Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin

Genre: Young Adult-Contemporary
Source: ARC from Publisher
Series: No, Standalone

Buy It

: The Dolphin Bookshop (Shop Indie!),  The Book Depository
Challenge: Free Reads, Debut Author Challenge 2012, 2012 Contemporary Challenge

Kelsey Finkelstein is fourteen and FRUSTRATED. Every time she tries to live up to her awesome potential, her plans are foiled – by her impossible parents, her annoying little sister, and life in general. But with her first day of high school coming up, Kelsey is positive that things are going to change. Enlisting the help of her three best friends — sweet and quiet Em, theatrical Cass, and wild JoJo — Kelsey gets ready to rebrand herself and make the kind of mark she knows is her destiny. 

Things start out great - her arch-nemesis has moved across the country, giving Kelsey the perfect opportunity to stand out on the soccer team and finally catch the eye of her long-time crush. But soon enough, an evil junior’s thirst for revenge, a mysterious photographer, and a series of other catastrophes make it clear that just because KELSEY has a plan for greatness… it doesn’t mean the rest of the world is in on it. 

Kelsey’s hilarious commentary throughout her disastrous freshman year will have you laughing out loud—while being thankful that you’re not in her shoes, of course…

     Freshman Year and Other Unnatural disasters was a cute, quirky, and fun read!  I’ll admit, at first I was a little hesitant to give it a try because cliche high school books usually get on my nerves but, I’m glad I read this one!  Of course it had all those usual cliches like the typical mean girl and the best friend but, Meredith Zeitlin still made the storyline unique.

     I really enjoyed all the twists and turns in the book, too.  Some were predictable but, still added interest to the story.  Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters was definitely more about the storyline than the writing but, I didn’t mind.  I thought the ending was a little too quick but, it was definitely exciting and very unexpected.

     The writing in Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters wasn't all that great.  Fortunately, the storyline was what really mattered in this book.  Kelsey went through so much in such a small amount of time but, her growth as a character was great.  One thing that I didn't quite like was the ending.  I wasn't really too keen on where it left off.  I felt that there could have been a little bit more at the end.  The ending was semi-abrubt and awkward.

     Kelsey Finkelstein was a great character.  She was kind of a drama queen but, her take on all of her experiences made me laugh.  She represented all of the problems in high school and just exaggerated them even more!  She was great :)  At times she was a little whiney but, I liked her.  Cassidy and JoJo were great supporting characters and were very dynamic.  Emily was a good character, too but, wasn’t all that special.

     Overall, I enjoyed Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin.  At times, the characters could be a little too whiney but, the storyline was definitely fun!  If you're looking for something a little lighter, check it out!


Final Grade: