This is the first ARC I have received and I was really excited about it. Based on the cover and description it seemed right up my alley. I read a lot of YA fiction and romance. I don’t usually find it hard to connect with the characters despite being 10+ years removed from high school. This book was one of only 2 books I have started and not been able to finish in the last two years. I can tolerate a lot in a book if there are parts that keep it engaging enough that I want to finish it. This book unfortunately just did not have enough positives to keep me reading and engaged to outweigh the aspects I did not find enjoyable.

The main character is a 15 year old girl at a boarding school in Florida. The opening scene involves her sobbing because she found out her teacher she is in love with is engaged. While she acknowledges it would be illegal for anything to happen, the plot involving her feelings for the teacher continue. Student and teacher relationships (even one sided ones) is a trope I find it really hard to enjoy or connect with. I think it’s problematic and too much media normalizes or glamorizes it. This is not an actual romantic or sexual relationship between Gracie and her teacher but the pining for the teacher aspect was one reason I found it hard to connect with this book.

The other main reason I couldn’t finish this book was not being able to connect with the main character at all. I made it to about 25% of the way through the book, hoping that there would be good development and I could connect more. I found her personality to be very abrasive and off putting with no redeeming qualities really. I don’t expect characters to be perfect or behave perfectly but I couldn’t find anything likable about this character unfortunately and the way she treated everyone around her was awful. She did not seem 15 either. Her inner monologue did not resonate with being a teenager. It was written in first person narration which I think contributed to why it was hard for me to get through since I didn’t like the narrator. It also reinforced what felt like really outdated tropes and stereotypes about teenage girls (for example you couldn’t eat pizza in the dining hall as a girl or you would be seen as a pig by other girls- you had to eat salads). Another example of a problematic aspect that made it hard for me to be engaged is a character, who is a senior, saying to the 15 year old main character: “Mr. Sorrentino [the teacher] is a man. He has a wiener. You can do whatever you want with him!” I have never heard a teenager use the word wiener and just found that whole sub plot very hard to stomach and not enjoyable to read about at all.

I am sure that there will definitely be people who can connect with this book and character but unfortunately it just did not do it for me! I am giving it two stars because the writing style was fine, there was nothing special about it but it was fine. There was a lot of swearing which just seemed unnecessary and supposed to maybe exemplify how tough the main character was? I didn’t really get the point and some of the language used made it hard for me to get lost in a story.


Thanks to Net Galley for providing the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was so cringe and I just can't
We start off in the first chapter where a 15 year old girl is convinced her teacher is her soul mate??? and she gets mad at him for being engaged???
The romance was so so so bad in this book and if any of that was mentioned in the synopsis, I would have said no. None of the characters act their age and the story felt like it was written by someone who never experienced what high school was actually like.
I just can't.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC of Slingshot which is to be released April 27, 2021.

While I truly appreciate the opportunity to receive this ARC, unfortunately, this book was a DNF for me. This is due to several factors. First, the main character, Grace, is 15 and is in love with her teacher. Literally in love, as in thought they were soulmates and cursed him out when she found out he had a fiancée in love with him. This is not necessary at all for character development unless the author’s goal was to show how mean-spirited the main character can be.

This brings me to my second issue: Grace is truly an unlikeable and abusive main character. She pushes everyone away from her and there are no endearing qualities - she is no “diamond in the rough” type character where past the tough exterior she is a good person. She is just cruel.

For me, I could not finish more than a few chapters. The main character ruined the book with her surly attitude and immature, childlike reactions. I think a similar story line could have been executed in a much more inventive manner with a main character that readers actually want to root for.

MAJOR coverlust with this one: when I saw the cover for Slingshot, I was immediately enamoured and knew that I had to request this.

Unfortunately, the story was not executed in a way that I particularly enjoyed, womp womp. :( I'd read a couple reviews prior to starting and was thus already bracing myself for the 1) uncomfy side-plot crush/romance with Gracie's (15) teacher, and 2) profanity, sex, smoking, etc. Yet I still didn't find myself on board.

While I didn't necessarily think that Gracie and her friends were unrealistic—her blossoming friendship+ with Wade was v v v cute—I did find that the instalove (my most detested of tropes) and constant dropping of the word "love" utterly grated on me.

And the ending!! Gracie's character development is minimal and I was ultimately left wanting.


Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Based on the description, I really thought I would love this. At the very opening, I liked the character’s voice and the tone but I felt like the whole “being in love with your teacher” thing to be creepy and trite. I sadly did not finish this book.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
All opinions are my own.

1 star
This book was so terrible. I hate myself for finishing it, when I lost interest about 10% of the way through. The optimist in me is like, it can't get much worse. Oh no, it really can.
The book starts with this weird, rambling chapter about a 15-year old girl who is convinced that her biology teacher is her soulmate. High ick factor.
So I plugged along, and everything about this book is terrible. The plot is terrible (and real nonsensical). The main character is completely unlikable, and not in a "it's fun to hate her while we read along." No. She is just a terrible person and makes some real cringe-y decisions.
The writing in this book also leaves a lot to be desired. Other reviewers have noted that it's similar to a teenager's diary, and I couldn't have put it better myself. It's just... bad.
Definite miss for me. Not recommended.

The best word to encapsulate this book is YIKES, and the only reason I gave it 2 stars was because there was something inexplicable that hooked me in and would not let go until I finished, until I knew how this ended. Basically, this book feels like the author’s attempt at compiling every nasty thing she’s ever wanted to say or do but couldn’t due to strict social conventions. The main character, Gracie, was so incredibly rude and obnoxious—for no good reason either, just because she could. And everyone let her get away with it. I don’t think I’ve read a more unrelatable character or a more dramatic, exaggerated plot.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

DNF after 3 chapters.

Unfortunately, this book really is not for me. The book opens with the main character, 15-year-old Gracie, sobbing in the school bathroom because she just found out that her biology teacher, who she was "in love" with is engaged. At first, I thought it was like a little high school crush, which fine, teenagers have crushes on their teachers all the time and are "devastated" when it really sinks in that nothing would ever happen between them. That is not the case with Gracie. She honestly believed that they were soulmates and that he felt the same way. Even though she points out that it would be illegal for anything to happen with them, and then she basically cusses him out and says rude things about his fiancée to him, hoping that it will make him change his mind and realize that he's in love with her as well. I'm not sure what I was supposed to take away from that chapter except for being incredibly uncomfortable and cringing every time Gracie talked about how in love she was with him.

I happened to check out a few other reviews and it looks like one of the main plot points in this book is casual teenage sex, some of which takes place between the 15-year-old main character and a 17/18-year-old high school senior. That does not sit well with me. The maturity of 15-18 year-olds is vastly different, and teenagers with that large of an age gap should not engage in any sort of relationship, let alone a physical one.

I could barely get through 3 chapters of this book and I don't see myself trying to pick it up again.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the advance read!
I'm a complete sucker for any story that brings two lonely outcasts together, so you had me at hello with this one........especially if the outcasts are also suffering the outrageous slings and arrows of adolescence.
And I give credit to author Mercedes Helwein for being unafraid to portray 15 year old Grace Welles in less-than-likable mode........and you can feel yourself aching for the way she treats Wade, the fellow outcast she manages to save from a bully beating with, of all things, a slingshot.
One qualm I do feel, though. It's as if the author already pre-imagined a TV or film version of this book where all the young teenagers are played by baby-faced 20 year olds still able to convincingly pass for 15.
But even with the swearing and the sex and the assorted poor choices made by Grace, I didn't stop waiting for her to reach a level of self-awareness that you could feel the story was headed for.
And as someone who suffered a fair share of hurt, heartbreak and bullying throughout the high school years, much of the stuff in here rang painfully true.
Even for anyone who'd rather prefer their YA romances sweet and comforting, I'd still recommend "Slingshot".......Grace may be tough to warm up to, (and maybe even doesn't deserve the boy she mistreats)......but like every good book, you'll find to follow Grace and Wade's story to see what happens next.

DNF @ 3%

I usually try to give books until at least 20% to win me over, but this was so supremely uncomfortable that I just couldn't. The narrative opens with the teenage MC asserting that she's Not Like Her Classmates and that her biology teacher (twenty years older, is never shown doing anything that unequivocally crosses the line) is her soulmate, then having a complete meltdown when she discovers that he's engaged and doesn't return her feelings. Next we get a lot of ableism, including both cr-words and a lot of <i>my mom is gorgeous but insane, and her delusions are ruining my life</i>; it feels like a ploy to gain the reader's sympathy through tragic backstory, painting the MC as a victim who has never done anything wrong ever.

This book has great potential. A beautiful plot, a little familiar character and a good sense of humour.
I especially enjoyed the explanations given, like the protagonists 'family' and the "boarding school". It was hilarious.

But, in certain places the writing is a little confusing, the story at times does not make sense. I would like to suggest the writer to revisit certain parts. Make the book a little more clear. Explain the places , the way he described the boarding school itself.
Some places the story proceeded too fast to comprehend, while in others it was so slow it felt like the book was dragging.

All in all, great story. I hope the author revisits certain parts and the books gets published.

All the best!

*𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸

Slingshot had such potential. The cover is simple, yet eye-catching. The synopsis promised an interesting book, but the story itself fell through for me.
Things get messy and unrealistically melodramatic, I would have liked some parts to been been changed, like made them older but okay.
I wasn't really a fan of Grace Welles like at all but Wade was so adorable and in end this was quick read!

I’m really unsure where to start with this because from the first chapter I was honestly flummoxed. This book was one of the most bizarre stories of a teen romance ever and I didn’t find it realistic in the slightest.

THE WRITING:
First of all, I’m not sure how old the author is but it was like trying to read a fourteen year olds diary who is trying to act older than they are. I just didn’t vibe with it at all.
THE PLOT:
I mean, plot who? The book felt like a chaotic mess and I didn’t understand half of what was going on.
THE CHARACTERS:
I’m not sure what teens this author knows but they acted so much older than they were and they didn’t feel authentic. I didn’t care for any of the characters. Gracie was selfish and annoying and the first chapter is her swearing at her teacher because he’s engaged and throwing a strop. It’s just not realistic.
OVERALL:
This wasn’t for me. I don’t want to sit here and bash the author but I feel like this books message was lost along the way and I didn’t like it at all.

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

This might be a case, in which, I am too old to read books about kids in high school. I had the hardest time liking o getting into this book. Maybe I am too old. Maybe this book was too young for me, But I didn't really like Gracie from page one. She acted awful with her teacher. The way she spoke to him was crazy!! And from that point on, we were on the wrong foot and there was a hard time me even going on.

I tried to like it, but I just couldn't.

I have mixed feelings about Slingshot. I would give it 3 1/2 stars if I could, however.

First, the good things. the story was enjoyable. I wanted to find out what happened, and I did care what happened to the characters. It was they type of book that is easy to read, that is, you can just read and let the story wash over you.

However, there were things that I didn't like about the story.

First, the main character was fairly unlikable. I thought maybe her story arc would make her a more likeable person, and in a way, it kind of does, but not by a whole lot. Her relationship with Wade is a little toxic t00. She's a complete jerk to him but he's in love with her? The last ten percent of the book explains it, but it doesn't really make their friendship (at first, at least) less toxic. Later on the book, they practically ghost each other, even though they're both in love with each other still. I realize that not talking can create tension in a story, but this goes on for far too long to be enjoyable.

Then there's the character's voice. The main character sounds like an adult trying to sound like a 15 year old. She's far too--I'm not sure if introspective is a good word for it. Perhaps if she was a genius it might explain the way she thinks, but there's no indication of that. Gracie also picks up smoking in the book, but there doesn't really seem to be much of a conflict in this (which you might think would occur since she's 15 when the book begins). She's very drama-prone, which some teens are, but it's almost like she examines her drama-riddled life like someone older might.

Gracie also has a crush on her biology teacher. Some kids do, so that fact didn't bother me, but then when she has a hissy-fit because her adult crush is engaged? She way overreacts on this. And it's very cringe-worthy after she falls for Wade and apologizes to the teacher for the way she over-reacted. But she is an unlikable character, so maybe it's in character for her? I'm not sure if she's supposed to be unlikable though.

And the ending. Is this supposed to be a romance? Because romances are supposed to have a happy ever after or happy for now, at least. This book has neither. It has a--maybe happy someday? Ending.

That being said, the book starts out with the main character wearing a witch costume, crying in the bathroom, in December. I found that quite intriguing (and there is a very good explanation for it). I'd love to give this book four stars on enjoyment, but even though the story was enjoyable, there are too many problems for that.

This beautiful book tells the story of a young girl going out of her comfort zone and experiencing new things. Wade and Grace together is hilarious, entertaining and enlightening. Absolutely a must read book!

This book was such a disappointment. After seeing this author being compared to Rainbow Rowell and John Green I had high hopes for a new voice in YA but this book was not for me. The only reason I finished it was so I could post this review.

Slingshot starts with the main character, Gracie, crying because her biology teacher doesn't love her back. This plot point really bothered me and I felt it was unneeded. Gracie claims to be in love with her teacher and when he shuts her down (as he should, because this is completely inappropriate) she lashes out at him. I found Gracie to be an unlikeable character who is rude to pretty much everyone she encounters, at the end of the book she has improved but only in the last few pages. Everything Gracie does throughout the story makes no sense to me, maybe I'm getting old but this 15 year old does the most bizarre things. I found her unrelatable and was frustrated with her actions as I kept reading. Also I think this was supposed to be a romance? It was not particularly romantic if that's what your looking for.

She's mean for no reason and hurts Wade's feelings constantly. I loved Wade and he was the only redeeming thing about Slingshot. He was adorable and he honestly deserved better than Gracie. Some other side characters were alright but none were so great to save this book for me. This depiction of teenagers felt off and unrealistic. The ending was unfulfilling and I just didn't like this book. There were also multiple physical fights which I didn't care for and the overall plot was confusing. I couldn't figure out where the author was going and in the end I was annoyed with Gracie and unhappy with the ending.

Overall, I did not like this book at all and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. There's an inappropriate fixation with a teacher, abuse, physical fights, teen sex and cursing if any of those bother anyone reading this review.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.

I did read some of the reviews prior to submitting my request for this ARC copy of Slingshot hoping I would disagree with the negative commenter. I am sad to say I was just uncomfortable the whole time reading this book and I nearly DNF. Just inappropriate and squirmy. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book for an honest review.

DNF 30%
I tried.
I really tried to finish the book, and I really tried to like it.
The blur is great and we are talking here about a debut author, So I wanted to support her, especially because one day I hope to publish my book and I'd love to have others' support but also I want honesty and here it's me being honest.
There are so many things wrong n the story and I just read 30% of the book, The protagonist is unlikable and as a reader, I need to root for the MC character, I want to be on a journey with her, and in this book, I just want to be away from her. ,
The first scene is shockingly cringed, and a little disturbing a reaction like that from our main character is meant serious problems at least to me.
And the narrative is not the best, there are so many repetitions, on one page I count more than 10 'was", awful choices of words and grammar mistakes.,
I didn't want to agree with other reviewers but I'm afraid they were right.
I'm totally disappointed.

The writing is not my favorite, but I enjoyed the plot. I also enjoyed the characters. They were lovable and I related to them quite a bit.