As someone who loved The Jasmine Project, I wasn’t expecting how much I loved Everyone Hates Kelsie Miller. The friendship drama, Kelsie’s personality? Everything felt like a personal attack. And I loved it so much! Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
There’s no one Kelsie Miller hates more than Eric Mulvaney Ortiz—the homecoming king, captain of the football team, and academic archrival in her hyper-competitive prep school. But after Kelsie’s best friend, Briana, moves across the country and stops speaking to her, she’ll do anything, even talk to Eric, to find out why.
After they run into each other—literally—at the last high school party of the summer, Eric admits he’s been ghosted by his girlfriend, Jessica. Kelsie tells him she’s had zero contact from Briana since she left their upstate New York town.
Suddenly, a plan is formed: they’ll go on a road trip to the University of Pennsylvania the following week when both Briana and Jessica will be on campus. Together, they’ll do whatever it takes to win back their exes.
What could go wrong?
Used to succeeding in everything, Kelsie and Eric assume they’ll naturally figure out the details on the drive down. What they don’t expect is that the person they actually need may be the one sitting next to them.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the author. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Nemeses who have to begrudgingly work together will always be my kryptonite. I love rivals and the ones that have to work together but find out that there’s more in common than what divides them? Love it. Additionally the banter in this one was *chef’s kiss* it was quick witted and clever all at once. Plus the queer rep in Everyone Hates Kelsie Miller was amazing. But even more so, Kelsie just got to the heart of all my insecurities.
I’m laughing while I write this, but also like this book was a big @ symbol right at me. The friendship conflicts scooped my heart out. With time jumps we can try to figure out what happened as Kelsie herself is remembering. How we have to look at the ways our actions are perceived and all the things we didn’t say. All the times our barbed comments end up leaving scars we aren’t able to see, don’t want to see. And both Kelsie and Eric have to really go on a personal journey to find out what they were both ghosted.
Like with The Jasmine Project, it ends up being more about their own character journeys. The ways in which we don’t see someone besides what we think about them, their hidden secrets and doubts. We can think of our loyalty as a shield, when in reality support and judgement sometimes go hand in hand when they shouldn’t. We can think we are protecting someone, but in reality we aren’t letting them make their own choices.
Overall,
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And at the same time, Kelsie’s single handed focus, the ways she is so determined, but hasn’t though of what she really wants to do? Utterly relatable. There’s these pressures of dreams, expectations, and legacies, but how does one figure out what they want to do with their life? Everyone Hates Kelsie Miller felt like one big piece of my life, identities, and insecurities splayed out on the page. In the best way. So if you love books with complex main characters who have to take a look at themselves, pick this one up. Or if you love stories about rivals who we peek behind the curtain at, this is for you! Find Everyone Hates Kelsie Miller on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.