Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC digital copy. I have not been compensated for my opinion and this is an honest review.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish reading this ARC digital copy before it was archived. The book is no longer on my Goodreads "want to read" list. Based on the comments left by other readers regarding the insensitive choice in jokes, I do not plan on obtaining a copy.

When I first read the synopsis of this book, I was super excited to read it. However, I will say that some of the descriptions of characters and things within the novel itself were problematic, and rather spoiled the majority of the book for me. While I understand that the book is meant to be messy in an authentic way, However, some of the messiness that was passed off as "teens being teens" was not acceptable (i.e. the Israel/Palestine conflict "joke/comment" made by one of the characters, as well as what was said about the Hawaiian/Polynesian character).

Smash It! could have been great, but there were too many things that I didn't care for within the dialogue which effectively made the reading experience a bad one.

I deliberately chose not to read this for one particular reason. It was brought to my attention from another reviewer that a tasteless and offensive joke was included in the book in regards to the genocide of the Palestinian people that is currently happening. It involves the idea of a kid at school being the son of and Israeli and a Palestinian. This in itself is harmful, given the conflict that is currently happening between the two countries, but then another character makes an awful comment in regards to their attraction for this student. Though I am not directly affected by the conflicts happening in the Middle East, as a Middle Eastern American I cannot feel comfortable reading a book that treats the issues happening in Palestine now like it is some joke to be made. I do hope that publishers are aware of how this can be harmful and damaging to people and refrain from making such mistakes in the future.

This book seemed fun, and the cover is gorgeous and an EASY sell to teens, but unfortunately it was a mess. The overall teen speak was mostly believable, but nothing else was. The main plot was an unintentional fantasy, where everyone male character falls for the main character, Liv, despite her not having a discernable personality other than being obsessed with her attraction to her two best friends (the romantic love triangle trope) and having no confidence until those males (or other females that she was awful towards but only exist to bouy her up) tell her she's actually worthy. She's shown to be horrible to other people, says some really misogynistic things, and by the end of the book, is unrealistically forgiven by everyone, as none of her hurtful actions seem to have consequnces, and the people that she harmed are all - oh, don't worry about it, I'm still obsesed with you, we're good now! There are major plot threads/holes - like Dre's nonsensical arrest that's never talked about? And the sort of parental affair that is used to create false boy drama? But most problematically, characters make incredibly harmful and stereotypical jokes about Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, and there are two really disgusting lines that I can't believe made it past editors - "Exotic Mulatto" and "I'd let him holy war up in me anytime" - both in reference to a character who is Israele/Palestianian - and put into the mouth of the character the book goes out of the way to tell you is blackity-black, THAT kind of black, and not ghetto but rachet. Truly, truly bad. Will definiltey not be recommending this book.

This book was absolutely amazing.

I adored Olivia so much. She is so relatable, it's a little harsh. But her power and her struggle and the idea that she takes and runs with throughout the novel is perfection. She is painfully shy bookworm with two best guy friends.

In a completely hormonal time of her life, she is dealing with trying to fit into her own skin, into her school and into a new stage of her life. Literally and figuratively. Her character development was so strong and amazing I couldn't help but clap at the end of the book.

SMASH IT! is full of amazing black girl magic and relatable moments that bring me back to the awkwardness of high school.

This was a fun story about a young Black girl and the struggles that she had. It is a fun story and I truly enjoyed it. But, the main character swears like a sailor (kind of like the author), it was a bit much after some time.

Liv was such a relatable, realistic teenage protagonist, I really wanted to enjoy reading her story. From the mistakes she makes, to the feelings she has, Simone gave her a voice that made her painfully real moments of love, friendship and everything teenage drama and angst you could want in a YA title and I had such high hopes for it. Smash It! had the #ownvoices representation and a strong message about finding confidence in yourself, but some of the content just didn’t seem appropriate - I looked at other reviews and I see lots of mention of this, so I'm hoping the author addresses those choices at some point.

This book is a trip. I fell in love with the protagonist immediately and felt an instant kinship with her desire to follow in Shonda Rhimes' footsteps. As a former theatre kid myself, the depiction of high school musical rehearsals were a fun and cringey blast from the past, but one done well and wholly enjoyable. I was surprised by how steamy some of the romantic moments were, so I wouldn't recommend this to readers younger than 16 or so, but they were handled with consent (yay!) and maturity.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our library wishlist and recommended it to students.

I loved the main character and her story. But as a middle school teacher, I don't think I could put this in my classroom as a SSR book because of the content. Lots of talks about sex and lots of uses of the f word. I could see this in a high school library.

I was very excited for Smash It! #Ownvoices, Black protagonist, self-declared awkward af, and way too into her own head--it is my cup of tea. The characters were super relatable, and Olivia has a very clear and distinct voice. This is a great coming of age tale: weaving in the angst, confusion, and hormones of being a young adult and having characters who are flawed and make mistakes. The narrative follows Olivia who is a flutist at a magnet school and trying to get comfortable in her own skin, build confidence, while also realizing that she may be in love with both of her best friends.
There were some instances of problematic language (stereotyping the love interest from Hawaii, use of the holy war in a very blase and disrespectful way); however, it is the reality of the language teens use. In this context, I do not believe it is Francina Simone's responsibility to break out of the narrative to preach to readers why this is problematic though there is a VERY brief mention from the main character. Additionally, the use of Othello as a parallel narrative with Olivia was not executed successfully and forced the reader to see how Olivia fits into the different female characters within the play though her nickname is "O," which threw me off in the expectation of how the characters of Smash It! were to fit in Othello. Finally, there were some narrative arcs that felt glossed over and rushed, but I'm hoping for a sequel to expound on some these threads.
Overall, 2.5-stars from me. I did like the book, representation and diverse, relatable coming of age tales are important, and a true recounting of the teen voice and experience; however, there were some flaws that outweighed the good.

Thanks to NetGalley and InkYard Press, I got an advance copy of the #ownvoices novel, Smash It! by Francina Simone. Before we begin, I have a few initial notes. First, this is a YA book, but it's very heavy on sexual content. This may not be the best book for tweens. Second, there were some "jokes" that really weren't funny regarding Palestinians and Hawaiins. Ok...now that we have that out of the way, let's get to it.

Olivia "Liv" James is a high school junior who hasn't been living her life to the fullest. She's an insecure, "thick" Black girl, in a mostly white environment and is the last one to take a risk. After she oddly wears khaki shorts and a hoodie to a Halloween Party, a bartender (of all people) sees what's going on with her. She needs to change the game and decides to live out loud. After the party, she makes a "F*uck It" list filled with all of things she is going to start doing or start trying. She wants to be bold, she will learn how to take compliments, she will stand out...and she will SMASH.

The first step in handling Liv's list is to tryout for the school play. What a bold move. Not only does she tryout, but she makes it! This boldness leads her into the world of theater and a rabbit hole of changes. She makes new friends, she speaks up for herself, and she becomes "entangled" with three dudes (not at the same time...but...yeah...issa mess). Two of the guys are her best friends! But the onset of the new Liv takes them all on a self-discovery ride. I didn't love this book, but I felt Liv. She's a messy and confused teenager. But she realizes that she's limiting herself by not allowing herself to live authentically and boldly. Of course once you make the decision to live in a different way, consequences happen. The sooner we realize that we should be living this way, the better. I am glad she figured it out sooner rather than later.

This was a great book about how complicated teen relationships can be. Olivia (sometimes called Liv, Livia, and O) has two best friends: Dre and Eli. She's developed a crush on Eli that she doesn't know what to do with, and the novel begins with her at a club on Halloween for one of Dre and Eli's shows, the only one without a costume and the only one not having fun. She decides to start a "fuck it" list to gain confidence and make changes, which all starts with auditioning for the school musical, a rap version of Othello. Through the process, she makes new friends, dates a guy who likes her, and ends up having to navigate some pretty intense situations with Dre, Eli, and some of her new friends and frenemies in the theater program. A coming of age story that feels very real (in the sense that it is at times heartwarming, at times anxiety inducing, and at times cringey - just like actually coming of age), I would definitely recommend for older teen readers. Lots of swearing and some sexual content.

I laughed and rolled my eyes and smiled because this book just gave me so many feelings. I could have done without the cursing BUT then it wouldn’t have been authentic. I loved the story of self discovery which made me laugh so hard. This was not just a story about a girl falling in love with a boy this was a story about a girl falling in love with herself. In normal white perspective young adult stories you don’t see all the cursing throughout the story but this is definitely a black girl story and I love it. I wish I had this story growing up because I think my life would definitely turned put differently. Our main character Olivia is tired of not taking chances and letting life pass her by (I so can relate) so she decides to make a list that will help her come out of her shell more. LOVE IT. Again I say where the hell was this book when I was growing up? I cannot wait to see what Francina writes next because with this one Francina definitely Smashed it. Thanks NetGalley and Inkyard Press letting me have the opportunity to read this book in advance and give my honest opinion. Smash It (something many people should try)!

After such a difficult reading month, I wanted a quick and easy read. That's exactly what I got with Smash It! It follows 17 year old Olivia (Liv) as she creates her Fuck It list: think seize the day, carpe diem, YOLO. Basically, a list to make her story observing the world and start living it.

This is Liv's rite of passage as she figures out who she is and what she wants out of life. All while fighting with some pretty impressive teenage hormones which pull her in three different directions.

This is a book which represents the time in every teenager's life when they are no longer children and don't quite know who they are as young adults.

Although a YA book, I did enjoy Smash It! Olivia is pretty irritating at first as the whining and self-deprecation left me internally screaming at her to grow some balls. She takes you on a journey though and seeing her develop, find her own voice and learn her own mind is actually quite engaging. I found myself turning page after page as Liv moved from annoying wallflower, to petulant child, through to bitch and bad friend before finally settling on a complicated young woman who is a mixture of all these things.

I loved the feminism vibes woven throughout the narrative and love how it is not afraid to tackle some pretty important topics around race and slut shaming. Overall, this is a nice quick read all about friendship and finding out who you are and the kind of person you want to be.

Olivia is a wonderful narrator, and I like the whole vibe of this book. Everything about it feels realistic and natural. This is also definitely a story of Black joy - one which doesn't shy away from presenting the reality of the life of a Black teenage girl - and I think it certainly belongs in any collection.

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. I always struggle with stream-of-consciousness writing, and that was how Liv expressed herself in her inner monologues. It was constant, and for me, that's exhausting to read. I think this book will really appeal to older teenagers who struggle with self-esteem and not feeling "good enough", but as I am past that age I found it hard to connect with the main character.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the plot of the book. I look forward to more from the author.

Oh to be young again. When I say young I mean in high school, full of bustling insecurity in the midst of finding yourself and being surrounded with other people trying to find themselves too. This book captures the essence of that feeling through the eyes of Olivia, a teenager trying to navigate through her own insecurities and sexuality. Writing on a piece of paper labeled “the Year of Fuck It” she list the things she wants to change about herself and begins this journey. But discovery comes with change and mistakes, lessons Olivia is learning a ong the way.

I loved this book. I loved Olivia’s story. I loved seeing her growing and changing. Told in first person Smash It does an amazing job encapsulating that feeling of being a teenager. I loved the way Simone tackled the relationship Olivia had with best friends Dre and Eli and the way she developed her relationships with Jackie and Lennox, the only girlfriends Olivia has. This story is complicated, in a way that teenage lives tend to be. But this story is also extremely entertaining. I couldn’t put this down. I was having too much fun mixed up in Olivia’s world and her drama.

It all starts at a Halloween party in Liv’s junior year. She’s there to support her best friends, Dre and Eli, who are performing at the party. Liv chose not to wear a costume because she didn’t want to look ridiculous, and now she looks ridiculous as the only one who isn’t in costume. Even the club’s bartender, working the teen night event, has a costume and calls her out for being “too cool” for a costume and missing out on the fun. With that, and Shonda Rhimes’ Year of Yes echoing in her ears, Liv decides to make this the year she does things. She’ll stop caring what other people think, she’ll do what she has been scared to do so far, and she’ll get over her crush on Eli, who has been sending her mixed signals for far too long. A chance pairing in her Biology lab course introduces her to Lennox, a member of the drama club, and sends Olivia into the world of high school theatre at her arts magnet school. Things will never be the same.

There’s a lot going on in this book, but it seemed like most of it was crammed into the last third. Until that point, I had trouble maintaining interest in the book. Aimed at more mature YA readers, Smash It! is a body positive and sex positive book, focusing on Liv’s relationship with herself as well as her friends. The lyrics to the Othello rap musical and the five act structure that frame the book seemed a bit forced, they didn’t add much to my reading. Your mileage may vary, it’s possible that some of the Othello allusions passed right by me, since it isn’t one of Shakespeare’s plays that I have read or seen. There are teens and other readers who will love this book, it just wasn’t quite right for me.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.