This book had its highs and lows, but I read it in less than a day so overall, I'd say it's a win. A book about college for young adults? Awesome. We need more post-high school books. And while I didn't drink or party in college because I was a Mormon nerd, so much of this book still managed to hit me in the college feels. It's such a weird time, going from basically having everything structured and controlled for you to.....I make my own choices? What? How? When did this happen? Which, hello, circles back to we need more post-high school books! Finally, I loved the character development and the relationships that developed between everyone. And the humor--I laughed out loud more than once, which I'm sure my husband really enjoyed listening to. My only real complaint is that the story felt choppy at times. It wasn't terrible by any means, but some of the major moments ended up a little jarring because there wasn't much build up or development toward them. Smoothing out the flow of the story would have made it five-star read, for sure.

3 stars

Phoebe can't wait for everything's to come with college--she'll be better than ever and maybe have a chance with her childhood crush Luke who is conveniently attending the same college as her.

Luke finds himself redefining who he is and dumping his long-term, long-distance girlfriend, as well as changing nearly everything about his life, except for soccer.

But, when things start looking up, drama heads Phoebe and Luke's way as rumors about the Wall of Shame, a secret text chain run by Luke's soccer team with compromising photos of girls, spreads. The women on campus are determined to expose the team and shut it down, and Luke and Phoebe are left grappling with confusing feelings and unsureness about whether they'll make it through freshman year.

I read this really quickly in one night (there's just something about contemporaries and nighttime that really works for me) and I did enjoy reading it.

But, there were a few things that I wasn't peachy keen on.

I really liked how this was a college book because we're lacking a lot of YA literature in this genre. A lot of the times when you do find a college book, it's usually a smut college book and not something suitable for understanding that transition from high school to college.

Teen readers come to high school prepared--that's what all this high school YA centers on. But we need more college YA and I'm so happy that this book is one of those books.

I've heard that it's also loosely based off of something that did actually happen at a college, and I like how the Wall of Shame aspect was incorporated and made a central part of the novel--there are ups and downs to college life.

The characters were fine too--I couldn't super-connect with them, but I understood where they were at and what they were doing. (Although, I liked Phoebe more than Luke.)

It's just that part of my problem was when the Wall of Shame was introduced--it seems to have happened a little past the halfway point, if I remember correctly, and I really wanted that introduced a little earlier because of how it's been advertised in the summary as a big plot point.

I wouldn't have minded this if it wasn't a huge summary point, and I do think there are benefits on not dwelling on it for too long. Although this is a serious thing, Ellen and Ivison managed to keep it from getting overly tense while still treating it as something that is serious.

My main problem with this story was Luke and his character arc. I liked Phoebe's character growth--I think she learned a lot of things that year--but Luke's brought up some issues with me.

I just felt like he didn't grow enough or truly understand the repercussions of his actions and his silence about the Wall of Shame and didn't learn enough from it.

Like, Phoebe, hun, I get it. He's your childhood crush. But he's also a dickwad.

He didn't grow enough or feel enough shame for his silence despite him knowing and I wanted to see him grow without the end goal of getting Phoebe back. I wasn't convinced at the end that he had grown enough to truly make a difference, and this made the story feel incomplete (or you could say that it portrayed a bad message for boys).

I felt like Luke's storyline needed a lot of work, but I did enjoy the rest of the novel and sped through this in one night. It's a good slice of college life and I enjoyed reading this and getting that familiarity with college that I had with high school.

Overall, I think this is a good book if you're looking for college YA, but I do think if you do decide to read it, don't take Luke as a role model because his actions and behavior aren't what they should be.

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Freshmen is a classic NA college novel, the pages filled with partying, hook ups, and an occasional class. Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison take the fun a step farther by exploring loneliness, homesickness, and shameful events that can make or break the college experience. I really connected with both Phoebe and Luke, their experiences similar to my own four year adventure. It was a fun-to-read novel, the sort that gets you out of reality, but doesn't challenge you too much. I laughed quite a bit, appreciated the focus on events beyond drinking and one night stands, and ultimately found this book to be a really great, positive new adult read. It was a very authentic portrayal of college that took me back in time.

Though Freshmen is labeled as a YA novel, I'd put in more in NA adult territory. There is a lot of drinking, time spent between the sheets and literally everywhere else, and a serious, thought provoking question of appropriateness and questioning what everyone else is doing. I really appreciated the secondary characters, but they seemed more well rounded than Phoebe and Luke at times, their voices more mature and adult than that of the narrators. Additionally, the end left me feeling like it was unfinished, like maybe there must be more to the story, a happier ending. I wish there had been an epilogue that revealed all is well for the characters after a dramatic freshman year.

Freshmen is a must read for young adult and new adult fans, I mean, I want to hand it out to freshmen on college campuses right now. It was so accurate, funny, and had a very smart message to it.

This book was pretty funny.
I have always British culture so this was fun to read.
Frankie was by far my favorite person.
It had a great plot line and I really enjoyed this book.

Being an American it was hard to really understand this book from a British point a view. The two college systems are vastly different and ghat likely influenced my viewpoint on this book. It was a solid book, just was not really what I was expecting. The cover led me to believe I would be reading a wild frat romp, what I got was a coming of age novel. For what it was it was great book, I was just slightly disappointing because I thought I was going to be reading a "van wilder" or "animal house", but instead I was really reading a "10 things I hate about you" novel.

Fun and entertaining read! Very truthful and a quick read. Will recommend to my students!

I had a lot of emotions while reading this book, but the strongest of them was anger. Anger at how, in this day and age of the "#MeToo" movement, something so disgusting could be thought of and written.
I'll be real here - I actually enjoyed the plot of this book whenever it was just about Luke and Phoebe, and their first semester of college. I would have enjoyed the book even more if there had been no Wall of Shame, completely demoralizing of women. It was disgusting, and I closed the book multiple times because I was so mad. I could see where the plot was going, I knew who all the scumbags were. I only continued on when I thought "maybe I'm wrong here."
I wasn't wrong. There wasn't really a hapy ending. Which is fine, not every book needs one, but the ending felt cut off - nothing was really... finished? One problem was focused on, and all the rest of them were just left unanswered. Characters who strived for a certain ending didn't get one. Frankie deserved more. Becky deserved more. Arthur and Rita deserved more. Will deserved less.
Anyways, I'm still angry.
It was a good book otherwise, and I'm not going to let this chip on my shoulder keep me from recommending the book to people who enjoy books like this.

I enjoyed this book. It took me longer than normal to finish. I just couldn't get into the story and characters, but it is well written and has a good story.

This book was a bit of a breath of fresh air and I enjoyed reading it! It gave me a bit of insight of what college is like in England which was cool to read about.
Freshmen is about two students from high school who end up at the same college and their journey with relationships, friendships and school.
This book had good character development and I felt like I was able to fully understand each character and their thought process. With the two main characters Luke and Phoebe, the in depth writing helped us understand the book better.
Sometimes with books, multiple viewpoints leave me feeling a little iffy, but I feel like the two viewpoints of Luke and Phoebe helped us understand the characters and fully understand their thought process.
However, I felt like their were multiple conflicts in the book that were all wrapped up with one big conflict. The only problem was because the author tried to incorporate so many points of conflict I felt like it wasn’t well developed and the resolutions felt sometimes rushed. I felt like the end of the book was very rushed and kind of crammed together at the end and it ended too soon after drawing it out.
The book was a pleasure read and I finished feeling happy and all in all it was a great read!
Also the cover is so cute!!
I received this book on NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

As a reader, I loved this book. Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison did a fantastic job of evoking all of the emotions of your first semester of college (except that mine involved substantially less tea...and cheese). Freshmen brought me right back to the friendships, heartache and craziness that was college.

As a mom of a daughter, aaakk! I know that the world is full of Wills, and I dread the day my daughter has to encounter such awfulness. I can only hope that, with our current national movement of calling men on their grossness, that my daughter will not have to go through what so many have before.

Freshman is the perfect read for anyone who has gone to college, will be going to college, or will be sending someone off to college.

A great, realistic story about college life. This book gives you a little bit of everything. Nothing is perfect and that includes the ending. It's a great read and my first from this author.

This was a FUN read.

What I loved: This book brought back SO many college memories. Seriously kids, live in the dorms! It's so much fun!! The characters were relatable. If you've been to college, you probably knew someone like every character in the book. If you haven't been to college yet, be prepared for all the characters you will meet!
What I liked: There wasn't a picture-perfect ending....it ended the way most things in college end, with the realization that nothing goes quite as planned and you just keep going and growing and evolving and learning.
What I didn't like: I'm not sure there was one thing that I didn't like.

Seriously, a fun read!!

This was my first Tom Ellen & Lucy Ivison read and I relished every minute; even when getting sideways looks at the gym from the laugh out loud humor.
We have Phoebe and Luke who have graduated from the same high school- Phoebe with a mad crush on Luke and Luke unable to even recognize her despite years at the same campus. Their worlds have collided and they become “First Night Friends” after a campus themed party. Even though Phoebe wasn’t noticed by Luke in high school, she is turning some heads at York, and Luke begins to take notice.
I love how the authors weave so many of the actualities and yet horrors of college- binge drinking, sitting in the campus sexual health center, and social media effects of one night stands. Better yet I admire how the characters have backbones and surpass these real life obstacles that students around the globe struggle with daily. Readers will fall in love with Ellen & Ivison’s writing that is fresh, their relatable and realistic conflicts in conjunction with intelligent and witty characters.
Fans of Stephanie Perkins and Jen Malone will fall head over heels for Tom Ellen & Lucy Ivison’s, Freshmen. Tom & Lucy, I am waiting for Sophomores because I want to know what happens next school year!
Krystle Shepherd
School Librarian