I feel like Freshman just let me experience what my first year of college would have been if I went off to a university. What amazed me was the realistic aspects of it. It wasn’t just a warm and fuzzy typical YA.

This was told from two POVs, Luke and Phoebe. Luke was the popular boy in high school. Now he has to learn to make new friends and where he fits in. The only person he knows is Phoebe because they went to high school together. She had a major crush on him in school. He barely remembers her. We watch their friendship grow into a relationship into figuring out where they truly stand with each other.

All of the characters first semester was a complete mess while they were still trying to figure out who to befriend and who to crush on. There were real scenarios that I have experienced for myself. Let me just add this was hilarious. My husband looked at me and said “now a book can’t be that funny.” That’s how much I was laughing!

I loved be realness of this. The friendships, hookups, relationships, potential future relationships, it’s what college and figuring your life is all about. I seen myself in Phoebe. I don’t think if I was in her situations I would have done anything differently. Her friends were just the best. I would want them to be my college besties.

The ending was the best part of the whole novel! It ended the exact way I wanted it to. I actually had doubts about it ending that way but was pleasantly surprised. I would love a sequel now to see how future relationships grow.

Delacorte Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Freshmen. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Having read a book similar to this one last year, I can unequivocally say that Freshmen will be just as memorable. Since I do not even remember the name of the aforementioned novel, it does not bode well for this clichéd look at college. The basic plot is such: girl goes to college with her high school crush. They both dance around certain issues and come to certain revelations about themselves. The usual debauchery and mayhem ensues...

It is almost as if every warning that parents give their children as they go off to college is expressed in this book in some way. The main characters are wishy-washy and have little to no backbone. Even the friendships between the characters seemed forced, as though the were winked into existence to fill a hole in the plot. Freshmen was clearly not the book for me, but readers who like YA and NA romance my find this novel to their liking.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

Freshmen spans the first year of uni for Luke and Phoebe. Despite being far from home, they actually went to high school together where Luke was with Serious Girlfriend Abbey and Phoebe long-term crushed on Luke from afar. In York, they seem to gravitate towards each other thanks to liquid courage and roommate hijinks. However, things are far from “perfectly in love.” No, there’s awkwardness galore, misogynistic pictures, evil one-night stands, and poor communication. Will Luke and Phoebe get their acts together or is this love doomed?

I enjoyed the unique premise of Freshmen: new adult books are still new, so a college setting that isn’t 100% smut is rare. I especially like the ending: it is unique and more indicative of positive relationships than I’ve seen in a long while. However, the diction is atrocious. It’s a weird mix of British and American lingo that creates a weird and jarring amalgamation. It is more confusing than if they had just stuck with British vernacular. And I don’t know if Ellen and Ivison purposefully chose to try to Americanize it or if they were pressured from their editor/publisher to change it or if the editor/publisher changed it without consulting the authors. Either way, it detracts from the story, and since I read an ARC, I hope it has Venn adjusted in the final publication. Additionally, the amount of alcohol and drinking (and hazing) is absurd. I’m not against partying or drinking, but it seemed a bit over the top. Maybe uni in the UK really is that intense in regards to alcohol consumption, but it felt extremely exaggerated compared to America.

Musings:

So, as you can see by my rating that I disliked this book. It wasn’t that it was “bad” per day, but it really was not my cup of tea… especially not in book form. The reviews for this book have been generally positive, but for me I just couldn’t bring myself to like it or even really care about any of the characters involved. It was like a crazy weird dream that you don’t care to remember.

My Reasoning:

Too much drama. I like a good drama story, but this was a LOT of drama and it was so back to back with too many characters involved that I felt like I had no idea about what was going on. Who has beef with who and why it even mattered.

A lot of unnecessary writing. I feel like so much of the random conversation and things could have been cut out of this book. I found myself skimming a lot, because it was a lot of overwrought stuff that I didn’t want to know and didn’t add anything to the story.

I could not keep names straight. One thing this book got right was the confusion of being a college freshman. Especially, if you are like me.. who is terrible with names. I could see that the authors tried to help this out a bit by using adjectives and other things to help you remember, but it was still too much. Every so often I would think Josh who? or is this the guy that did this or was it the other guy? I don’t remember!!

A lot of the story became forgettable. Because my brain was in the constant state of confusion that it was, I could not for the life of me remember much of the subplots, or why some characters were mad at each other, or who liked who. It was so bad that I kinda gave up on trying to keep things straight.

I laughed maybe twice. This is pitched as a laugh out loud kind of book and I only laughed a little while reading it. A lot of it wasn’t my kind of humor (which is odd because I love Melissa McCarthy and the movie she was in recently ‘Life if the party” which took place on a college campus). I guess this is why ‘mean girls’ would never be my cup of tea.

The problematic stuff was handled in a good way. This isn’t a critique. It is one of the things I appreciated about this novel. A lot of the parts that showed some of the backwards mentalities of some college students were handled in a way that showed that those things weren’t ok and should never be condoned. I also liked the way the relationship between Phoebe and Luke ended.

All in All:

I’m not going to say that Freshmen is a bad book. It’s a decent story and I know a lot of people who live for this kind of thing. Freshman is the opposite of what my taste in book is.

I tried reading this book and getting into this book. I liked the different point of views and seeing them freshman year. Overall a great romance.

A quick, intriguing read for all soon to be college freshmen. Overall, I enjoyed it but there were some parts that felt unrealistic or forced.

*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

This is honestly such a difficult book to review... I need to remember that just because the characters aren't perfect or don't always do the right thing or be the hero, doesn't mean it isn't a good book. In fact, these flaws make the characters more lifelike-- this is a totally relateable book.

This book deals with some harder issues like identity, fitting in, and sexual stuff, which I think is really important for teens to read about. Life is not always smooth and easy. Life can be much like this book and by the end of your first semester, you don't always know who you will marry. This is a decently realistic book and that is what makes it hard to read. Luke doesn't have this life together, he is kind of just barely keeping afloat and he doesn't always do the right thing. He isn't the classic book character, but he is totally like real person, so I had to learn to be understanding of his lack of wisdom on life and not just be annoyed. An 18 year old isn't always going to know how to go through his first break up. Although... he really annoyed me with how indecisive he could be.

I did prefer reading things through Phoebe's POV and really envied her nights out and her dorm. I feel like I missed out on college fun haha. Although, we can see she makes mistakes too and learns from them. Her group of friends were super amazing and totally goals.

In the end, I did enjoy this book-- which is why the 3.5 stars, but I wasn't always taken with it. I read to escape reality, and this just had too much of it for me. Yet, I can totally see people really enjoying this and preparing for college not to be all sunshine, rainbows, and grumpy professors. I will definitely recommend this to a more mature teen because of all the drinking, drug use, and sex and hope they keep in mind the cultural differences, since this book is set in England.

FRESHMAN is a hilarious take on what its like your first year in college. There’s what you think it’s going to e like, and then what it’s actually going to be. They very rarely are the same.

I’m always a fan of a first year college story, as it was such a special time for my personally. I met the first love, I drank for the first time, I did some thing I ultimately wasn’t very proud of. Just like in real life, FRESHMAN goes from funny, to serious, to a little cringe worthy as the characters navigate their first year.

I enjoyed the book, though perhaps not as much as books such as FANGIRL or I HATE EVERYONE BUT YOU which hit me a little closer to home.

Please see the review linked below. Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on this novel.

I'm so glad I read this! This definitely had me laughing out loud at, and I just had such a good time reading this. This made me almost nostalgic about my freshman year, even though mine was definitely different from both of our main characters.

I loved our cast of characters including the side characters who each brought their own great personalities to the table. I also found a decent amount of things pretty relatable. I could relate to finding friendship in my dorm like Phoebe and having feelings of not fitting in like Luke. While the book was pretty hilarious I found that it managed to tackle some slightly darker subject matter (sexual harassment) well. I also really liked the ending as I found it pretty refreshing.

Overall I would definitely recommend this if you're looking for a funny book about starting college/university especially if you're starting college/university soon.

Mr. Tom Ellen and Ms. Lucy Ivison's novel, Freshmen, follows Phoebe and Luke during their first semester of college, stopping at nothing to deliver the drama, the humor, and the trying-to-be-adults-but-failing-miserably angst. Reading it was a rollercoaster of sympathy, frustration, and reminiscence. Freshmen was a fun read that I enjoyed overall.

On the cover of Freshmen Mr. Ellen and Ms. Ivison's novel, there is the blurb "College is fun. Love is complicated," and this novel does well to iterate this piece of wisdom. From beginning to end—and especially toward the end—Phoebe and Luke are catapulted into the "fun" (quote, unquote) of college. They struggle to cope with the challenges of living away from their family and old friends; meeting new people and making new friends; balancing school with their social life; and figuring out as gracefully as possible who they are and how they want to be seen. There were many times, while reading, when I was rolling my eyes at the two of them or wanting to reach in and shake them for their poor decisions. But then there were many other times when I laughed with them or wanted to pull them into a hug.

For instance, Luke, who opens up the story, was a character I had difficulty getting on board with. I was so frustrated by his back-and-forth between his ex-girlfriend and Phoebe as well as his submissiveness toward the inappropriate behavior of his soccer teammates. Throughout the novel, I saw him make decisions and then bail on those obligations; acknowledge the best course of action but not actually do it. I was coming to a point where I was going to dismiss him as a flat, unsympathetic character, YET. Yet. I couldn't hold these flaws against him. He came as a freshmen who had just gotten out of a three-year relationship (i.e., a relationship that defined his high school career) and was now forced to figure out who he was as his own, not as someone's boyfriend. Relationship or no, college challenges people's identity of their selves. It is the four years after high school that forces people to see and acknowledge their uglier parts, and Luke had the misfortune to experience that self-identification crisis tenfold with his recent break-up. In hindsight, his string of blunders (and, believe me, it was a long string) was a mark of his sincere effort to do good and be his best. He was a character—a human—I learned to love and respect.

Phoebe was less of a difficult character to love but difficult nonetheless. My frustrations with her were equal to the number of times she acted naive or emotional, and there were a few times. From nearly hooking up with a jerk to forgetting about her friends, I looked at her and wondered whether I would yell at her or cry with her. In the end, I decided I'd do both. I sympathized with her; I saw myself in her. She had this idealistic view of college until it proved to be delusional. She had a sureness in herself until others threatened her confidence. Reading about her, I reflected on my own mistakes, the times when I acted naively or let my emotions get ahead of me, and I am so proud of how gracefully Phoebe came out of her struggles. Reaching the end was scary because she and Luke were facing drama after drama after drama, and I didn't think Luke was going to right everything, so I hoped hoped hoped that Phoebe would. She did, and I love her all the more for it.

The authenticity that Freshmen poses on the college experience is not to be missed. It is both profound and entertaining as it weaves discussions of self-identity, memory, and growing up with humor and wit. I recommend this book to individuals about to enter college, are in college, have recently completed college, or are in general need of a pick-me-up. Freshmen will remind you that, no matter how many mistakes and failures you've made, really, you are doing just fine and, honestly, take your time. You'll get there one day.

I did not finish reading this book, but I read up to the 25% mark. I really couldn't become invested in the characters; they don’t come across as genuine or believable for me. The story is overwhelmingly dialogue, and most of it is confusing because of the number of characters involved.

In terms of the plot, my college experience has been nothing like anything in this book so far... So I couldn't relate to either the plot or the characters. In addition, the plot is way too slowly paced. I made it 25% into this book and only one week passed in the story. It felt like it was dragging on... this just isn’t my kind of book. I had high hopes for this book based on the reviews it had received.

The transition from high school to college can be really difficult. Freshmen follows Phoebe and Luke they attempt to find their way, and themselves, in this new setting.

• Pro: My favorite thing about this book was probably the humor. I laughed so much!

• Pro: We are seeing more and more of these YA-goes-to-college books, and I really appreciated the way Ellen and Ivison explored how difficult the transition can be. The juxtaposition of Phoebe and Luke was perfect, showing one, who was flourishing and one, who was floundering.

• Pro: I loved seeing Phoebe break out of her shell in college. She had flown under the radar in high school, but here she was was making friends, excelling academically, and really growing so much at college.

• Con: They Americanized this book for the US release, but I wish they hadn't. It was a little awkward, and I really would have liked to get an authentic peek into the English college system.

• Pro: Though my circumstances weren't exactly like Luke's, I found I connected to his story more so than Phoebe's. He felt a little lost. In high school, he had his steady girlfriend, his best friend, and his popularity as one of the top soccer players. He found himself slightly adrift at university, and stayed in situations he was uncomfortable with in order to feel as though he belonged somewhere.

• Pro: These two had some awesome friends. Phoebe's squad was definitely the best. D-dorm for the win, but Luke found a few quality people to support him too.

• Con: If this was a series, and I knew I was getting another book, I would have been ok, but since it is NOT a series, I must confess, I was a little let down by the ending. There was something that seemed to be starting, which I would love to have seen explored more.

• Pro: I never had this much fun in college (engineering was not a fun major), but at least I got to have some solid experiences via Phoebe and Luke. The parties, kitchen sessions, girl talks, and Quidditch meetings were fantastic, and just added to the overall fun of the book.

• Pro: This book has some drama, but it's pretty low-key, which is always something I appreciate.

Overall: A great addition to the YA-goes-to-college set, which entertainingly captured the ups and downs of that first year of college.

This novel took me back, and I felt nostalgia while reading it throughout. I didn’t have a normal Freshmen year myself, because I was working full-time, while attending my local city college. But I’ve always wondered what that experience would have been like, and reading this novel let me live a little bit of that dream. At the same time relating to characters and seeing myself in some same situations!

The novel is written in multiple point of views (which is my favorite, and yes I’m aware I mention this every time lol) but I feel it gives the reader a better understanding of each character.
I personally connect a lot more to the story with this type of writing.
its not very often you find a good coming of age novel not set in high school, and I think a lot of readers will appreciate that of this story.
I definitely recommend it!

Freshmen by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison is the story of first year university students. Unfortunately this book did not keep my attention, and I did not care about the students. It was not poorly written, just did not appeal to me.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I unfortunately didn't enjoy this book at all. I never say this but this book was very... boring. I felt like it didn't have any substance? If that makes sense. There was a lot of partying and hooking up and more driking and partying and nothing really interesting or deep or meaninful in my opinion. I think I rolled my eyes about one million times and skim read faster than I've ever read in my life.
If you enjoy books with a lot of teenage angst and a whole lot of partying then perhaps you'll like this book.

There's nothing inherently wrong with this book, so I feel like my negatives will be sparse. It's just that it also didn't leave a huge lasting impression either, so take that for what it's worth. Let's just break it all down into positive/negative, shall we?

The Good:

Super fabulous friendships were a huge win. Especially the elusive "positive female friendships" which were present in spades. I'd say this was my favorite part of the book, actually. It was incredibly relatable, the characters trying to navigate being away from home for the first time, meeting all new people, trying to figure out how a person even makes friends as an adult. Watching these relationships play out was great.

Dealt with more serious topics like sexual exploitation. While the book was mostly lighter fare, there was some discussion of photos of women in compromising situations being posted online against their will. And to be clear, this was definitely treated seriously- though the guys who did this thought it was just "boys being boys", this wasn't brushed aside.

I am so glad to see more college YA! Gosh, college was a time for me. I wasn't a fan, didn't want to go, and it seemed like no one could relate to those struggles. I like that this book showed so many of the ups and downs of being away from home for the first time, trying to figure out how to live on one's own, etc. I do wish books like this had been around when I was 17, in college, and felt super alone.

It was fun to learn about college outside the United States, too! This book is called Freshers elsewhere (why they couldn't just leave it as such in the US I have no idea, but there it is) because it's set in England and that's what they call "freshmen". And wow, colleges are different! (Sorry- universities, my bad.) Like- they were able to cook! I couldn't even have a freaking candle in my dorm room. OH! And of course, you don't have to be 21 to drink there, so no Campus Safety hunting you down trying to catch underage drinkers. It's all quite fascinating honestly, noting the similarities and the differences!

This book was super real about love and expectations. I'm going to leave it at that but... sometimes we build something up and well... this book talks about that sort of thing. Again, the good and the bad.

The Not As Good:

The main characters were just... okay. I didn't actually like the male main character very much, nor did I think he exhibited a ton of growth, and I maybe wanted to punch him a little. I liked Phoebe, but I feel like she could have been fleshed out a bit better? She did grow quite a bit during the course of the book though.

It just didn't leave a lasting impression. In the end, I was like "okay cool" and moved on. Which is fine! Plenty of books are like that, it's not really a hugely negative thing, but nor is it a positive one. I like to be left with some kind of feelings after I read, and I just didn't really feel any emotional connection.

The ending was more unfinished than I'd have liked. I actually think it was okay to leave it somewhat open since it was, of course, just Freshman Year, but would it have been fun to look at them a few years down the road? I don't know, I like a little closure, maybe that's just a personal preference, but there it is.

Bottom Line: Happy that there's another good example of college YA out there! Though this didn't leave a big impression, it was certainly fun enough.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. The author's did an amazing job at some things. They captured those moments during the transitions period in your life when you aren't quite sure who you are in that context. Making connections with new people can be hard. More than that, it is so easy to fall into the things that we are comfortable with. Certainly, I fell prey to this ease in college. When you fall into that ease, you sometimes fail to grow and experience everything that the new period in your life has to offer.

I also enjoyed the friendships that Phoebe creates with Frankie, Negin, and even Bowl Cut Mary. Each of these people is so different from Phoebe but they help her grow and become a better person. Frankie is outgoing, wild, and kind of a mess, whereas, Negin is put together and self aware. Truthfully, I think every single one of us has a Bowl Cut Mary in every period of our lives. She is that person you know that is always self assured. The person who is creative and outgoing and doesn't care what people think. She is smart and sexy and kind and the unicorn that you wish you were. Inevitably when you get to know them they are down to earth and have their own shit that they are going through. 

What I didn't like was the semi-toxic relationship between Luke and Phoebe. So many issues between the them could have been easily resolved by merely talking. I tried to be forgiving of this because the hookup culture that experience tends to make talking taboo. However, not talking seemed odd considering how close the two seemed to have gotten. While at that age, I distinctly rememeber myself and my friends going through the similar interactions that were inconsiderate. I and my friends had each other's backs, though. I was the one who would sit a friend's potential suitor down and tell them exactly what would happen if they hurt my friend. They were not necessarily nice things. 

I found the inclusion of the Wall of Shame to be a little odd. While I'm sure that it happens in schools and I'm also sure that it is absolutely disgusting wherever it happens, it just felt wedged in there for extra drama. All of the issues with Phoebe and Luke could have easily come to a head without the grotesque Wall of Shame. I appreciated that it allowed Phoebe and her friends an avenue and reason to advocate, but at the same time, it felt like pandering. I may be in the minority in that feeling, but unfortunately that's where I fall. 

All in all though, I thought it was an enjoyable read. Personally I enjoyed the nostalgia it gave me, not for that first semester, but the subsequent semesters when I broke out of the holding pattern and figured out where I fit during my college years. Then again in law school and my life here in Kentucky. You learn a lot about yourself during that transition. You learn who you are and what you stand for. Phoebe and Luke learn a lot about themselves their freshman year of college, and who knows what the future holds.

Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison’s Freshmen is a fun tale that lends a genuine, authentic voice to the first year college experience. Those in college will definitely finds things to relate to, while those who have long graduated will feel nostalgic for their university days.

Frehsmen packs of punch of comedy while also diving into deeper issues concerning mental health and problematic relationships. The dialogue is witty and the pop culture references are a nice touch of fun. The ending was little sad, but also extremely realistic, so kudos to the authors on that one.

Overall, this is a really great read, perfect for new freshmen to dive into the summer before starting college.

*Thank you to Delacorte Press and Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.*