Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2020
368 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Refreshingly authentic and bold…Don't miss this smashing #ownvoices novel from Francina Simone! Filled with heart, humor and a heroine to root for, Smash It! is a perfect read for fans of Julie Murphy, Ibi Zoboi and Ashley Poston.
Olivia "Liv" James is done with letting her insecurities get the best of her. So she does what any self-respecting hot mess of a girl who wants to SMASH junior year does…
After Liv shows up to a Halloween party in khaki shorts—why, God, why?—she decides to set aside her wack AF ways. She makes a list—a F*ck-It list.
She kicks it off by trying out for the school musical, saying yes to a date and making new friends. Life is great when you stop punking yourself! However, with change comes a lot of missteps, and being bold means following her heart. So what happens when Liv's heart is interested in three different guys—and two of them are her best friends? What is she supposed to do when she gets dumped by a guy she's not even dating? How does one Smash It! after the humiliation of being friend-zoned?
In Liv's own words, "F*ck it. What's the worst that can happen?"
A lot, apparently.
#SMASHIT
"Simone's prose masterfully crafts an honest and likable voice in Olivia that is bolstered by the cast of diverse supporting characters and combines that with compelling, well-paced plot points. Readers will find themselves rapt with anticipation and excitement and filled with compassion for Olivia's journey to self-acceptance and self-love. Stellar." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Simone deftly captures the cadence of modern teenagers...Though the premise is familiar, Simone crafts an entertaining and inclusive cast to accompany Olivia through the peaks and valleys of friendship, romance, and self-love." - Publishers Weekly
"Smash It!: coming in hot with a way more accurate, grounded look at a high school musical! Hilarious, heartwarming, empowering, and neurotic in the best way—I loved reading this book. Smash It! smashed it." - New York Times bestselling author Christine Riccio
"Witty, laugh-out-loud funny and downright powerful." - Sasha Alsberg, #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of Zenith
"Francina Simone is one of the freshest new YA voices I've read in years. The characters jump off the page, the plot is an empowering manifesto, and the humor is as sharp as it is real." - Lauren Steven, author of The Exact Opposite of Okay
This information about Smash It! was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Francina Simone believes in one thing: authenticity. She writes YA stories full of humor and hard life lessons with sprinkles of truth that make us all feel understood. Her craft focuses on stories about girls throwing caution to the wind to discover exactly who they are and what it means to love. Francina is also known for her BookTube channel, where she discusses controversial topics in books.
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