**INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**
From one of the most followed booktubers today, comes Christine Riccio's Again, but Better, a story about second chances, discovering yourself, and being brave enough to try again. Shane has been doing college all wrong. Pre-med, stellar grades, and happy parents...sounds ideal--but Shane's made zero friends, goes home every weekend, and romance...what's that? Her life has been dorm, dining hall, class, repeat. Time's a ticking, and she needs a change--there's nothing like moving to a new country to really mix things up. Shane signs up for a semester abroad in London. She's going to right all her college mistakes: make friends, pursue boys, and find adventure Easier said than done. She is soon faced with the complicated realities of living outside her bubble, and when self-doubt sneaks in, her new life starts to fall apart. Shane comes to find that, with the right amount of courage and determination one can conquer anything. Throw in some fate and a touch of magic--the possibilities are endless.0
4.5 rounded to a 5! So I FINALLY read this book as soon as my school life has allowed me the free time for reading after about a year. If you like Christine's humor on her channel, this book will make you laugh a ton. It's difficult to give a spoiler-free review because it's almost always best to go into books blind. Also highly recommend listening along with her Spotify playlist (there's a chapter guide on her Tumblr). A criticism I've seen is that people find Christine's personality and life to be too intertwined with the main character's, but I don't believe this is a just criticism considering that it's what most authors do, especially in a debut—"write what you know," as they say. The only reason this isn't as obvious is because not every author has had a YouTube channel for over 10 years where people can get to know them really well. I like Christine, so reading about a character similar to her was a treat. If you don't like Christine, it would make sense why you wouldn't like the book. It's her baby: she made it and raised it. It's a product of her. And I really loved it. The dialogue is so funny and entertaining, which is one of the most important aspects of a contemporary. Also, the characters feel real and complex. The story feels unique and sweeps you up. #RequiredReading
Parts of this book were very engaging, but others just left me struggling to continue. I felt somewhat connected to Shane, because I was also planning to study abroad in England over the summer. So, the travel aspects of this book appealed to me for that reason. However, many of the events in this book felt very dramatic and over-done to me. Some reactions and choices felt unnatural. At the same time, I actually really enjoyed a lot of the dialogue throughout the story. I thought it was witty and unique. Often, dialogue in contemporaries can feel kinda mechanical and routine to me, so this book differentiated itself in that way. I still can't decide how I feel about Pilot as a character. He seemed very inconsistent, so it was hard to form a firm opinion on him. In the moments when it was done right, the romance in this book was very sweet and heart-warming. It captured a lot of the emotions and giddiness perfectly. Overall, I appreciated my reading experience of this book, but I definitely had some issues with it. #SummerReading