Unfortunately, this writing just wasn’t for me. It felt flat at times and I was finding myself bored. The dialogue also felt forced at times. I may pick this back up at a later time.

This book was super cute. It took me a bit to get into it but once I did I was fully invested in Teddy and Alice's relationship. This isn't your typical HS YA romance book. So much of Poppy's writing focuses on character development for Teddy and Alice and even May. I was really frustrated when May left Alice behind to try and become popular but she ends up redeeming herself in the end. Really happy with the ending too 🥰

This was sooo cute!! I do have to say that I found the first 25% of the book a bit boring because nothing happend and all of our characters seemed a bit too perfect, but after that I really started to enjoy this! The character development is on point in this book which I really appreciated. It's a fluffy contemporary that I was just in the mood for and ended up absolutely loving it! Would really recommend reading this one!

I was unable to access the NetGalley early copy because it was not available as a kindle document. I was looking forward to checking it out.

I adored this book! When I saw the title and read the description I was immediately drawn to it: first, my name is Alice and the protagonist's name is Alice (probably a selfish reason but hey), I also saw so much of myself in this character even from reading the description that I knew that we would click because I was also kind of a nerd and an outcast at school. It's also Australian so that meant that I got to pull out my best Australian accent while reading it (I'll leave it up to you to decide if that's a good or bad thing). I related quite strongly to a lot of Alice's high school experiences and I loved how she was able to gain confidence and grow throughout the story. I think my enjoyment at the start was maybe hampered by me trying to read too many books at once because I ended up just sitting down and inhaling the rest of it in one sitting. I also LOVE Teddy Taualai but that goes without saying (I love almost all sweet but angsty teenage boy characters, they are the way to my heart)! I also love that it tackled first love, first friendships and just general high school drama. This book wasn't perfect but I related so strongly to it that I have to show it all the love!

I really enjoyed the authors writing style and would love to read other books from the author. In saying that, this book wasn't perfect. From the get-go, I already wasn't sure how interesting this plot could be, but the author was able to craft a cute and enjoyable read. Although I didn't connect with any of the readers, that's okay, and that didn't ruin the book at all. I would definitely recommend this book, as a lighthearted contemporary read, that's perfect for the summer. Make sure to check it out!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was innocent and sweet and soft. An adorable coming of age tale about finding yourself, your first love, and all the other highs and lows of your senior of school.

I loved Alice, I related to her very much. I was always studying and trying to get the best grades possible in school. She was so sweet and shy and I rooted for her to have the best ending possible. I feel like she truly found herself and her voice while learning that it’s okay to let people into her life. Her and Teddy were super duper cute. That ending was so sweet!

I did think the characters sighed too much. They were always sighing about something and it was just too much. Also, sometimes characters would get so intense and dramatic so quickly that it gave me some emotional whiplash, but also teenagers can be incredibly dramatic, so I get it.

Overall, an adorable contemporary read.

Thank you so much to net galley for sending me a copy of this book. I was so super excited to read it and I was not disappointed.

Making Friends with Alice Dyson stars Alice Dyson. She's a wallflower at school and a bit nerdy. A video of Alice Dyson dancing and hanging out with her classmate Teddy Taualai is exposed. Since Teddy has a reputation of being a bad boy, Alice feels like her reputation is ruined now.

Is Teddy really the troubled, bad boy that Alice has envisioned though? As the story progresses and Alice and Teddy get to know each other, Alice discovers that maybe Teddy isn't as bad as she originally thought. It is a lesson to be learned that maybe we shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. Through out the book, Alice learns that reputations aren't everything. This is a sweet story that I over all enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this. Review will be posted on Goodreads and my blog two weeks before the publication date.

I almost put this book down after the first two chapters. I am so glad I didn’t, because Making Friends With Alice Dyson ended up giving me joy in the way it made me think of home (I was born in Australia and have lived many salty-air, sunny, ocean days) and in the way the friendship and love bloomed between the two central characters.

Let’s get the issues I had with this book out of the way, starting with the first couple of chapters which almost made me put the book down. For me, the opening of the story just felt like playground-drama to the point that I had to check how old Alice was meant to be because I was honestly picturing her and her peers as thirteen-year olds. The whole encounter between Alice and Teddy (which I was happy to learn more about later in the book) just seemed to be taken way too seriously by Alice’s peers. The way some characters spoke to Alice about it and about Teddy just seemed so childish that I couldn’t take it seriously. The immature teasing, bitching and rumour-starting that starts in the opening chapters and goes on throughout the novel just really frustrated me because it didn’t seem realistic to me and really made me dislike many of the characters. But who knows, I left high school ten years ago so maybe seventeen year olds are just meaner to each other these days (though I hope not as I can’t see how that can be possible).

I also didn’t like May as a character for the most part due to her obsession with being popular. I guess I personally couldn’t relate to that part of the story and way May tried to mess with Alice and Teddy’s friendship because they weren’t part of the popular crowd. I just found it all so frustrating and it tainted the story a bit for me. At least May changes by the end of the novel, providing some lovely, strong friendship moments between her and Alice that made me smile.

Another thing I found a little odd about this book was how Alice’s parents were simply never around. I realise the story was making a point about how controlling Alice’s parents are, expecting her to get good grades and basically not wanting her to have a life outside of school, and the fact that they are never around because they work so much and are probably not very happy as a result, but they still neglect Alice anyway. Still, I would have liked more development between Alice and her parents, at least towards the end of the novel as I feel there was a lot there between them that wasn’t fully explored and would’ve given both the story and Alice more substance.

In saying all of that, there was so much I liked about this book. The focus of the book was very much on Alice’s feelings and thoughts as she experienced her last year of high school, dealt with romantic emotions she had never felt before, new friendships and the inevitable changes that occur in life. I could really relate to Alice in so many ways, such as being horrible at making new friends (not just in school but today as well), spending a lot of time making sure I got good grades and finding it difficult to voice what I was feeling. There were many times throughout the book that I really connected with her and I think that helped me end up really enjoying the story and wanting to continue reading it after those initial chapters. Overall, I really liked Alice as a character because I thought she was a good depiction of many teenagers who are so bogged down by study, their parent’s expectations and the cold reality of the future, something that can feel so far away and then comes along too quickly. Alice’s determination to have a future she wants was admirable because I think so many of us just decide to follow the path set out for us without thinking about what we want or having the opportunity to know what we want for our lives when we finish high school. I liked how Alice’s plans were so set in stone and how that caused complications for the new things that came along in her life, namely Teddy Taualai.

As expected, the highlight of this book is of course Teddy and Alice’s relationship and well, Teddy himself. Teddy is just a fantastic, bighearted and deep character who unfortunately has a bad rep according to his peers due to one thing that happened in his past and the many idiotic rumours that follow him around. He is without a doubt my favourite thing about this book. The way he weaves his way into Alice’s life seemingly with complete confidence, when actually he’s scared, nervous and sad because of his past underneath that big, teasing smile, was just so wonderful to read. I can’t say how many times Teddy and Alice made me smile, cringe, swoon, gasp… There were so many great moments between them as the story and their friendship progressed. I don’t think I’ll be forgetting Teddy and his connection with Alice any time soon.

Making Friends With Alice Dyson is a unique and heartwarming book that does a great job exploring friendship and the complicated, new feelings of love. While there were some things I found frustrating and some things I felt the book lacked that would have given the story more substance, the coastal Australian setting and the connection between Alice and Teddy was more than enough to keep me turning the pages with excitement and a warm heart. I am very glad I read this book and would definitely recommend it if you are looking for a story that’s got a little something different and that will make your heart happy.

This was...in simple words, very sweet. I think this is a must-read for the younger YA audience and it really held some great values and principles within the story that I think would speak to a lot younger audience. I could appreciate the book, although my enjoyment factor was slightly tinged considering I am in my twenties.

First of all, the exploration of friendship and what this can mean for two people was beautiful. Alice and Teddy cancelled each other out perfectly and I could really see the blossoming of a solid friendship there. Where Teddy has this dangerous, bad boy reputation and Alice has this shy and book smart image, the coming together fit them both well.
I also liked the writing style a lot. I felt immersed inside Alice's head and I could really feel for her and relate when I look back at my teenage years.

I think this book holds some powerful messages and is a great coming of age novel.
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

A cute story. Overall a simple and sweet story about a very shy girl experiencing her final year of highschool and her first boyfriend. I really liked Teddy and found him to be quite sweet. The beginning of the story made me think it was a younger audience level but it matured as the story went on. Some of the situations were juvenile but I mean they’re in high school so I guess it fits. Overall I liked the romance and the story. I thought it wrapped up sweetly and I had a fun time reading!

Making Friends with Alice Dyson by Poppy Nwosu follows high school senior Alice who's nerd reputation has always allowed her to fly under the radar at her school. That perfectly built reputation all changes when a video of
Alice hanging out and dancing with the school's bad boy,Teddy Taualai gets released to the whole school. Alice now has to adjust to the attention she's getting from her classmates, her teachers, and more importantly the attention from Teddy Taulai.

This book was so cute and so enjoyable to read. While Alice's naiveté can sometimes get a bit grating, it was super fun to read about her relationship with Teddy. I was also super intrigued with Alice struggles with feeling that she was losing her best friend. I can't wait to read more books by Poppy Nwosu!

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.