Hello friends, happy Wednesday! I hope you’re all having a good week so far. Today I’m posting my review of Julie Buxbaum’s novel What to Say Next.

What to Say Next by: Julie Buxbaum: When Kit loses her father in a car accident she doesn’t know how to be the old Kit anymore. So instead of sitting with her friends at lunch, she chooses to sit with David, a kid who eats alone. Over time, the two begin to form an unlikely friendship, which everyone starts to question, even Kit and David themselves. When she asks for his help in figuring out the how and why of her dad’s accident, the answers could change their friendship and possibly not for the better. This novel started out really well; the reader was invested and really liking the story and the characters, but as the plot continued things just seemed to go downhill, and fast. Not only was the ending ‘twist’, if you can even call it that, cheap and used for shock value, but the first rising action, plot twist was terrible. The reader didn’t think it needed to be that way; the story was doing so well as these two characters who came together out of circumstances, found each other and found comfort in getting to know each other for the sole purpose of human connection; that alone was a beautiful story, the added twists did nothing but add unwanted drama. Even the pacing was good until we got to the end when the author tried to get everything out in the open all at once, making it feel rushed. It was all this build up for an unsatisfying conclusion. There were some heartfelt moments throughout that were enjoyable to read. Getting to know the main characters was really well done; they were well developed and the reader really loved David, he was such a joy to read. Kit, for the most part was an interesting character, her choice of friends was questionable. There was quite a bit of girl hate in this book and that’s a trope this reader can’t stand. There was no need for the strange cattiness that filled spaces that could have been used for more constructive character progress. Aside from that though, this was filled with a lot of messy characters which made for more human and real character development and growth. The main characters were far from perfect and knowing that the secondary ones weren’t either was so honest and raw, watching them all try to figure it out and learn and discover themselves, even as adults, was good to read about. This also had good autism representation. In the end, this could have been a great novel but certain main plot twists really ruined the good character growth that the author started.