This book was very hard for me to rate. I don't normally like books written in verse, but I liked this one. I think it had a good flow and it made the words more impactful. I think that this book had a powerful look at racism and how it affects everyone, those white and those not. The underlying theme and privilege and where it can take you was another powerful message.

However, the main character fell very flat for me. There was no resolution to her story. I have no idea who she was as a person or what she saw in Ben. Granted, she didn't know who she was as a person either so I wasn't shocked that I didn't know. Ben and Nic confused me. I wasn't ever clear on why they were together or why she was pinning after him to come back to her. There seemed to be no substance to their relationship. I didn't know what made it tick or how it kept ticking that long.

The plot twist at the end seemed dramatic and not like it fit the story. I wanted more from all of the side characters as I hardly knew them. But neither did Nic, and we were seeing the story through her eyes.

Overall, this book had powerful messages but left me feeling empty. There was no substance, no meat. But then again, there was no substance to Nic either.

I love, love, love the idea of this novel; I'm slightly less in love with its execution. The story of Nic (and Jordan, and Ben, and Kitty, and Ashok, and and and) is a good story, and one I would almost certainly enjoyed more had it been in prose and not verse. Nic's voice felt real, her story felt real, her life felt real. Everything felt real, and honest, and vulnerable, and I love that. I think what's bothering me the most is that there isn't an ending the way I want there to be. There was no cliffhanger, but it still left me wanting more. I feel like I know Nic, and I'm glad I got to see her story and how she changed, but I wish I had gotten to see who everyone else was a little more. Ben and Jordan read like stock characters, and Kitty and Ashok feel like they have so much potential, but- what exactly do we know about them? Not much. Not enough. Not for me.

I wish I could have read this when I was trying to write my own college admissions essay, and I will definitely recommend it to anyone looking for examples and tips on writing their own, but I don't think I'll read this again.

3.5/5 stars (Rounded up to 4 on NetGalley and Goodreads)

A gem of a book. I absolutely loved so so much of this. The ending felt like an easy way out, but the progression through the narrative was otherwise masterful. I loved the choices the author made and the gray line we found our protagonist in. Love it. 4.5 stars.

500 Words or Less by Juleah del Rosario is a story told in verse. This is not usually one of my favorite types of reads but this story was told through well-crafted verse. Readers will like it as soon as they begin to read. The writer keeps the reader’s interest as each page is turned. High school students will relate to the college acceptance struggles and pressures. Interesting storyline that will appeal to many. Must have for a teen reading shelf.

This title was provided by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

There was nothing particularly wrong with this book, but it was just so mediocre that I know I won't think about it ever again. I didn't really understand why this book needed to be written in verse because it stunted the delivery of the book, but if the author had chosen to written the whole book out instead, it would have probably been so boring and just as unremarkable. Although this book had a cool aim and cast of characters, we weren't really let in to know a lot about them, so it fell flat. Most of the book just ended up focusing on relationship drama, which made the tone of the book melodramatic and cheesy.

Again, I like the characters though and one of the chapters had SUCH a good message about racism, so the themes throughout this are awesome, even if the forefront of the book rests on mediocre boy drama

A compelling exploration of moral gray areas and the things that constitute who we are as people. Overall, a wonderfully written piece, though I felt the relationships between Nic and her parents could have been developed more.

As far as a novel in verse goes, this is one of the stronger ones out there. Nic's loneliness bleeds through the page, which would appeal to students looking for something to relate to. However, the second half of the book is weaker and the characters overall are nearly dimensionless other than Nic herself, serving more as archetypes than people.

I read 500 Words or Less in an afternoon on the beach, so this one definitely hit the summer reading checklist of being engrossing enough to keep me from being distracted by sand-kicking children. I think the author managed to explore many important themes (self-hate, social media pressure, patriarchy, family drama, nostalgia, etc) without any of it feeling too muddled. There was one additional "twist" near the end that pushed this just a bit over the top for me, but I think if you're new to novels in verse, this one would be a great place to start. And if you're already a fan of them, you'll probably enjoy this one, too.

I couldn't put this book down! It was such a well written book about the social, personal, and institutional pressures of seniors. I love the character development and the eventual outcome in this book!

What a creative way to have a character grow towards self understanding! There are so many YA books that try to do that with their characters and sometimes one feels like it’s the same story, diffna,es. But this book was different! Great backstory, great development and unexpected twist at the end. Worth checking out for any YA fan! And the writing in Prose? It is beautiful!!

I'm always looking for new verse novels for my library--they are extremely popular and great for reluctant readers. I was really emotionally invested in the first part of this one--Nic is struggling with having cheated on her boyfriend and the aftermath, and having an imperfect narrator generally makes for an interesting, honest story. She's also still dealing with the fact that her mother left, and she's been writing other students' college essays...which is cathartic but also unethical.

The second half wasn't as enjoyable for me, however--especially after the incident on the mountain. It seemed like a simple way to force Nic and Jordan to deal with what they'd done instead of having to own up to things with Ben. I would have rather had uncomfortable conversations and discoveries, so I felt kind of cheated. But with all the friend and romantic drama, this one will definitely be popular with my students.