"Wren Martin Ruins It All" is a blend of humor and compassion. Its witty narrative explores the challenges of love as an asexual teen. I enjoyed this book, but felt it could be very slow in places.

<b>My heart sinks just a bit.
Yeah, that problem is still there, that anxiety chewing on my heart from the inside.
"I don't know," I confess. "I guess I'll just have to-"
"Trust that if he really likes the real you, it means accepting every part of you?"
"—die."</b>

do you love the tropes inherent in miraculous ladybug, where each alter ego is dating another alter ego and they're all having angst about it? do you sometimes pick a guy to hate just because he inconvenienced you one time? is your cold, dead heart bitter against romance novels?

<b> I'm sitting with the chickens again, the SAT book open on a milk crate next to me, when I feel my phone vibrate. I try not to look at my phone when I'm hanging out with them — I feel like chicken-based wisdom is by nature anti-technology — but one of the lavender Orpingtons has been sitting in my lap for the better part of a half hour, and it's starting to become a hostage situation.</b>

then you need to pick up Wren Martin Ruins It All. just an absolutely silly romp with sleight of hand so good - we all know the twist, guys, if you read the summary you KNOW where this is ending up - that i found myself totally blindsided by the SECOND twist.

<b>I pick at the buffet table like a vulture on a corpse, eyeing the shrimp platter with undue consideration so I can pretend that I don't notice Ryan's cousin Caleb hovering at my elbow.
I don't know why he thinks I'm cool when no one else in the world does. I'm not sure how to make him stop either.
"Do you watch anime?" Caleb asks, his hovering intensifying.
"No," I lie.</b>

this was also just one of the most authentic depictions of teen friendships, family dynamics, and teacher dynamics i've ever read. wren skips 3rd period because the office ladies he TAs for just let him do whatever. he gets the shovel talk and it takes him seven business days to figure out that's what it was. he steals his best friends phone and then gets caught because she's stealing his. he works the shitty night shift at a holiday inn. it's just SCRUMPTIOUS.

and don't think you're immune from feelings, here, either. every once in a while you get hit with emotion so raw it hurts, and grief is actually the undercurrent holding the whole story together - how to move on after you've already moved on, how to keep living your life when you've already gotten past the immediate aftershock of loss and then the one after that, too.

<b>It's different, without my mom. Kinda like sitting next to an empty chair, waiting for someone to come sit down, but they never do. You don't mention it-what's there to say about an empty chair?-but you don't put the chair away either. You just sit with it. I guess a lot about losing someone is just sitting with it. There's not much else you can do.</b>

my bar for texting sections in books is HIGH, y'all. my suspension of disbelief has been ruined one too many times by a stray ROTFL from a supposed 16 y/o in an otherwise well written novel. and wren is just - truly one of the top five times i've ever seen myself in a protagonist. every time he is mildly distraught, he threatens to change his name and become a monk. god. he's so me it hurts.

<i>I received an ARC from Peachtree Teen and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

While I appreciate the YA romance genre, this book does not adequately frame the nature of its romance conflict beyond the standard plot-point of communication misunderstanding. It could have been significantly improved, particularly as a source of conflict beyond internal monologue of one character projected onto another.
Beyond this detractor, the book reads well enough although I do not find it to be compelling and fast paced enough given the lack of motivation of the main character (which is purposefully displayed) that leaks into the writing.

Wren Martin Ruins it all is everything i hoped it was and more, Wren Martin as a protagonist is compelling, dramatic and witty and a bit clueless to be honest but he's also very lovable and relatable. I really enjoyed the prose and it was such a fun ride and a breeze of fresh air of a read.
I keep getting remind of Simon vs the homo sapiens agenda which is one of my favorite book of all time but I also loved all the difference and the representation . The ace rep was honestly so good.
Definitely recommend this funny, quick and addictive read

Summary
Now that Wren Martin is student council president (on a technicality, but hey, it counts) he’s going to fix Rapture High. His first order of business: abolish the school’s annual Valentine’s Day dance, a drain on the school’s resources and general social nightmare—especially when you’re asexual.

His greatest opponent: Leo Reyes, vice president and all-around annoyingly perfect student. Leo has a solution to Wren’s budget problem—a sponsorship from Buddy, the anonymous “not a dating” app sweeping the nation. Now instead of a danceless senior year, Wren is in charge of the biggest dance Rapture High has ever seen. He’s even secretly signed up for the app. For research, of course.

But when Wren develops capital F-Feelings for his anonymous match, things spiral out of control. Wren decided a long time ago that dating while asexual wasn’t worth the hassle. With the big night rapidly approaching, he isn’t sure what will kill him first: the dance, his relationship drama, or the growing realization that Leo’s perfect life might not be so perfect after all.

In an unforgettably quippy and endearingly chaotic voice, narrator Wren Martin explores the complexities of falling in love while asexual.

WOWIE WOW WOW!

I am in love with this book. These characters captured my heart with their stellar & charming banter.

If you are looking for a character driven book, with a sarcastic & Asexual MMC who anonymously falls for someone online…then look no further!!

I appreciate the consideration of the topics/themes in the book. It is obviously the author wrote with caution & authenticity. Even with some darker tones in the plot, the story remains uplifting.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, & to NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review!

4.5/5 (rounded up to 5)

CW: death of a parent (recounted), grief, cancer, acephobia

I would like to thank NetGalley and Peachtree for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Wren Martin is just your average teen who wants to abolish his high school’s biggest dance of the year. No big deal. And now that he’s student council president (by a technicality, but that doesn’t matter), he can finally set his goals into motion. However, his vice president and rival, Leo Reyes, is able to come up with a sponsorship from one of the biggest social media apps, Buddy, to help fund dance. However, as he secretly signs up for the app and is tasked with planning the dance, feelings blur towards Leo and the anonymous user he’s speaking to on Buddy, Wren has to figure out what he wants and put himself out there to fall in love while asexual.

Wren Martin Ruins It All is an interesting book because of the unique dilemma DeWitt places the book in. While the plot is kind of standard in the YA genre and thus a bit predictable, Wren’s distinct narrative voice helps provide a unique take on the typical plot as readers go through the book. Even if the plot is mostly predictable (though the plot twist near the end of the book had me surprised), DeWitt’s execution was very well done.

Another thing I liked about this book is the effort DeWitt puts into character development. By far, Wren has gone through a solid character development throughout the book. Not only does he learn what it means to fall in love while asexual, he also manages to probably address his past and learn to step outside of his comfort zone when it comes time to graduate. Adding to that by having to connect with Leo over their similar struggles, you get a well-rounded character development for our main character, Wren.

If you’re a reader looking for a YA book that’s similar to Love, Simon by Becky Albertalli, I would absolutely recommend giving Wren Martin Ruins It All a read.

Positively screaming right now. bouncing off the walls, even!!

Wren Martin Ruins It All is such a funny, heartfelt, and an incredibly frustrating book to read (for all the good reasons). The writing is just amazing, I actually loved Wren's voice! Normally I'd roll my eyes and try to push through a sitcom-y character narration, but Wren has that chaotic loser dork energy that quickly made me love him from the opening scene. What a guy (he's literally me). I like how genuine he sounds, how I'm able to understand him as a person, and he's just really randomly funny. I did laugh out loud while reading, and it's very embarrassing when your parents are literally right there watching the news on unfortunate events.

Also: ASEXUAL MALE MC!!! I love him, he's so true about everything ace (even though my personal preferences of sex-related things is very complicated) and he's so right! It's nice seeing an ace guy being so casual about it and accepting that part of himself. I can't speak for all ace people, but it hit so close to home when he opened up about his asexuality to his Buddy because same, being ace is usually a deal-breaker in a relationship, what with the pressure to reproduce and keep your relationship intact. I'm just so happy to see casual ace representation like this :)

I had a problem with the time skips, they were too abrupt; I think the entire novel's timeline spanned from september? to february, and that's not really long but the months passed by too quickly to process. In one chapter they'd be introducing the idea of a halloween dance, and in the next, Wren is already in the halloween dance. My point is that time passes too quickly between chapters, and I understand that the big night is the Dance, but I'd love to see some buildup toward the other smaller events.

I love the supporting cast-Archer is my favourite himbo, Maggie's the Jade West girl of the group, Ryan's such a weird friend to have (but I thought she was a little passive and mean at times, but I still love her). I'm such a big fan of Ryan's victorian (?) goth spider dress!!! And her cute pompom/spider earrings!! What an icon.

And the plot- oh the plot was thickenings... Things were so messy and frustrating and joyful in the most fun way possible (because I like internal conflict), and my boy Wren is the most oblivious one ever, but if I weren't an omnipotent god hidden behind a wall of words, I'd definitely be making the same decisions and avoiding the very obvious signs (but I wouldn't be smart enough to fix everything before school ended).

Big TW though for loss of family member (past), cancer, grief, and terminal illness.

This book had be giggling, kicking my feet, screaming internally, tearing up, and physically trying to tear my ears off. Highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley, for this ARC!

I really enjoyed this latest queer YA #ownvoices romantic comedy by Amanda DeWitt that features an Ace teen boy who hates nothing more than school dances and ends up becoming Student Council President alongside his nemesis, Leo.

Forced to work together to plan a series of events in order to help raise money to fix the drama stage, Leo and Wren find themselves learning to appreciate each other in a new light. There's also an element of You've got mail where both boys match on an anonymous 'friend' app. Mistaken identities abound in this story full of grief, friendship and new love.

Perfect for fans of Pride and Prejudice and great on audio narrated by Mark Sanderlin. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

CW: death of a parent from cancer, sibling with cancer

I really wanted to like this book but I had such a hard time getting into it. Clearly, many other readers liked it but it wasn’t for me. I liked the writing style and thought the cover was cute. I just had a difficult time staying interested in the story. I’d still recommend others give it a shot.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Screaming, crying, throwing up, (Positive) I loved this book, it was simple and easy to read which was great. Wren's voice throughout the novel was genuinely amazing. I loved how the relationships were portrayed between Leo and Wren and overall just had a very good time with the book.

I loved this book! While it was extremely predictable, I had a blast reading this. I enjoyed this more than Aces Wild, mainly because Wren felt more like a real person than Jack (don’t look at my rating for that book, my rating system changes with the seasons).

The playful banted between Wren and his cohort was really funny and heart-warming. Wren is a grumpy sarcastic 17yo who is going through some serious shit. His disdain for Leo is over the top but I enjoyed watching Wren reel in his behaviour as the book went on.

Veeeeery slow, slow burn, which left me wanting more at the end.

I could see the plot twist coming a mile away but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment for the book.

I thought Wren’s asexuality was handled really casually, just like his obvious attraction to boys. It was nice to have an ace MC just existing and crushing on boys without having to come out as ace or navigate realising he’s ace.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wren Martin is a senior at Rapture High in a coastal Florida panhandle town. He’s stagnated since the death of his mother two years ago, eschewing friendships and planning for his future because he’s afraid to be disappointed. Wren wants to help the underdogs in the world, because he considers himself an underdog, of sorts, as an asexual teen boy. While he would like to have a relationship, Wren avoids even the possibility of intimacy, sure no one could truly want him if sex isn’t on the table. Which is why he’s extra motivated, as the newly installed student council president (following the removal of the previous president and VP for indelicate reasons), to cancel the school’s lauded Valentine’s Day Dance.

Unfortunately, Wren’s plot to end the dance and use the funds it would have soaked up to make much-needed repairs to the school stage gets derailed by his nemesis, Leo Reyes. Leo, Wren often notes, is perfect in most every way–which is why Wren despises him. He’d hoped Leo would leave student council to assist the Robotics team gain yet another huge championship. But, no. Instead, Leo’s proposing to get a new social app, Buddy, to help sponsor the dance. Buddy anonymously connects people in local circles, optimally for friendship, though users mostly turn it into a matchmaking app. Naturally, Wren hates it because he’s not looking for a sexual partner. The bargain on a Buddy-Dance sponsorship should be a win-win: student council helps the school, and the dance still happens. Well, Wren’s still frustrated, especially so when he figures out that all the activities of student council–Homecoming, Halloween, Winter Fest, Dance planning–mean that he’s working with Leo a lot. It’s awfully hard for Wren to maintain his animosity toward Leo with his first-hand experience of Leo’s sweetness, compassion, and imperfections.

Meanwhile, Wren clandestinely downloads Buddy and signs up, convinced it will fail to match him with a reasonable online friend. He’s startled to connect with a user he dubs “Buddy Boy” with whom he can be a more vulnerable version of himself. Buddy Boy likes Wren’s pithy banter, much to Wren’s surprise. It’s wild, actually, and Wren has to fight to keep his bestie from discovering how deeply he caved into the app.

As the school year progresses, Wren isn’t sure if he’s falling for Buddy Boy or Leo–and there are ramifications to both. Does he want to start living his life again, and risk rejection? The Valentine’s Day Dance is coming, and Wren’s maybe going to ask one of these people to be his date. Even if he has an apoplexy with all his worrying.

I really loved Wren. He’s deliciously prickly, and absolutely a self-righteous jerk with a heart of gooey marshmallows. Having survived the loss of his mom, Wren’s also emotionally damaged, and he’s artfully written as a super sympathetic kid lacking self-confidence. I wanted so much to give Wren a hug, even though I knew he wouldn’t really appreciate that kind of bodily contact. And Leo! That boy has it all, and is still on the precipice of sorrow. I loved how Wren saw Leo’s need and was an actual friend to him in his darkest hours.

The story is 100% YA, with a dash of romantic intent, and I honestly adored the whole journey – even when I could see from the start how the ending would play out. I kept waiting for the big reveal(s). The author does an awesome job of pacing and scattering the breadcrumbs, so I had the space to ponder and pine alongside Wren. There are some plot points that gave me pause, like the stage situation, because I teach high school and these plain-out exaggerations seemed to stretch the definition of “literary license,” yet I loved Wren so hard and clamored for his happiness. This story is sweet and tender and funny–everything I look for in a YA read. Definitely recommend for fans of queer YA literature.

I received an eARC of this book for review from Peachtree Teen via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

• The Brief: Wren is an acerbic Floridian high school senior unexpectedly, yet happily, leading student government. Unluckily, the annoyingly perfect Leo Reyes is vice-president. They have two work together to improve their school and discover their futures.
• If you enjoyed Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, give Wren a try.

When I first started reading, I had serious Don’t Care High vibes. Trust me, that’s a good thing. (Or actually, don’t trust me – hurry up and read that 1985 YA classic by Gordon Korman for yourself.) Wren Martin Ruins It All is a hilarious, poignant, coming of age story updated for 2023. Wren struggles to understand his relationships with fellow students, his family, and his future. What’s the update? It’s a romance featuring an asexual panromantic main character. As with many genre romance novels, there aren’t many surprises here. What it does have is heartfelt humor, interesting character work, and authentic ace rep (at least from my POV). Happily, he brings the reader along with him.

4.5 Stars

Having just finished this, I already know I want to reread this eventually. Throughout most of the book, I thought this was an okay read, but I just didn't really click with it. Which is a shame to me, because as an aroace person, if a book has an ace main character, I want to love that book! Towards the end though, I started enjoying it a whole lot more. So with that in mind, I would like to reread this at some point to see if I'll feel differently.

Having enjoyed Aces Wild, I was so excited for Wren Martin Ruins It All. And I feel totally validated in how much I loved this book. From the premise alone, we will always love a You've Got Mail vibe, rivals, and a school dance. Wren Martin Ruins It All is a charming book about these (mis)conceptions we have about someone. How anonymity can help us feel closer to someone, to ourselves, to have this freedom to be who we are, who we want to be.

This is just, like, stupidly adorable for 99% of the book, and the other 1% is heart-wrenching in a really good way, and I loved every bit of it so much more than I expected. This is a trope I've loved since I was a kid watching You've Got Mail, and it just never gets old. I can't say Amanda Dewitt added much of a new spin on it - she didn't - but she didn't <i>need</i> to. Wren and Leo slowly circling each other on their way to that final crash is everything a rom-com lover like me could hope for. And there were some quality laugh out loud moments along the way, because Wren has a hell of a personality.

I think my only quibble is that we don't really get much of a feel for the side characters, even Wren's best friend. Partly this is because the POV is very locked on Wren's first person perspective. But I think a little more page time could have been given to them, just a smidge.

Overall though, this was an easy, quick read, insanely adorable, a ton of fun, and exactly what my heart (torn to mutilated threads after my last read) needed today. <3

So, so good! Wren is a curmudgeonly high school senior who hates the romance obsessed Valentine's Day dance due to his own asexuality (though he's totally a sucker for romance himself), and after becoming student president due to a series of unfortunate events (which happen off screen), almost commits social suicide by canceling the dance altogether. Luckily he is saved by Leo, a coding wiz who is beloved by all (but hated by Wren) and proposes having a dating/social media app named Buddy sponsor the dance. The rest of the book follows Wren and Leo as they plan the dance and do typical high school senior type things.

During the course of this, Wren secretly signs up for Buddy (despite loudly proclaiming he hates it) and starts falling for his anonymous match (who of course is also a senior at their high school). A lot of the twists and turns are rather predictable, and the drama in this book is pretty mild. It doesn't hit significant highs or lows, any kind of conflict is usually resolved pretty quickly, and nothing is especially high stakes.

Where the book does shine is in the character's voice (the book is single POV so we stay with Wren the entire time), and the bigger non-romance questions that come up throughout, like how to plan for your future when it feels like your world is falling apart, and whether it's worth dating while asexual, and do people actually deserve a second chance after a bad first impression. I really enjoyed Wren's prickliness throughout, hints about Leo's pining, and even the app interactions, which I'm usually not a fan of. The ending is also pretty satisfying - it doesn't tie up everything neatly or answer all possible questions, but we see the characters in a good place and ready to face whatever comes next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Peachtree for the ARC.

When Wren Martin becomes student council president, he finally has a chance to make his school better. To get the funding to make it happen, he proposes to cancel the school's Valentine's Day dance, its pride and joy. Instead, the dance gets sponsored by Buddy, the hot new anonymous chatting app. Now he has to work with his nemesis Leo, the school's golden boy, to organize the dance, and he begrudgingly, secretly, makes a Buddy account. He soon realizes Leo's life might not be as perfect as he thought, and that he's developing feelings for a Buddy match.
The banter was perfect to me, so sweet and funny, and it's delightful how everyone except Wren and Leo understands what's happening. But this humor is kept balanced and grounded with serious topics, like a major loss Wren experienced a few years before the book opens. He never talks about it, but it profoundly shapes how he experiences the world.
I loved that Wren, as a high schooler, is comfortable with his asexuality and isn't at all phased by romantic feelings for another boy. Even though I never heard the word asexual until a few years after college, I saw so much of myself in Wren and his struggles with dating while ace. With wanting a relationship, but feeling like you'll never meet your partner's needs because you're pouring from too small a cup. Or, as Wren puts it, like you're a house with a broken roof, and you have to disclose it before anyone can sign the lease. So to see him get a HEA was particularly special.
I've read quite a few ace books at this point, encompassing a wide variety of experiences, and I'm so grateful that so many kinds of asexual stories are being told. But I'm also grateful to have finally found one that feels like me.

"I've always liked having the word asexual. I like how it makes me feel like I belong somewhere even when the rest of the world thinks I'm not quite right."

Wren Martin Ruins It All was a book I could barely put down and whenever I wasn't reading it I was thinking about it! It's an easy heart-warming read with lots of good humour but also touches on serious topics about grief, sexuality and identity that give it so much soul. Wren is a charming character, even through his struggles and his more annoying teenage moments and I couldn't help but root for him.

The book starts with Wren becoming student council president and finally being able to put an end to the St. Valentine's dance. In his words, it's too expensive and the money could be used elsewhere, but the truth is it's simply too focused on romance and relationships. Wren is asexual, and with everything else he already has going on, the fact everyone around him seems to be obsessed with Buddy - an app to make connections anonymously but that everyone is using as a dating app - is just too much. Unfortunately for him, Leo, the too tall, too handsome, too perfect guy that seems to always get in his way, comes up with a solution where they can both keep the money and have the dance. Then begins their attempt at working together to make the dance a success while Wren also tries to keep under wraps the fact he not only downloaded Buddy but is also actively using it.

There's many other characters to this book and all of them were interesting in their own right but the moments between Wren and Leo were the best for me. I'd gladly read a sequel to their story.

Lastly, I'm now an adult but I wish this book was around when I was a teenager and figured out that I too was asexual. That said, as an asexual, this book hit many right spots for me. I could see my younger struggles through Wren as he tried to navigate the world that so often makes you feel wrong for being different, sometimes even in LGBTQ+ circles. I feel having stories like this and diverse representation is important both for the current and future generations and I'm now very curious to read the author's previous book as it too has ace characters!

I love to see authentic ace representation in books and this was an absolutely adorable depiction of a young person learning themself. Although Wren could be a little bit difficult like sometimes he was always relatable and funny. His relationship with Leo was sweet and the people who Wren has surrounded himself with are fun to read about.

I had an issue with my digital collection while reading and was not able to finish but I'm looking forward to purchasing and finishing it soon.