Rating: 4/5 differents.
Sophie Evans is known by her family, best friend, and now ex-boyfriend as being a controlling, predictable, boring teenager. Her best friend Ella is out to change that in “90 Days of Different”. Let me just jump on in and say that this book was ok. The overall message of the book was great, the mini adventures where creative, and the occasional response from ‘friends’ on social sometimes matched what I was thinking about Sophie (which was a weird and kind of funny thing). There were some things I didn’t care for too. I like to start with the bad to get it out of the way to gush over the good so can we start by mentioning Ella can be a real downer. I get the idea of feeling like the ‘ugly’ friend but she just seems so awful at times. For instance, why doesn’t she just talk to Sophie! I could never imagine my best friend saying/posting some of the things that Ella does to Sophie to me or vice versa. Maybe it’s because I’m in my late twenties and have forgotten some of the nasty of being a teen but still. She bugged me a bit. I did have to begrudgingly give Ella some credit for making all of Sophie’s differents happen. That took a lot of work and imagination. So, kudos there! Also, the tattoo idea? Wonderful!
Moving on! One thing that I found kind of funny while reading was the comment that came from one of Sophie’s online followers that mentioned how it must be nice for the rich girl to go out and do these things just because for free (even if the book didn’t specifically say everything was free, it didn’t argue against it either) and how it came across as bragging in a sense. I loved this because it made me take a second and think about how a lot of characters in books just do these crazy things and cost or working for it isn’t often included in the story. Kind of an interesting point. I’m not sure if that was Eric Walters’ goal with that comment but it brought up a whole internal dialog about what’s left out in books that may not fly in real life.
The biggest thing about this story that I liked was the message it held. Sophie’s summer of different taught and reminded her in equal measure that it’s ok to fail. It’s ok to look like a fool. It’s ok to try new things that may scare you. It’s ok to let go of absolute control from time to time. It’s ok to trust others to know what’s best for you sometimes. It’s ok to hold others accountable for their actions. It’s ok to cry. It’s ok to deal with the hard stuff. Through facing multiple fears, dealing with the death of her mother, having to let go of being in charge of the household, standing up for her decisions, and learning that life is scary but the only way through it is to live Sophie grows and grows up in a beautiful way. The changes seem very small and not discussed enough throughout the book coming together at the end instead which at first annoyed me because I felt that she wasn’t getting/giving enough credit but then I thought about it and realized her growth and realizations came together once she had a chance to look back at the summer and see the big picture and then it all made sense to me.
This book had some things that I didn’t care for but more that I truly enjoyed. So yes, I would recommend this read to others. The book also has a great social media campaign that runs along with the book’s prerelease and it’s great! I always enjoy fun things like what Eric Walters has done here so if you plan to read this book or just want a fun way to connect with a character be sure to check out her social media pages that are linked below. Thank you to Eric Walters, Orca Book Publishing, and LibraryThing for the opportunity to read, enjoy, and review this book.
~~~~~~~~~~~Synopsis~~~~~~~~~~
On the last day of high school, Sophie's boyfriend breaks up with her. It turns out he thinks she is too predictable, too responsible, too mature...too boring. When Sophie turns to her best friend, Ella, for comfort and reassurance, Ella just confirms what her boyfriend has said. And that hurts even more. Then Ella comes up with a plan to help Sophie find her wilder side before college. In the ninety days between the end of high school and the start of university, she is going to arrange for Sophie to do amazing, new, different and sometimes scary things. Sophie has to agree to everything no matter what. And she has to share her adventures through social media. Can ninety days of different create a different life? Can stepping outside your comfort zone help you find yourself?
~~~~~~~~~~Book Information~~~~~~~~~
To Be Published on 08/29/2017 by Orca Book Publishing.
Page Count: 303 (ARC Count)
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary.
To purchase visit:
~~~~~~~~~~About the Author~~~~~~~~~~
Eric Walters is an Order of Canada member who began writing in 1993 as a way of getting his fifth grade students into reading and writing. He has published nearly one hundered novels to date and is a presenter who has spoken to more than 100,000 students per year in schools all across the country. He currently lives in Guelph, Ontario. To learn more about Eric check out his website by clicking his image above.