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A review by lovelykd
Finding Felicity by Stacey Kade
3.0
I received an ARC of Finding Felicity from Edelweiss. Thank you [a:Stacey Kade|3125711|Stacey Kade|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1388765931p2/3125711.jpg] and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this title!
***3.5 Stars***Full Disclosure: I was a HUGE fan of the show Felicity! Its run coincided with my post-graduate years. To this day, I am a Keri Russell fan because of her amazingly beautiful turn as the angst-riddled, love struck, awkward Felicity. So, when I read the description of Kade's book, I was already in love, without ever having read one page. Crazy, I know, but what can I tell you? It was a bulls-eye to the fangirl in me!
Caroline Sands is hoping to find redemption, from her non-existent social life in high school, via her enrollment at Ashmore. A small university in Iowa. After making up friends, to appease her mother's worries, she wants to cultivate a real life. The problem is Caroline possesses an almost crippling introversion--which has made it difficult for her to make friends--and that condition follows her into her new world, whether she likes it or not.
As an introvert, I identified immediately with Caroline's timidity in social situations. Unless one has ever encountered such a difficulty, on a personal level, it's impossible to understand how agonizing it can be to exist in a space where everyone around you appears to have it figured out; where no one appears to be struggling to make friends, and enter unknown interactions, with confidence and success.
Caroline is overwhelmed by the very idea of taking such chances. Frightened of rejection and ostracism.
I recognized and empathized with her issues, immediately. Been there. Done that.
Even so, I began to grow weary of Caroline's inability to grasp the simplest of concepts, especially when it was clear the messenger was on her side. Caroline seemed to make an active attempt to continue to not "get it". That part maddened me because her stunted emotional state, while understandable, felt unnecessarily extended because of a desire to remain true to her "plan".
In addition, her unhealthy codependency, on one particular character, was nauseating. I felt myself screaming at her to GROW UP! Seriously, some of her problems were so miserable self-inflicted I couldn't sympathize. At all.
Thank goodness for Lexi. Her roommate. I swear, even with her flaws, she was a breath of fresh air. If you've ever seen the actual show Felicity, Lexi was a lovely cross between Elana and Megan--both of whom were brutally honest characters on the show.
While Lexi was certainly flawed, she was also the most prescient character. She increased the emotional depth level considerably and I was so appreciative of her insight, in light of Caroline's constant indecision and stunted development.
Sadie was another lovely surprise.
Overall, this book speaks well to the awkwardness in all of us.
We all reach an epiphany about who we want/need to be, at some point, and the journey to that realization is part of the "fun". Caroline's journey, while frustrating, kept me interested enough to see if she ever figured it out.
***3.5 Stars***Full Disclosure: I was a HUGE fan of the show Felicity! Its run coincided with my post-graduate years. To this day, I am a Keri Russell fan because of her amazingly beautiful turn as the angst-riddled, love struck, awkward Felicity. So, when I read the description of Kade's book, I was already in love, without ever having read one page. Crazy, I know, but what can I tell you? It was a bulls-eye to the fangirl in me!
Caroline Sands is hoping to find redemption, from her non-existent social life in high school, via her enrollment at Ashmore. A small university in Iowa. After making up friends, to appease her mother's worries, she wants to cultivate a real life. The problem is Caroline possesses an almost crippling introversion--which has made it difficult for her to make friends--and that condition follows her into her new world, whether she likes it or not.
As an introvert, I identified immediately with Caroline's timidity in social situations. Unless one has ever encountered such a difficulty, on a personal level, it's impossible to understand how agonizing it can be to exist in a space where everyone around you appears to have it figured out; where no one appears to be struggling to make friends, and enter unknown interactions, with confidence and success.
Caroline is overwhelmed by the very idea of taking such chances. Frightened of rejection and ostracism.
I recognized and empathized with her issues, immediately. Been there. Done that.
Even so, I began to grow weary of Caroline's inability to grasp the simplest of concepts, especially when it was clear the messenger was on her side. Caroline seemed to make an active attempt to continue to not "get it". That part maddened me because her stunted emotional state, while understandable, felt unnecessarily extended because of a desire to remain true to her "plan".
In addition, her unhealthy codependency, on one particular character, was nauseating. I felt myself screaming at her to GROW UP! Seriously, some of her problems were so miserable self-inflicted I couldn't sympathize. At all.
Thank goodness for Lexi. Her roommate. I swear, even with her flaws, she was a breath of fresh air. If you've ever seen the actual show Felicity, Lexi was a lovely cross between Elana and Megan--both of whom were brutally honest characters on the show.
While Lexi was certainly flawed, she was also the most prescient character. She increased the emotional depth level considerably and I was so appreciative of her insight, in light of Caroline's constant indecision and stunted development.
Sadie was another lovely surprise.
Overall, this book speaks well to the awkwardness in all of us.
We all reach an epiphany about who we want/need to be, at some point, and the journey to that realization is part of the "fun". Caroline's journey, while frustrating, kept me interested enough to see if she ever figured it out.