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)

the mc's thought process is basically a depiction of all my darkest thoughts on sleepless nights

500 Words or Less is about a half-Chinese, half-white girl who went through a breakup in the past and basically lost the friends most important to her. And while she's trying to discover herself, she starts a business where she starts writing college admissions essays for others in exchange for money.

My original rating was five stars, but I've decided to lower it to three. Mainly because I feel like the concept of this novel was fantastic, but it was honestly kind of lackluster in execution. 

When a book is written in prose, the main reason is usually that it has more of an impact rather than if it was written in storytelling format. However, I feel like this book would still literally have had the same impact if it was written in novel format, and honestly I wish that it was written in novel format.

In some instances, the writing was really beautiful, but in other instances I almost laughed out loud at the poems because they were... pointless, really.

I feel like to me, personally, I didn't notice the weirdness of the poems because I read really quickly and kind of just clump together the words, but when I look at the poems again I just.... want to cringe.

'"It's not smashed. 
Your sandwiches are always 
smashed,"
Kitty said.'

Like... what was the point of these line breaks here. 

But besides this, I feel like this was a really poignant novel on racism and I honestly wish that this novel was longer so that the characters could be more fleshed out and we could have explored Nic's friendships and relationships more.

Everything seemed kind of thrown together haphazardly to create a novel, and while this really did have a strong and important message, I wish the execution had been done a little better.

Trigger and content warnings for death and excessive alcohol.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an arc via Netgalley!

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.

What a beautifully written and incredibly powerful book. I stumbled upon this title while browsing NetGalley and requested it once I saw it was a novel-in-verse because I have many patrons who ask about books in this style. I was just hoping to find a decent title to add to our collection but what I found was much more than that. 

The story follows Nic Chen, a high school senior who is working tirelessly to get into a Ivy League school, just like most of her classmates. But with a mother who’s disappeared from her life, a father she doesn’t really connect with, and the judgmental stares of classmates who have labeled her as nothing more than the girl who cheated on her boyfriend, she’s navigating some much more difficult waters than just exams and college applications. But when classmates begin approaching her about writing their college admissions essays, she decides to do it, hoping to become more to her classmates than the cheater they’ve labeled her as. By writing the essays, Nic is able to step into her classmates’ shoes and get a better understanding of who each of them are. But along the way, she feels less and less sure of who she is and if she’ll ever be able to figure it out. 

Like I said, I can’t get over how much I loved the writing style. It was effortless and so engaging. I was hooked from the very beginning. The pacing was perfect and the varying lengths of the chapters just added to the overall impact of the words. This story was raw and honest, and I didn’t want to put it down. It was one of those stories that grabs your heart from the first line and refuses to let go, even after you finish the book. You are truly able to feel the sadness, grief, loneliness, and confusion of Nic as she goes through her senior year. She is a character who is flawed and hurting, and so incredibly real. I highlighted so many passages that really hit me. I’m so impressed by Juleah del Rosario’s ability to convey such strong emotion in so few words, which is fitting given the title of the book. 

I highly recommend 500 Words or Less, especially to those who like reading novels-in-verse, but also to those who don’t. This book is so well-written that it might just change your mind.

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.

Raw, real, and an honest look at teens in America, 500 Words or Less is a beautifully written-in prose!!!-book. With a diverse cast of characters, this books captures a senior year in high school perfectly. The book's narrator Nic Chen is flawed and messy and falling apart,  and such an excellently written character that you can't but help relate to her and her insights to her classmates.