Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I didn’t realize this book was a young adult until I had started it, however it was the perfect amount of intimacy for me. I have read another one of her books when I was in high school and loved it. This book didn’t disappoint. The family relationship dynamic was great.

I really like the concept of this story and the use of modern day socializations. The story kept me wondering if the two mcs would reunite and I loved the way they came together at the end.

This book was a cute teen romance, and the setting of Lolla made me love it even more. An absolutely delightful time.

I have read every single book she has published but this one was just not for me. I didn't love the overall idea of the book to begin with and I liked the characters even less.

The premise of this book was super cool and the beginning hooked me. I definitley feel like it got a bit boring like a lot of contemporary romances but overal super good. I think this was a debut novel? So I’d like to see what the author could do on a sophomore novel because the writing was good!

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for sending me and ARC in exchange for an honest review. I tried this book a couple of times and honestly couldn’t get into the plot. The writing was well done, the story just wasn’t catching my attention. I think I had a difficult time connecting to the characters in the story. It just wasn’t the book for me.

Thanks Again!

The Pick-Up by Miranda Kenneally COMPLETELY took me by surprise! While I thought it would be a "meet-cute" with "insta-love," I did not anticipate the characters to be so relatable and realistic. I appreciated the fast pace and fun setting, and truly see this novel as a love letter to Chicago, and since Chicago is one of my favorite places on the planet, I loved this aspect so, so much.

Mari and TJ's relationship, while only taking place over the course of a weekend, is realistic and complex, and I appreciate the respect afforded to each character by the other. This is a delightful novel and inspires me to read more works from Kenneally as well as include and recommend her novels to my students.

Synopsis:
Meeting a gorgeous guy in a rideshare headed to Lollapalooza is not how Mari expected her Chicago summer to start. She doesn’t believe in dating…but TJ may just change her mind. Can an electric, weekend romance turn into more than just a summer fling?

When Mari hails a Ryde to a music festival, the last thing she expects is for the car to pick up a gorgeous guy along the way. Mari doesn't believe in dating—it can only end with a broken heart. Besides, she's only staying at her dad's house in Chicago for the weekend. How close can you get to a guy in three days?

TJ wants to study art in college, but his family's expectations cast a long shadow over his dreams. When he meets Mari in the back of a rideshare, he feels alive for the first time in a long time.

Mari and TJ enter the festival together and share an electric moment but get separated in a crowd with seemingly no way to find each other. When fate reunites them (with a little help from a viral hashtag), they'll have to decide: was it love at first sight, or the start of nothing more than a weekend fling?

I'll be the first to admit that I didn't think I would like Miranda Kenneally's new YA novel The Pick-Up as much as I did. I've never read a Kenneally book before and didn't know what to expect, but figured this book to be written in typical YA-fashion with characters that aren't quite believable and true-to-life (Don't you find that protagonists in YA novels always seem to have it waaaay more together than we adults do? Who had this extraordinary amount of insight as a teenager? Certainly not me!) So I was pleasantly surprised to not only learn that The Pick-Up is engaging and interesting, but also features relatable characters grappling with real emotions and problems.

The premise of The Pick-Up is pretty simple. Mari, a Tennessee native, is in Chicago for the Lollapalooza festival, while also visiting her dad who now lives on Chicago's Gold Coast. She is headed to the event with her stepsister Sierra when, to save money, they pick-up brothers, TJ and Tyler, in their rideshare. Mari immediately catches TJ's eye, and she has to admit, the attraction is mutual. When the two decide to hang out together at the festival, they have no idea that it is the start of an epic weekend that will change their lives forever.

There's a lot to like about The Pick-Up, but I loved Mari and TJ and their relationship the most. I found both of these characters to be authentic and realistic, and more similar to your typical teenager than most YA books write them to be. But as much as I liked their characters separately, I absolutely adored them together! Their new "insta-love" relationship is cute and quirky, and I loved how they interacted with each other. Although this book takes place over a short period of time - one weekend - Kenneally gives her characters the space they need to get to know one another without ever letting the narrative get dull or insipid. I loved how, along with learning about each other's personalities and preferences, Mari and TJ also later address real issues in their lives, such as dealing with Mari's parents' divorce and her mother's subsequent anger issues, as well as TJ feeling coerced to live the life his parents are choosing for him instead of pursing his dream.

Love aside, The Pick-Up also has a really fun setting and storyline! The book starts out at the high-energy and exciting Lollapalooza festival and later moves on to a variety of famous locales around Chicago. Kenneally brings Chicago to life in this novel, immersing us in the festival, while also exposing us to the sights and sounds of The Windy City. I also loved how she kept the pace of this book moving - it is only 250 pages long - journeying seamlessly from one event to the next without ever losing my interest or confusing me in the process.

Give The Pick-Up a try if you like fast-paced, concise YA novels that feature appealing, original characters and an engaging story that takes place in a vibrant setting.

Miranda writes the best YA romance, and The Pick-Up isn't any different. The romance is charming and sweet, and I love the backdrop of a music festival, a rideshare, and internet fame,

Mari and TJ meet in a rideshare on the way to a music festival. The two have an instant connection, but is love at first sight or a weekend fling?

I really enjoyed this! I think that Miranda Kenneally is the best at Young Adult romance. I’ve read all of her books in one sitting, and this was no exception. This is a quick, fun young adult read!

Thanks to @NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for my ARC!

The idea of taking a rideshare to a music festival and then said car picking up a cute, genuinely nice guy along the way who is also going to the same concert and in a matter of minutes you have a connection? I mean, that really appealed to me as a story. (And why do I never have meet cutes on public/shared transportation?) But that's how the alternating points-of-view between Mari and TJ start and I was immediately intrigued to see how this romance would play out.

Since Mari is in Chicago visiting her dad for the weekend, she and TJ only have three days to get to know one another. What surprised me was that there was a lot more going on with both Mari and TJ other than a fun weekend of listening to music and kissing (I mean, that was inevitable!). For Mari, there's a lot of drama and issues going on at home with her parents and for TJ, he's struggling to find the confidence to be himself as his family's expectations weigh on him.

Because there was quite a few things going on, I expected the book to be much longer in order to address and develop these themes more deeply. But at only 250 pages, I didn't think that was enough time to really dig into the romance (although the chemistry was certainly there!) or each of the characters and what they were experiencing. Don't get me wrong, I loved the concept of the book and I certainly didn't mind that it took place over the course of a three-day weekend, but I did feel that we as readers needed more time with Mari and TJ to feel thoroughly invested.

This was so cute. I loved their Insta love and how they connected over music so quickly. It uses elements like Twitter and seems very relevant for todays teen!

Another good YA contemporary from Miranda Kenneally! I definitely recommend trying it!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

An interesting story idea but the characters’ relationships felt forced and the romance was insta-love. The book would have worked better if there was less drama in the characters' backstories.

Oh my, this read was very fun. I didn’t want to put it down from the very beginning! A great beach-read as well.

Miranda Kenneally never ever disappoints and I love this one as much as I've loved every single other book she has written.

We all love a romance story that begins in a taxi ride (or a RYDE, in this case). Mara's got a whole lot of baggage, with her toxic mother up her case, so she decides to join her step-sister to a music festival to have a good time and get her mind off of things. When they grab a RYDE, Mara meets super-cute TJ😍 TJ on the other hand, has got some issues of his own, with his parents not supporting his passion of going into art in college. Mara and TJ end up connecting on that RYDE and even enter the music festival together. They experience a lot of chaos when it comes to losing each other in the audience, having twitter help them find each other again, and wondering whether real feelings are occurring or if this is all just a weekend fling. Definitely an interesting read! Never read anything like this before!

overall a quick, light read — managed to speed through this in just a few hours. this is like the kind of tv episode you put on in the background kind of breezy. not super attached to any of the characters but if this were not a stand-alone i would feel like i was missing some attachment to the plot.

This book was a bit of a roller coaster of emotions, but in a good way. I loved the setting of Chicago and Lollapalooza. It made wet want to go back to Chicago and explore more of the city.

Mari was a special character. While the book took place over a long weekend, we learned so much about her and her complicated life. Her divorced parents, the new love in her dad's life, what caused the break, how her mom is dealing (or not) with everything, what's going on in her life back home in TN, just to name a few.

TJ was complex in his own way. The second son with his future planned, but not what he wanted. The boy with the older brother he idolized only to have the veil taken down.

Mari & TJ meeting was by chance, but then they lost each other at Lollapalooza only to have a hashtag help them find each other again that night (Friday). Then they spent a wild Saturday together wandering around Chicago. I loved going on the adventure with them and I think other readers will too. Most of all I enjoyed the moments where the characters really opened up and told their truths. At times it was sad, but it helped them grow and made the story progress nicely.