An intriguing book that will be a hit with many different types of readers: drama lovers, mystery/suspense, and revenge story readers will all find this "un-put-down-able". As a fan of the movie "Heathers", I enjoyed this book! As someone who works in a school and is a parent, I worried about what message it might end up setting. As a reader, I didn't care for the narrator. It all works together though and creates a book I was invested in.

I just couldn't get into this book. I was hoping for darkness in the style of Courtney Summers but it's actually a pretty juvenile story. The characters are a lot younger than I originally believed and their voices definitely reflect that, making it all a bit too childish for my taste.

First up a big thank you to Netgalley/publisher for allowing me to try this one.

However I am at 24% and so far no revenge has been done. In fact we are just at the beginning of the shit storm of bullying to happen. Which probably has to do because our MC made the mistake to compliment Paige on her weight, and then get roasted because apparently Paige has an eating disorder. Did our MC know about it? No, what do people expect her to be? Telepathic? What the fuck people. She made an honest mistake and she is trying to fix it.

Given that Lottie's and her relationship is already falling apart at the beginning I couldn't really feel much for that falling apart. I was instantly not a fan of Lottie. However Stevie and her overgrown jealousy didn't help either. Yes, girl it fucking sucks that your best friend has another friend, but no need to go bonkers jealous on it.

I did like that we have a trans character in this book, however I felt the plotline didn't really fit in with the story. I did like how Stevie reacted to the news and how accepting she was.

So yeah, I am sorry but I am kind of bored, Stevie is annoying, there is NO revenge and I am not going to wait any longer.

Wow. I had to sit down and process my feelings after finishing this book. Love, Heather follows Stevie, a Canadian high school student who loves movies from the 80s and has her own Youtube channel where she talks about them. When she becomes the victim of some pretty serious bullying, she turns to Dee, a new friend who emboldens her to fight back, but everything has consequences, and she gets swept up in the current of high school vigilantism and a culture of getting even.

This book does an incredible job capturing the reality of how it feels to be bullied, and at parts I actually had to set the book down because it was so visceral and real. It tackles important issues like toxic friendships, mental health, and rape culture. It is written in such a thought-provoking way, and really plunges you deep into the lives of the characters.

¾ of the way through it grows darker, and even the prose changes in tone and voice. Stylistically, it was a very cool choice on the part of the author, and just made it that much more visceral. The twists and turns this book took makes me want to go back and reread it with the knowledge I now have, which I think mirrors an important issue in the book.

Overall this book is a 5 star read- I recommend it to both teens and adults alike.

Trigger warnings for this book include some transphobia (that I think is incredibly well handled on the part of the author) and sexual assault, as well as violence in schools.

Petrou Did a wonderful job of capturing a teen girls inner turmoil. Being a girl and being a girl friend is hard. We are definitely able to see that through the characters that she has developed. We really get a feel for what the narrator is thinking and feeling, and I felt just as hurt and confusion as she did.

There were a few moments when it seemed to trudge along; but they were typically part of progressing the storyline.

I think a lot of kids can learn from this and many others can relate.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book. I felt like it tried to deal with too many issues at once. I was also not a fan of the writing style. There were also some topics dealt with that were just too intense for me. I think this is the kind of book that could have a big impact on some people, however, I was not one of them.

Ms. Petrou had created a really intriguing and full of all kind of emotions story in her new YA book.
Stive has it all - good school life, great best friend, her friends family consider her as their own. Yet one bad move makes it all disappear, gone. Now everyone is against her - bullies arise from the shadows.
Love, Heather has brought me into a subspace where I felt so much that I wanted to cry and scream at everyone!
I loved reading this book, as it shows that always there is something that needs to be done before someone will take action that would not be reversed
This book touches topics that are really hard - rape culture, shootings, transition and psychological problems.

I was really excited to read this story as it sounded intriguing and one I would really like. However, I did not enjoy it as much as I would have liked. It was a bit slow moving at first for me and while I know it is fiction, parts of the story were a bit much or not believable. While this book may have not been for me I do recommend others give it a shot because they may love it.

I was fortunate enough to receive a Netgalley ARC of Love, Heather by Laurie Petrou. While I will admit that I sometimes found this book a little tough to read, it was the good kind of uncomfortable, similar to my feelings when reading Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak or Thalia Chaltas’ I Am Furniture. Stevie is a freshman who finds herself losing a grip on all of her relationships; her mother is busy with a new boyfriend, her father has started a new life, and her best friend has fallen in with a new set of friends. When the popular crowd start targeting Stevie in a systematic bullying campaign, Stevie finds that she has no one to turn to besides her love of cult classic 80’s movies and a new girl, Dee, who has a vendetta against the status quo. Dee hatches a plan to get even in the form of the movie Heathers, and Stevie jumps on board without realizing how far things will go.

The piece that made this book shine was the clear tone of anxiety that pervades the plot and reflects life in our digital age. Petrou reminds readers that social media allows 24/7 access, and that’s not always a good thing. In the midst of her bullying, Stevie’s anxiety never abates, leading her to call her cell phone “that tiny little pocket bomb that has haunted me for so long...Shiny pink case glinting in the moonlight. I can almost see its beating heart...Pulsing, throbbing. Trying, dying to draw me in. I know who’s in there, who’s out there.” As an adult reader, this was a stark reminder of what my students have going on below the surface, and teen readers are likely to feel a sense of connection to Stevie and the trials she endures. An additional sense of anxiety is brought to the forefront by the feeling that readers can’t completely trust Stevie as the narrator. Things occasionally don’t add up, especially considering the immense amount of stress the protagonist is facing, leading readers to the uneasy realization that they may not be getting the whole story.

I left this novel feeling that it would find a special readership; not only will teen readers identify with Stevie’s struggle, but educators would benefit from the reminder of what their students are contending with outside of the classroom. Love, Heather is a strong choice for any school library.

Stevie never meant for things to go this far. When she and Dee--defiant, bold, indestructible Dee--started all this, there was a purpose to their acts of vengeance: to put the bullies of Woepine High School back in their place. And three months ago, Stevie believed they deserved it. Once her best friend turned on her, the rest of the school followed. Stevie was alone and unprotected with a target on her back. Online, it was worse.

this revenge of the nerds meets mean girls, meets Carrie was an amazing read.

The important topics of bullying, gun violence, violence against women, sexual harassment, toxic masculinity, transphobia, and mental health were all discussed and highlighted in a way were you didn't know what was the right or wrong way.

Love, Heather by Laurie Petrou is a young adult thriller. Stevie was trying to get back at all her fellow students, including her best friend, who turned on her. She just wanted to put them in there place, and stop the bullying. Dee on the other hand planned some pranks and signed them Love, Heather, after the 80's movie, Heathers. But did the revenge go to far? I found this book to be unique, and I enjoyed it. Highly recommend for both young and old.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books. Thank you.

Love, Heather caught my eye from the second I saw it pop up on my computer screen. A story of revenge in high school? Sounds intriguing? Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out as good as I had hoped.

The story mainly follows Stevie as she is shunned from her friends group and the entire school and makes a new friend, Dee, who then leads her in to an act of revenge on all those who have hurt or put down others around them. Now this sounds like it could be good, but the first problem I had was that the story really didn’t get to any acts of revenge until 40% into the story. Almost halfway and the only thing I’d really read was how Stevie got dumped by her friends and most of the kids at school. It seemed to have been very drawn out where a lot of that first portion could have been condensed into a more quick paced, yet still fulfilling story of bullying.

Then, once the revenge acts started, most of them were anticlimactic at best, and we didn’t hear about most of them. Most of this story was hearing about how Stevie went back and forth on if she was doing the right thing and being convinced by her friend Dee. Which, in turn I think was another issue I had. Was Dee real? I am fairly certain Dee was imaginary and made up in Stevie’s mind, but that was never really said distinctly. She kind of just… went away. No explanation to that.

Last issue I had was the ending. There is no way that ending is believable to anyone. A teenage student takes an entire room hostage with a manufactured firecracker gun and ends up blowing up herself and the teacher, but basically gets NO punishment except therapy and a very short juvenile stint? How? Absolutely not. It was so unbelievable that I instantly disliked everything happening. Not in this day and age with gun violence.

The one part I liked was the home life issues. I felt like some of these were very normal for kids these days and those issues at home effect their social life and how the interact with others. I felt Petrou wrote that well. I did feel the whole transgender story line was kind of out of place, though. I have read some really great books about transgender people and their struggles and how it effects those around them, but this kind of felt forced. It really didn’t have a huge impact on the story and was just this random side story that could have made a fantastic book on its own, but was dropped into the middle of this other story to diversify it somehow. Felt a bit out of place. Wished it was more the focal point of the story.

I really wanted to like this book, but I just could not with all the questions left and unrealistic aspects that ended up playing out. I will definitely try out another book by Laurie Petrou, because I’d be curious to see if it was just me and this book. I do encourage everyone to check it out and make up their own mind though.

I rarely read YA thrillers. This one was different. If you never picked up anything in this emerging genre, check it out.

I really liked this book! It was fast paced and I such an eye opening book on bullying and what the outcomes of bulling can be. I really liked our main character and her personality.

Thank you for sending an ARC of this my way, it is very much appreciated!

Unfortunately, though, I'm calling it quits 42% in. It's just not for me and it's making me a bit uncomfortable. I guess I had different expectations that haven't been met yet. I thought this was going to be about a girl teaming up with other girls to get revenge on the bullies. And perhaps this is what it's about and I just didn't give it enough time. But, I will not be continuing this as the whole thing in itself doesn't sit well with me.

The writing is fine, but I did notice that sometimes the author used conjunctions and sometimes they didn't, which was a bit jarring to me. Reading this almost felt like going on one of those bumper car rides, where they throw you around everywhere. The characters to me didn't feel like they had any kind of personality, they were just your typical high school bitches who think they're better than everyone.

I also didn't like the sentence about 37% in where it said something about the sun shining like an attention whore? It was a bit, idk, unnecessary.

Overall, I feel like this book is one big potential trigger for a lot of people. I feel like instead of channeling the bullying into a positive way with the girls standing up for themselves, it's just toxic. I am 23 years old, so perhaps this story just isn't my thing because it's targeted towards a younger audience.

I will say that I appreciate the trans rep in this, but sadly that's the only good thing going for this story.

2 stars. One for the beautiful cover, one for the trans rep.

I was drawn to this book immediately because of the title. I thought it has 90s movie vibes written all over it and I was right! This book was a perfect throwback to all of my favorite 90s movies while still being so relevant to today's world! It was thought provoking, gut wrenching, and relatable! A definite 5 star must read with a twist!!

A fantastic story for teens and young adults. A very gripping and heart wrenching story but beautifully written xx

Not a light-hearted novel by any means, but rather a gut-wrenching, deep fall down a bullied character’s mind and the traumatic effects that bullying can have. I did not expect the twist at the end, but I think it made everything even more real and gritty. I would recommend this to a high schooler due to the mature and deeper content in this book. I think it was well-done though and reflected today’s society about girls and bullying.

4.5 stars

Wow.
Wow.
Oh my wow!

Laurie Petrou's main protagonist, Stevie, is a contender for best literary character of 2019. Few books literally break my heart but Love Heather may just have completely destroyed it forever. I am not really sure that I can just pick up another book and leave Stevie by herself. That's how special this book was to me.

I don't want to say a lot about the book because the less you know, the more I think the book will make you react. It doesn't mean that you and I will reach the same conclusion but it's definitely a book we're all going to be talking about this fall.

So I will just say it's spot on about the social society of high schools today, it was a little slow in the beginning but I did quickly lose myself in the narrative. I took a .5 off because I felt it was a bit rushed in the end. Overall, it was fantastic!

Goodreads review published 13/08/19
Publication Date 08/10/19

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review

I gave myself some homework to complete before I would allow myself to pick up this book. I watched ‘Heathers’ for the first time and it really helped having it fresh in my mind when I began reading. I understood references that likely would have whooshed over my head unnoticed otherwise and having just watched a revenge fantasy story, I had some idea of what was to come.

“No one knows what she can do. No one has ever known.”

Lottie and Stevie have been best friends all their lives. Stevie spends so much time at Lottie’s house she’s practically family and Lottie’s mother, Rhonda, is like a second mother to her. Lottie is a bookworm and Stevie loves movies (primarily those made between 1975 and 1995) so much that she’s had her own YouTube channel, FlickChick, since she was twelve.

“Woepine High is like every other school: there’s a hierarchy.”

The popular kids in their year have an undisputed leader - Athlete Barbie, A.K.A, Breanne. Then there’s Paige, Breanne’s “second in command”, and Paige’s boyfriend, Aidan. Lottie and Stevie have recently and quite accidentally become friends with them.

“Some kind of wall went up when we started hanging out with all of them, and I’m not sure where the door is.”

When a series of events results in Stevie being relentlessly bullied by ex-friends, other students and even complete strangers, her entire world comes crashing down and she has no one to turn to. Except Dee, the new girl.

“It’s people like us against the world, Stevie.”

Dee, who understands what Stevie’s going through. Dee, who decides it’s time the bullies were taught a lesson. Anonymously, of course. Each prank is accompanied by a message written in red lipstick: “LOVE, HEATHER”, an homage to teen revenge movie ‘Heathers’. How very!

These acts of “mischief” soon take on a life of their own. The stakes are raised exponentially, with creative and sometimes brutal acts of revenge being played out across the school and beyond. What began with bullies being targeted becomes something where it’s harder to draw a line between bully and victim.

“I mean, it’s hard to know who to root for, isn’t it?”

I’ve agonised about what to write in this review for a couple of days. There was so much I loved about this book but there were also a couple of key points in the story that didn’t ring true and/or disappointed me. Please keep in mind that while yes, I had some niggles, that doesn’t necessarily mean you will agree with me.

After establishing the history of Stevie and Lottie’s friendship and Stevie’s sudden social pariah status, I felt this book then took off like a rocket. I was immersed in the acts of revenge and am fairly certain teenage me would have imagined some creative vigilante themed fantasies if I’d read this book then, much like when I conceived (but never acted upon) my own versions of poetic justice as I cheered Matilda on from the sidelines. Revenge fantasies are always fun, with their drama and the opportunity to cheer on underdogs.

If nothing else, this book reinforced my gratitude that I didn’t grow up surrounded by social media. Bullying is horrific enough when it’s physical and/or verbal. I can’t even imagine how the effects are compounded now that it follows you into your home, on your phone and spreading like a virus on the internet, where strangers can add fuel to the fire. Besides bullying, this book also delves into other complex and emotionally charged areas, including rape culture and gender identity.

Because I’m old now I have seen, or at least knew the general plot of, most of the movies referenced in this book but I’d be surprised if most young adults would have heard of the majority of them, unless their parents have introduced them to the movies they themselves grew up with. The lack of familiarity with these movies could potentially lead to the target audience not understanding some of the references to them in this book.

I found Lottie and Stevie’s friendship relatable and empathised with Stevie as she was bombarded with bullying and dealing with isolation. I ached for her as she was consistently let down by her parents. I kept wanting to read more about Pete and couldn’t decide if I was more interested in having them as my friend or teacher. I had problems with the character of Dee but can’t be specific because … spoilers.

I really enjoyed the majority of this book but I had a couple of fairly significant problems with it. Variations of this particular twist have been done so many times before in so many other books and movies. Because I’ve come across it too many times I’m desensitised to it and I expect I probably even have a bias against it now. It would take something remarkable to occur in conjunction with that particular twist for me to not groan or roll my eyes when I encounter it. My main problem with that twist being in this book was that the psychology of it just didn’t sit right with me. However, to partially undo this entire paragraph, I need to acknowledge that because this book’s target audience are young adults, (i.e., not me) this may well be the first time some readers encounter this particular brand of twist and I hope they are blindsided by it.

My biggest problem with this book was its ending. It felt rushed and too neat. All things considered, the consequences seemed minimal and peoples’ responses to the character in question were too easy. After spending sufficient time setting up the important aspects of the friendships, bullying and pranks, the finale fizzled for me. This was quite a dark book in places and the end felt much too polite. Where was the rage and all of the other complicated feelings that would be expected after what happened?

Sidebar: Had I known before reading this book that Lottie and Stevie had exchanged best friend necklaces I would have called the demise of their friendship immediately, without even reading the blurb. Those curses that came in the innocent forms of hearts that declare you’re ‘BEST FRIENDS’ and break in two so you each get half of the words and heart were THE present when I was growing up but whenever anyone I knew shared them, they wound up having a massive, often irreparable, fight shortly afterwards. You may think that this is mere coincidence or paranoia talking but I kid you not: those cutesy charms have some sort of friendship voodoo attached to them! Exchange them with extreme caution! 😜

Content warnings include bullying, eating disorders, sexual assault, racism, transphobia, mention of homophobia and suicide, rape culture, gun violence and mental health.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this book. I’m rounding up from 3.5 stars.

N.B. Quotes included in this review have been taken from the ARC and may be subject to change prior to publication.