very well in the audio format.