Oh my gosh. This book was everything light and fluffy and I loved it!! It was totally staged like our beloved 80s/90s teen rom coms and it was PERFECT! The displays of romance even rivaled the bleacher scene in 10 Things I Hate About You. I’m a sucker for enemies turned lover tropes, and Quindlen did NOT disappoint. Plus, adding lesbians, sports, and confirmation that cheerleading IS a sport was perfect. Just the light hearted, endearing read we all need.

I fell hard for this YA romance book. Scottie and Irene are acquaintances who devolve into enemies when Irene has Scottie's car towed during a party. When their car woes escalate with a small fender-bender, Scottie's parents make her give Irene a ride to and from school. As Scottie continues to pine for her ex-girlfriend, she realizes that Irene's popularity and influence can provide the girls' basketball team with some much-needed hype. One of my favorite parts of this story is Scottie's strong bond with her family. So often YA novels show aloof parents, parents who reject their LGBTQIA+ children, or teens who attempt to solve problems without their families. The enduring love and support of the Zajacs is heartwarming.

Will Scotie jump at the chance to rekindle the flame with her ex? Is Irene really who Scottie thinks she is? Who will be dubbed as Student Athlete of the Year? Check out this book when it releases in April 2021!

A fantastic and solid queer ya read. While the plot was a bit predictable and the pacing took a bit to get into, She Drives Me Crazy is a sweet and realistic representation of high school angst, friendship, and love. I especially appreciated the way the relationship between Scottie and Tally was portrayed, as it was incredibly realistic and relatable. Irene is undoubtedly the character I was rooting for the most, but as a narrator Scottie wasn't an issue - just not as engaging as a personality as Irene was.

I absolutely adored Kelly's Late to the Party earlier this year. It's easily one of my top reads of 2020, so I was completely overjoyed when I was given an advance copy of She Drives Me Crazy to read and review ahead of the April 2021 release date! Kelly's follow-up is a fun, campy romantic comedy that features tons of my favorite things: diverse characters, queer romance, enemies to lovers, fake dating, there's-only-one-bed, romance during the holidays, and - best of all, for the rom-com lovers - a character and story that weaves classic rom-coms into casual conversation and, eventually, her love life.

SDMC follows Scottie, a high-school senior basketball player still reeling after breaking up with her ex, Tally, who transferred to the rival high school and their basketball team. After a rough game against their rival team and Tally for the first time, Scottie ends up ramming into head cheerleader Irene's car, her literal enemy. This situation forces the two to end up carpooling with each other, but when Scottie overhears that Irene is also gay and that her cheerleading career is at risk because of the accident, she approaches Irene with a plan: fake-date so she can get the money from Scottie that she needs to pay for damages, and avoid getting a job so she can keep cheerleading, while Scottie can make Tally jealous. A simple plan - if only they can stick to it!

As per Kelly's writing so far, this book comes disguised as light-hearted fare but actually delves into a lot of interesting and emotional topics. The novel explores girls' sports and being female athletes, deftly weaves through the age-old debate of cheerleading as a sport, ducks into toxic relationships, and also manages to have hefty and important conversations on self-love, relationship grief, healing, and finding yourself.

That being said, there's also plenty of the light, fun stuff! Plenty of snark and banter, darling side characters (I adore Honey-Belle and Danielle both), and families who are really tight-knit. Seriously, it's so refreshing to read queer YA where any family drama isn't centered around their kid's queerness! Amazing! IT CAN BE DONE!

Scottie and Irene are wonderful characters, and the book does a great job emphasizing how opening up to others really and truly lets you be seen, and how discussion and communication are actually useful tools, thank you very much! All in all, this book is wonderful and fun and surprisingly heart-warming, and if it's not already on your radar, it should be.

I loved Late to the Party so when I saw Kelly Quindlen had another book coming out I jumped and the chance to read and review it and it did not disappoint. This book was cute and real. I loved the characters. The were all such real people people who I could imagine myself being friends with. The relationships felt authentic. The plot kept me interested the whole time and it never felt to long or drawn out. I honestly can't think of a bad thing to say about this book.

This book was so much fun to read. I loved how Scottie and Irene's relationship evolved as they got to know each other. There were some great moments in this book of Scottie dealing with a past relationship and the scars it left her but also leaning on her family and friends. I am not a sports lover, but I love how Kelly Quindlen was able to write about basketball game events and still make me root for Scottie's team. This was a fun, easy read, perfect for if you want to read a quick book that is still entertaining.

This was a quick, easy, and fun read! Kelly Quindlen really knows how to create characters that are beautifully flawed; I loved Scottie and Irene! I wish that more time was spent on fleshing out their relationship because their scenes together were my favorite of the book.

3.5! This was super cute and it’s exactly what I wanted. I thought some of the pacing was super weird which would pull me out of the story because I had to figure out where I was but otherwise this was great.

If YA romance are 'popcorn novels' in the way that superhero blockbusters are 'popcorn movies', then this is the Garrett's Popcorn of popcorn novels. It's a novel that really got me back into wanting to read and finish novels -- something that was a struggle this year. Irene is perfect -- exactly what you want in a rivals-to-lovers story: strong and proud and misunderstood. Scottie is adorable and thick, the perfect protagonist for a romance. And having so much of it focus on her coming to terms with and being forced to reckon with what her first whirlwind romance turned her into was so important. And she had to do the work! It wasn't a magical snap of the fingers or singular gesture that brought about the change. It was messy and hard and great journey to follow.

If all romance -- not to mention queer romance -- was written this well, we would all be richer as readers.

Please make more books like this. This is one of the best books I have ever read and I need more. Any romance trope is immediately improved with a queer romance.
I loved the writing, the banter between the characters, the character development of even the minor characters, and the plot of the story. I cannot recommend this book enough, and I cannot wait for it to be published so that I can recommend it to my friends and to patrons at the library.
Please make more queer romance novels like this!!!

This was so freaking adorable!! Scottie and Irene had a lovely enemies-to-lovers story, complete with fake dating and there's only one bed. I loved watching them fall for each other and the drama that ensued. When this comes out, I will be recommending it to everyone!

This book was a great YA romance! I love seeing classics tropes with LGBT+ characters. Irene and Scottie are brought into the classic trope of fake dating to help Scottie make her ex-girlfriend jealous. Not to mention that Irene is a cheerleader who helps Scottie’s basketball team get better. Their relationship is anything but perfect, yet it’s one that is full of banter and flirting. This was a perfect romance YA that many people can connect with and love like I did.

My heart! My tiny lesbian heart has grown three sizes from reading this! I loved everything about this book. Quindlen out did herself with this book! I loved every second of reading it.
I am a sucker for enemies to loves stories and she did it so perfectly. There was no silly prior crush this devolved so naturally I could easily see this happening. Scottie and Irene's feud seems so genuine and one that is seen commonly in high school. Even the way the snark and quip at each other felt genuine.
I also really loved the discussion of brake up in this book. The way her previous break up destroyed Scottie in such a real and visceral way was so relatable. Her inability to really find herself again after and her constant back and forth was just so real it made me want to reach into this book and giver her hug and a sisterly type talk.
Also the family aspect of this book was out standing! It is so rare to find a YA book with a queer main character where all of thr family is do lovely and accepting. Scottie's sisters were a real highlight for me just seeing how well written their talks were. Just the way Scottie interacted with her whole family brought a smile to my face.
I could spend hours just rambling about everything that I loves about this book but all you really need to know is its amazing! If you want to enjoy a cute ya romance this is the one for you.

She Drives Me Crazy is just what need! This is more than a young adult sports romance. Kelley Quindlen gives us a queer love story where MULTIPLE girls of color come out on top.
Scottie is a brokenhearted basketball player with one goal in mind, and it's off the court. Enter the popular cheerleader and the classic fake-dating trope but make it gay.
The only criticism I have is that the emotional intelligence of theses girls, especially Scottie, is off the charts for 17 year olds. It almost took me out of the story.
Ps. Give Honey-belle her own book!

This book was really fun! It's a classic plot that's been redone for queer characters and it works really well. I had such a good time reading it.

4.5 Stars. This was a warm and fuzzy read, with characters that actually behaved like real humans do. Irene and Scottie have great chemistry and I was rooting for them through all of the ups and downs. I loved the supporting characters - Scottie's family was amazing and I am eagerly hoping and expecting for a spin-off all about Honey-Belle. While there wasn't anything groundbreaking about it, it serves for a perfect literary pick-me-up in the form of a sweet queer romance.

This story is a quintessential ya rom-com but make it queer. Had all the best tropes (fake dating, rivals to lovers) and while this is a pretty lighthearted read it had enough substance to make it feel worth wild. One of the best things is when queer stories aren't just about coming out, but actually shares the lived experience of being a queer teen- and the heartache, and joy, and confusion that comes with that.

This rating does not come as a shock to anyone. I knew I was going to love this book when I first read the synopsis and seen the cover. And It was everything it said it was going to be and then some.
'She Drives Me Crazy' is a book about first love, friendship and healing from heartbreak.
There's a quote in the book; "Before you can worry about who's in your passenger seat, you have to learn to drive yourself." That quote really rounded out what I felt like this book was about. It was so silly and so much fun but it also felt like an incredibly heart felt love letter to being young and learning what it is to be in love and to love yourself. Kelly Quindlen has this way of writing queer YA books that makes me feel incredibly seen even now as an adult. If you're looking for a sappy YA sports romance, this book is literally perfect for you.

This was a fun and cheesy romp of a book, very much like the 80’s movies that inspired it. Think a more modern and queer Say Anything or Breakfast Club. Scottie, a high school basketball player on a mediocre team, is struggling to regain her confidence after her ex girlfriend dumped her. The last person she expects to help is Irene, a queen bee cheerleader who bullied her last year. But when the two collide, literally, in the school parking lot, a carpool arrangement turns into a fake dating scheme. In exchange for covering Irene’s car insurance deductible, Scottie and Irene will pretend to date, both to make Scottie’s ex jealous and to keep the cheerleaders coming to the girl’s basketball games. Hijinks ensue.

I was very nearly deterred by how sporty this book was. I am not a sports person in any way, shape, or form, and the basketball scenes went over my head throughout the book. However, I’m really glad I stuck it out. Quindlen has written a girl-powered modern romcom about female athletes, both the players on the court and the dancers cheering them on. It was nice to see Scottie grow to appreciate and respect more traditionally feminine forms of athletics. Indeed, Scottie starts the book with a lot of prejudices about girly girls that get dismantled throughout the book.

But more important than the girl-power was the charming sense of humor that carried each scene. This book is snarky and fun, brimming with fresh and oft-insulting jokes that felt true to life. The cast of characters—and there were a lot—all had their own quirks and voices that made this book a pleasure to read. I appreciated that the author included so many diverse characters in her book, since we absolutely need more queer POC represented in teen literature. It was all very cutesy and mushy and fun; again, total 80’s movie inspo.

If I had one gripe at the end, it’s that some of the interactions between Scottie and her family felt... forced. I was not raised in a big family with sisters, but I found some of the key scenes with the protagonist and her family a little too saccharine to fit in with the snarky tone of the rest of the book. It took me out of the moment here and there. Still, I enjoyed this read over all. It’s always a joy to see fun, trope-y media in a queer fashion.

This book is the perfect romcom ya during the pandemic. The characters are great! None of the friends were forgettable as they all stood out as individuals. I loved the enemies to lovers plot between Scottie and Irene. It's definitely a book that features underdogs and it's so endearingly quirky.