Bluebell Review Chamber [CLOSED]

જ The Prep's Diary જ ☾Aurora☽

Title: The Prep's Diary

Author: SuperWicked

Reviewer: AuroraLanguor

Title: 5/10

The title on the cover doesn't match the title in the description where the book is published, and I think a shorter title would add to the feeling of completion the book should have.

Cover: 8/10

Would benefit from more contrast in the colors and a slightly more polished look to draw in more readers. I feel the best cover would probably be something resembling a journal or the classic "Mean Girls"-type burn book design.

Blurb: 9/10

Allows the reader to understand what they're going to read and what to expect, though I don't think the phrase "stay tuned" is necessary as the book is complete.

Creativity/Originality: 7/10

I think the creativity is there although some of the side characters are slightly generic and the setting is quite quotidian. Rosetta certainly has some original takes on some situations such as agreeing to handle McKayla's issues for her and lying for no reason about how the conversation went. Added to the oddities of Rosetta, scenes like this also served to weaken the reliability of the narrator. Whether that was the goal or not, it definitely added to the overall originality of the book.

Plot/Flow: 10/20

I felt the plot was a touch predictable as it felt like reading an old journal that any girl might have in their bedroom. This can be a good thing though as it adds a bit of relatability that makes the characters instantly familiar. The point where it starts to lose marks is with the unsteady sentence structure, basic command of vocabulary, and blocky formatting. The interrupted flow definitely takes away from what is meant to be a very lighthearted and easy read. I think a good portion of this can be remedied in editing though.

Characters: 7/10

The characters felt relatively realistic. Their age definitely is apparent and perhaps a bit more backstory would have made the betrayal by McKayla more impactful. The idea of Rosetta somewhat not understanding in the beginning why she is with her boyfriend is a bit confusing as well. It felt as though she was keeping him around to be able to say she had a boyfriend? She acknowledges that the way he talked to her at the dance wasn't exactly romantic, but she found it romantic because he had said something. It made me feel bad for Rosetta (though I know she is not only fictional but very young) as I felt that she had no connection to this boyfriend and had no idea why she was doing what she was doing besides the fact that she liked the idea of being in a relationship. I understand the characters are very young, so perhaps I don't understand the character progression there.

Writing style/grammar: 5/10

I do know that you are editing as we speak, but this is an area that is a bit of a struggle when reading. I think that since this is your first book, you will continue to grow in developing a writing style that best serves the themes and interests you want to convey to your readers. The grammar is a part of your writing that will also improve with time, but the best thing to do is keep reading and keep writing.

Genre relevance: 6/10

I think coming-of-age books are very popular, but as a reader who isn't in the earliest years of high school, it sometimes felt a bit invasive to be essentially reading a young girl's journal. I think perhaps readers in the age group of the characters will appreciate the struggles of the characters more than I have, but I think for future writing if you would like to appeal to a larger audience then increasing the age of the characters is probably a good first step. Regardless the diary aspect for a coming-of-age book is cute and characterizes the perspectives of the characters well.

Reading enjoyment: 5/10

I feel reading enjoyment was significantly impacted by the amount of editing that needs to be done, but I know that you are still in the process of fixing mistakes in the writing. I think once the grammar and small mistakes allow a reader to breeze through the book more thoroughly then the edits that may need to be made with the character development and plot may become more apparent for future polishing.

Overall: 62/100

Have a wonderful day!