Ok I had very mixed feelings about this book. On one hand I really disliked Grace, the main character and thought the book was a mild train wreck. But on the other hand, it was pretty entertaining and I couldn’t stop reading it. I thought Grace was just a super immature and negative person and I really didn’t like her at all. But at least she had some character growth by the end of the book? Her relationship with Wade in the beginning was just…I don’t even know how that happened. Also Wade has a serious anger management problem and we find out why near the end but it’s still no excuse.

Oh how I enjoyed this quirky boarding school novel!! It has just the right amount of scandal, and the main character- despite being unliked by her peers- is just the right amount of "outcast." The love she experiences is earth-shattering first love; and I think teens will relate to that hardcore!

This book was everything I needed at the moment. I have to admit I was not expecting to like it as much as I did. Such a light and easy read and the characters... I just love them. Definitely recommend this one.

I love an unlikeable main character. Gracie, the MC of Slingshot, was definitely sometimes that. And that wasn't because of any flaw of the author's, but because Gracie was a truly convincingly troubled 15-year-old girl. Mercedes Helnwein's writing was very funny, raw, and realistic, and made me feel things right along with Gracie. I felt nostalgic and like I was going through my first heartbreak again with her. This book also made me laugh out loud multiple times. Being inside Gracie's head was so angsty and frustrating at times, but also hilarious. I loved the side characters and how they are unpredictable and multi-dimensional, kind of like... actual, real people. And I appreciated how Gracie learned to not judge and assume things about people so much. This is such a classically YA book in how the MC really learns a lot about life and herself. Bottom line: wonderful writing, funny, and a very raw read.

Slingshot follows Grace, a fifteen years old girl who isn't the sweetest person. She's very rude and closed off so when Wade comes along and tries to be her friend after she rescued him by using her slingshot against a bully, she pushes him away. Until she doesn't and slowly, Wade becomes a big part of her life. That boy was so sweet and amazing, I just wanted everything good to happen to him because he deserved it... He clearly was the better person of the two and I loved him. Also when something was revealed about his family situation, I was so angry and sad for him. Grace has also a unique family situation as her father has another family that comes first and doesn't know about her and her mom (who pretends like everything is okay). Overall, I liked it but it wasn't perfect.

I feel like one of the problem some people have with this book was the age of the main character and the things she did at that age (having casual sex) and I agree with those reviewers for the most part. When I read, I usually imagine characters a little older than they actually are especially when they're fifteen so it didn't really bother me while I was reading. It's only after that it made me think.

There was something else that bothered me and it was the ending! It wasn't satisfying and I felt like it was missing another chapter or an epilogue where Wade and Grace would meet again. I also hated that they spent months without talking. I guess the author chose not to to make it realistic but come onnnn, I wanted more.

(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a contemporary YA novel. The main character, Gracie, of this novel was very unlikeable, swore a ton, and wasn't nice to others. She is delusional in her thinking and made what I read of this novel awful. I made it about 30% through and was done with the swearing and horrible treatment of others, like Wade. Not for me. Loves the cover though!

This book started slow for me but picked up toward the middle and I wound up enjoying it. It started with Gracie being completely miserable and went on like that for a good third of the book. “High school misfit” is not really a preferred genre for me. I liked the romance aspect, which felt true to teenage drama. I liked Gracie’s friendship with Beth and her interactions with Anju and Georgina. Gracie was a weird girl but the book was well-written and interesting.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this copy of the book. Any opinions I have expressed here are my own.

Yeah, I didn’t like it. I feel like a lot of authors lately are trying to normalize abusive relationships/behaviors, romanticize them. And that’s what really happened here. The main character is awful and unlikeable. And I find it to be super important to be able to connect with the main character.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.
This comes out : 27 April 2021

This book was something I was looking forward to a lot. Unfortunately, my expectations were much better than this book actually was.

I have a lot of issues with this book, one of the main ones is that it is for teens and it contains a very unhealthy, abusive relationship that is passed off as not much or "okay to do".

I don't care that the abuser is a woman or a girl in this instance, it is not okay and as a teen everyone is not as mature as to understand that this is abusive, unhealthy and not a game to be playing. Furthermore it promotes it as a joke and the abuser is our main character. YES OUR MAIN CHARACTER.

So this goes as follow:

Grace our main character is fifteen, I want you to keep that in mind while you read this because she acts like 5 or 17 nothing in between, starts the book by crying because she had a crush on a teacher who she discovers is now engage. (This is so, like I can't compute of course he is not interested in you, you are a minor: HEY if a teacher is interested in you that's illegal, he or she is an adult you are a kid). Like this girl was for sure that they were meant to be and soulmates, like her grasp on reality is seriously damaged. She ends up insulting the fiancée to her face, mind you and then telling the teacher he is doing nothing with his life and blah blah blah... She keeps saying how mature she is, only is interested in men (which girl you are a teen ew) and acts out in that teacher's class now as a way to cope ?!! Again she is 15, she then says that in a couple of years they'll be together, but like she still wants a relationship with a 30 years old man. In her head she even talks about how the broke up , her and the teacher, she is seriously stuck in that delusion of hers. This girl needs psychological help, this is not okay. She also ends up bullying her roommate for no reason, like no reason at all. She also hates another girl (Anju) because she briefly had a crush on Wade, slut shaming her and humiliating her in front of everyone. She like only makes up with that girl because they like the same band ??? After this girl called her out on how she is basically abusing Wade. Also there is this poor random older girl who feels emotionally forced to share deeply personal things with Grace, because Grace see's her as perfect and decides that she's a role model even though this girl introduced her to smoking, once again she is 15.

Any who, other stuff happens, One guy is bullying Wade, honestly don't care that much about the names, she proceeds to save Wade, by shooting her Derek with a slingshot, mind you it could potentially permanently damage someone in real life, and then saying it was nothing and not letting him sit at lunch with her. In this novel she is basically also emotionally abusing him the whole time, being extremely jealous of his friendship with Anju, and using it to emotionally manipulate and control him. Also, doing actions in front of everyone just to hurt him. She also, got Wade's skateboard taken away and threw cereal with milk at him because "I am so mature but cannot talk about emotions" when they broke up. (And she only regretted the skateboard incident at the end BTW)

And as if this was not enough already, thankfully they don't get back together, but everyone is no longer in contact, Wade=ignores everyone and Grace=no longer interacts with Georgina.

Overall, I hated it, I do not understand how this was even approved as a YA book, because to me it is not appropriate for the age range and it could be damaging to some teens who will think this is okay because the main character never apologizes and only really feels bad about the skateboard and not all the people she abused, bullied and hurt.

Extremely disappointed by this beautiful cover.
unfortunately, 1/5 stars

Bookarina

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This seemed like a promising, fluffy teen plot but I was disappointed in the result. I felt like Grace never grew from her experiences throughout the book and she didn’t act her age in MANY of the situations throughout the book. I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more if the book followed Wade for the main character rather than Grace. The majority of the book, I was wondering what the plot/purpose was and also felt like it was dragging because of this. It definitely could have ended after parent’s weekend, everything after that felt unnecessary. Lastly, I feel like the title could be changed since a slingshot is mentioned very briefly and out of nowhere. A slingshot does not have a lasting impact on the plot or the relationship.

A captivating and oft times troublesome emotionally novel of teen love, angst, insecurities, and life. It is a very compelling novel cover to cover.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 Stars!

Slingshot is an adorably hilarious coming of age tale about Gracie, who is just trying to survive high school (boarding school!). Helnwein does a wonderful job of creating a true-to-life account of what's it's like to be a teenager, the emotions, the drama, and the friendships. Without providing too many spoilers, this book really pulled me back to high school feelings. Everything was a lot; there were so many emotions and everything was the absolute end of the world - Helnwein captures that perfectly. The only reason I don't give this book 5 stars was Gracie's relationship with Wade - at times it felt incredibly manipulative and full of jealousy. Overall it's a good book.

This book was well written and captured my attention. It is easy for any girl/woman to relate to Gracie, for we all experience our first true love at some point in our lives. The love story was heartbreaking, and i could easily empathize with the characters. However, there was a decent amount of explicit content in which I was not expecting. I was uncomfortable at times, but understood the necessity of the content to allow the reader to feel completely immersed within the story.

Teen angst is such a powerful thing, and there are so many dumb decisions made during those years. Slingshot really conveys these feelings. We follow Grace in her sophomore year at a boarding school, where due to one incident, meets Wade. There are plenty of feelings of frustration at characters, but that's what you should feel in a book about teenagers.

This book will remind you of how awkward it was to be a teenager attempting to navigate social circles and strong emotions. It follows a teenager at boarding school as she learns to deal with love and friendship while not inviting people to truly understand her. Overall a good read, but a bit long in the middle. There are references to sex, drugs, and underage drinking so this may not be an appropriate choice for a teenager.

What a poignant tale of teenage discovery and growth. I love this book because everyone is flawed and that is the reality of life. We sometimes get so wrapped up in our escapism that when things aren't perfect we revolt. This was an amazing book about discovery, awareness, and development, and I was deeply moved with the characters and how genuine they were. A beautiful book.

A great story about being a teenager and how we learn to deal with issues like love, family, growing up. At that point in time being an adult feels like it will be a long time away, but when looking back it feels like a long time ago. Making friends and falling in love for the first time and not knowing if it truly is or if true love even exists. Really enjoyed this story and loved Wade's character. Hopefully there will be a follow up story for Wade and Gracie.

Slingshot was a great YA read!

Its pretty great when one kid sees another's struggle and sticks up for them. And that's where the slingshot comes into play... Grace pegs the bully with her slingshot and Wade is the lucky one who gets away. The two become friends, but there is so much more to their relationship than just casual friends. Grace gets him and she just might be able to save him from himself, not just the bullies.

I am not remotely prudish but this book is definitely being marketed in the wrong age bracket. Yes, I know this is how a lot of high schoolers act and think, and I'm aware that realism is a good thing generally, but this is not a young adult book.

So many contemporary romances (for any age group, honestly) seem to be hyperfocused on pushing the envelope and being as edgy and problematic as they can possibly get by with. This one is no different. Trigger warnings for graphic sexual content and graphic language (again, I am not remotely prudish but c**t in any context is triggering for me and so I will include this trigger warning).

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is not my typical read, probably because I am an adult and my years of teen angst are long gone. But there is one quality that kept me reading: the author, Mercedes Helnwein. Her use of language is (by all accounts) extremely clever. The vocabulary, the wit, the sometimes geeky science analogies, made it unable for me to put the book down.

This story follows Grace during her sophomore year at boarding school. Little does she know that a swift shot of her slingshot, would lead to a transformation– breaking away from the lonely, crushing on biology teacher, Stephen King reading girl. Filled with all the sophomore year drama; falling in love, exploring sexuality, friendships, awkwardness, and the like, Grace experiences any and every emotion a teenager grapples with as they learn who they are and what they really want from life.

There are times in the novel where I just wanted to scream at the characters because of their decisions; probably because I see where and what will happen to them if they keep on that path. But really, this book is not written for me. I don’t think I am the main cliental. As a school librarian, I would suggest it to my high school students if they were interested in realistic fiction. I think this story is more than just the emotional turmoil of being a teen. It’s more of a reflection on how having those emotions and feelings is not uncommon and how decisions shape who you become; also that you have no control over who your family is, but how you choose to overcome it.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for giving the opportunity to access this ARC. I really enjoyed it and look forward to adding it to my library when it is released!