I'm a little late to the game with this one, it ended up buried at the bottom of my to read list. I actually circled back to it at the recomendation of a friend and despite a rocky start did enjoy it.

Refreshing. intelligent, and witty story! Loved reading from Grace's point of view and I really enjoyed her perspective. I did feel like she was written a little too maturely and that her age didn't always match her words and actions.

I got an ARC of this book.

This book started like a book I would like. It had some tragic backstory, some repressed feelings, some not dealing with your own stuff making you a jerk. You know the stuff I crave. Then the book went downhill.

The title and cover prominently feature a slingshot. Outside of the first 50-100 pages, the slingshot is never mentioned again. The MC unpacks it, then uses it once. That is the basis of the title and cover. That felt like giving the slingshot so much more power than it really had in the story. This of course was a thought I had after I finished the book.

The MC is just incredibly unlikeable and immature. She is 15 for half the book or so. She is convinced that she is soul mates with a teacher. When she is confronted with how they are not going to be together, she spirals. She is also given advice that says she should flash him. She is 15 and is being told that she shouldn’t wear underwear so she can flash her science teacher her genitalia. This is the level this book went to.

She then falls for a guy, but she says repeatedly that she doesn’t. I believe her since I never once felt their connection. She went from “ok, I can sort of see why they are friends” to staring at him with stars in her eyes, but I have no idea why. She also slept with a guy that she thought was awful for no real reason. That character was wild, like he shaved his head and somehow as also in love with her. None of the feelings in this book ever made sense. I kept reading because it was a train wreck. I wanted to see how far it went. And the book gladly kept giving to the point there was an unnecessary break up, getting back together (maybe?), actively graphic child abuse, and then some.

I just don’t understand why this book was really published. It was so flat and didn’t make any sense.

Slingshot by Mercedes Helnwein was a highly-anticipated read for me (after checking out the description on NetGalley) and I'm so sad that I didn't connect with or enjoy it as much as I wish I had.

Grace truly believe that her soulmate is her bio teacher and she cusses him out upon learning that he is engaged to be married. Her angst and bitterness attract new kid, Wade, and the two start a very casual relationship based on sex.

I had such a difficult time actually grasping the ages of these two characters - I kept having to remind myself that they were two young teens, which was difficult considering their nonchalant attitude towards sex. I had some major second-hand embarrassment during the first few chapters that kept getting worse and worse, the longer I read. I can't think of who I'd share this book with and have many more YA options that approach adult topics in a more realistic and healthy manner.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.
2/5 - ⭐ ⭐

SLINGSHOT by Mercedes Helnwein is one of the better YA books that I have read to date. Being that I am a grown adult reading this novel, I have to admit, I had to get.myself back into the teenage mindset to understand a lot of the emotions and thoughts that were going on with our main character throughout the book.

We start with Gracie, who is 15 years old and away at a boarding school where she struggles to fit in with others. She has a crush on her teacher, and she struggles to make deep connections with other people, usually coming off as mean and callous. The character admits it herself throughout the book. So when she starts to develop feelings for someone, it throws her off.

I struggled initially with her bad attitude and generally how dramatic she was about everything that was happening to her, but as I continued to read, I remembered how easy it was to think your world was falling apart when you were 15 and experiencing something hurtful or heartbreaking for the first time. About halfway through the book though, I was enthralled and couldn't put it down. This story added the love-triangle plot, trying to choose between Derek or Wade, battling with heartbreak and mistakes, as well as including friendships that grew along the way. It was nice to see how Gracie's character developed and grew along the way, even though her stubbornness was frustrating at times. And I am a sucker for a good romance, so I was in it til the end to find out what would happen.

Overall, this is a great young adult read for anyone because it is relatable to that age group in so many ways, especially in this generation. I give it a 4 out of 5 star rating.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing me with a copy to review.

This book started out awful from the 15 year old main character Gracie thinking her Biology teacher is the soulmate and cursing at him for being engaged, big yikes and out of left field.

And it only went down from there.
First, the relationships are awful and all of the people are horrible to each other. I can’t think of everything I didn’t like about this story, it’s much faster to list the things I did like: nothing.

There’s a weird discrepancy between the ages of the characters, all high schoolers, but the 15 year olds and the 18 year olds act like they’re the reverse. It creeps me out that an 18 year old guy has sex with a 15 year old girl. It was so off when an 18 year old girl told a 15 year old girl to just seduce her teacher. Nothing that happened made any sense and I don’t know why the author wanted to write the story like this.

I never want to think about this book again.

Such a cute debut novel from Mercedes Helnwein! The author did a wonderful at capturing how loneliness can feel in one's teen years while still infusing a great dose of humor into the story. I can't wait to see what this author writes next!

A very cute coming of age story. I really liked this book, it was very fun as well as an easy read. If you are looking for something that is fun and easy going then this is the one for you.

Personally, for me, YA are hit or miss, and most often it's because it's not developed enough for me. I picked this book up several times, but unfortunately I had a hard time with it. I think it is a good YA story that the younger audience would enjoy as there are some good topics that are touched on and discussed. It was just juvenile for me, but there is some tenderness in this book that teens would definitely enjoy.

The book opens with a student convinced her teacher is her soulmate. I am usually open to entertaining unique romance pairings but I could not make myself read any further. It's possible this isn't a big piece of the story or it gets better, but I would not have requested the book had I known this type of content was included at all.

I was torn on how to rate this one because I really enjoyed the storyline, but the characters were all kind of weird to me. I didn’t feel like they were very age appropriate, and the language in this book is gratuitous for no reason. Overall I thought it was fine, but it’s not one I can see myself reading again.

Slingshot has many characters, and the best part was they were all different in their own ways. No one is perfect in this novel, and I did enjoy that!

This book covers heavy topics and they are well told from a YA ppoint of view. The main character isn't too likeable which waas a bummer for me. I did feel the pacing was a bit off, and the plot had a few holes.

I did however love Wade's charcter!

I would still recommend this book to anyone who likes YA stories!

A fun and comical young adult book that I think most will be able to relate to. It's a good one to read when you need a break from the thrillers and heavier books. Very witty and comical!

This was a quick and engrossing read, and so realistic and messy. Messy and realistic YA contemporaries are my favorite, because teens deserve to make mistakes too, don't they?

Gracie has a chip on her shoulder. She feels like whole world is against her, and even more so when she discovers that her 'soulmate', her teacher, is engaged. Gracie is angry, she can be mean and rude, and she is so convinced that she can't be happy. It takes a while for Gracie to feel that she deserves more, and I enjoyed her journey.

Once more, for people in the back - teens are allowed to make mistakes, and IT'S OKAY IF THEY DO.

I have never DNFed a book so fast. This book opens with a teenage girl trying to convince you that her teacher ( who is twenty years older than her) is her soulmate. Nope, all set with that trope.

I didn't like this book. I found the main character very immature and the way she reacted to her teacher was extreme. Also, many of her actions were immature as well. I found the ending quite abrupt. I was surprised when I turned the page and it was over. I felt that many aspects of the plot were left unfinished.

Slingshot by Mercedes Helnwein is a contemporary YA novel about Grace, a teen who has found herself at a boarding school where she saves a fellow student from a fight with a slingshot. The story is focused on Grace discovering herself and connecting with an unlikely friend.

I went into this book expecting to love it, but it unfortunately fell flat for me. While I think the dialogue was intended to be funny and representative of teenage abrasiveness, it made it hard for me to connect with the main character. I found the first portion of the book to be uncomfortable and made me cringe. I was glad to see some growth in the main character over the course of the second half of the book, but overall this one didn't work for me. I would recommend this book to fans of contemporary YA who enjoy reading about teens making mistakes and working towards discovering themselves.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC of this title which did not affect the contents of my review. All opinions are honest and my own.

This was super blah for me. A bit too cheesy of a romcom. I picked it up and put it back down about a million times and just couldn’t get into it, unfortunately

The cover of this book drew me in, and I quite liked the authors writing style!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Grace, a quirky, likeable-unlikeable, semi-rebellious main character begrdugingly makes friends over the course of her sophomore year at a private boarding school. She has never felt like she fit in. After all, the only reason she is able to afford the school is through her dad's guilt money.

When Wade shows up late, the first week of school, Grace is in heavy like. He is not like anyone she's every met and they become fast friends changing the course of her year.

Coming of age story, mixed with acceptance of one's self and place in the world, this is a perfect book for YA readers who like to root for difficult protagonists who make bad decisions and continue to make their lives difficult for themselves. The ending may not wrap up in a neat bow, but it is the perfect way to end one chapter of Grace's life as she launches into another.