Kissing Ezra Holtz (And Other Things I Did for Science) by Brianna R. Shrum (Review)
Published by Sky Pony Press
Release Date: June 4th 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Coming-Of-Age
Retail Price: $8.99 USD
Purchase or Pre-order From: Skyhorse Publishing, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound and Book Depository.
Rating:
 |
| 4 Stars |
A fun, witty, light-hearted romantic comedy―The Rosie Project, for teens
Seventeen-year-old Amalia Yaabez and Ezra Holtz couldn’t be more different. They’ve known (and avoided) each other their whole lives; she unable to stand his buttoned-up, arrogant, perfect disposition, and he unwilling to deal with her slacker, rule-breaking way of moving through the world.
When they are unhappily paired on an AP Psychology project, they come across an old psychological study that posits that anyone can fall in love with anyone, if you put them through the right scientific, psychological steps. They decide to put that theory to the test for their project, matching couples from different walks of high school life to see if science really can create love.
As they go through the whirlwind of the experiment, Ezra and Amalia realize that maybe it’s not just the couples they matched who are falling for each other . . .
When they are unhappily paired on an AP Psychology project, they come across an old psychological study that posits that anyone can fall in love with anyone, if you put them through the right scientific, psychological steps. They decide to put that theory to the test for their project, matching couples from different walks of high school life to see if science really can create love.
As they go through the whirlwind of the experiment, Ezra and Amalia realize that maybe it’s not just the couples they matched who are falling for each other . . .
The first few things that drew me to this book were the fact that it's an #ownvoices novel, and the involvement of science! Something that didn't really feel right to me was the way the novel started- it felt a little rushed to me as we don't get any buildup, the novel just starts with Amalia and Ezra already having been paired up. I also wish we saw more of Amalia doing chemistry as that's what she grows to love.
Apart from all that, I actually really enjoyed this book! As I mentioned before, this novel is #ownvoices, with both the author and Amalia, the main character, being Jewish and bisexual/LGBT+. I really enjoyed the characterization of Amalia. Amalia is smart, as smart as the stereotypical 'geek' characters in teen novels. Yet, she isn't written like a typical 'nerd.' In fact, Amalia would most closely fit the 'bad girl' stereotype. Amalia doesn't focus in school, she goes to parties, smokes, and hooks up, which are all common attributes of popular 'bad boy' characters. For these reasons, I have seen other reviewers state that they do not like her, or that she's a highly 'unlikable' character. This links back to my post on misogyny in YA literature, which I have linked here. The thing is, people absolutely adore 'bad boys,' but when it's a 'bad girl.' she's suddenly intolerable. If I'm being honest, the only 'unlikable' thing about her is that she can be very self-centered at times, and is not very motivated, but in a way this improves her characterization, as these are real life flaws which makes her all the more relatable. She never means to be self-centered and unmotivated, but they're flaws that she possesses. Throughout the novel she starts to slowly try and overcome these flaws, with her reaching out to her teacher for help in her schoolwork. She may have some unappealing qualities, but she does redeem herself, which I think people are overlooking.
Amalia was really interesting to read about, it was really intriguing to read the story through her perspective, and see what her struggles and thoughts were. Amalia is an art student who has been rejected from all the art schools she applied to. This really hits her hard, and she struggles to find her way from the rejections, unsure about what she can do with her life now that art has been taken from her. She also has very relatable and realistic insecurities as a result of this rejection. Used to getting the best grades with minimal effort, her rejection from art school was a serious blow to her ego. She's left with this feeling of not being good enough. Throughout the novel she really comes into her own, as she realises that she doesn't have to be restricted to one thing, and that she is good enough. She realises she doesn't have to choose one thing or the other, she doesn't have to be defined by one love. She can love two things and enjoy both of them. Amalia doesn't develop significantly- but that's what I love about her. One of the most important things when writing a novel is knowing your characters. Brianna R. Shrum does this brilliantly. I say this because Amalia is not a girl who can change rapidly- she slowly adapts to the new obstacles in her life. It would be unrealistic for Amalia to be a total goody-two-shoes or totally confident in herself by the end of the novel, so I really loved how she was still in the process of developing and adjusting as a person.
The romance in this novel was enjoyable enough, but not as lovey-dovey or cute as what I'm used to. This is to be expected, I guess, as the two of them start out as not-enemies-but-I-dislike-you-a-bit (I really still label this as an enemies to lovers book but Amalia states that she doesn't hate him per se, just finds him irritating). However, Ezra and Amalia do still provide a few cute moments, such as 'When Ezra catches up to me, his mouth isn't smiling. But his eyes are.' Enemies to lovers is my favourite trope, simply because they have the best banter and it's really amazing to see the relationships morph from one of hatred and disgust, to one of trust and respect. Brianna R. Shrum did this really well, as Ezra and Amalia learn to trust each other and enjoy each other's company.
Ezra himself captured my heart the minute I read about him wanting to punch white supremacists. This scene props up when Amalia and Ezra are talking:
'"So you gave a speech about punching white supremacists."
"I did."
My eyebrows fly up. Ezra dies not exactly seem like the punching type so I have some idea where he falls on this-
"I obviously spoke in favor."'
Cue me swooning. The fastest way to win my heart is to express your desire to punch white supremacists, who knew?
My other favourite thing about this book is how it tackles bisexual stereotypes and the issues with slut shaming. Amalia, as I said before, is a 'bad girl.' She's also bisexual. These two factors results in her being branded as a slut, something she struggles with in the novel. This book tries to tackle these issues, fighting the narrow-minded, ignorant view that bisexual people are sluts. One of my favourite quotes in the book is actually Amalia realising she can be what she wants to be, not necessarily what people label her as, 'I can do this. For the next forty-nine, I am not Amalia The Slut. I am Amalia The Scientist.'
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it! Once again, a huge thank you to the publishers and Edelweiss for the free e-ARC in exchange of an honest review.
Kissing Ezra Holtz comes out June 4th, so mark your calendars!
No comments:
Post a Comment