YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

At sixteen, Hadley Moore knows exactly who she is—a swimmer who will earn a scholarship to college. Totally worth all the hard work, even if her aching shoulders don’t agree. So when a guy dressed as Hollywood’s latest action hero, Heath Hall, crashes her swim meet, she isn’t amused. Instead, she’s determined to make sure he doesn’t bother her again. Only she’s not sure exactly who he is.

The swim meet isn’t the first event the imposter has interrupted, but a little digging turns up a surprising number of people who could be Heath Hall, including Hadley's ex-boyfriend and her best friend’s crush. She soon finds herself getting caught up in the mysterious world of the fake Heath Hall.

As Hadley gets closer to uncovering the masked boy’s identity she also discovers some uncomfortable truths about herself—like she might resent the long shadow her late brother has cast over her family, that she isn’t as happy as she pretends to be with her life choices… and that she is falling for the last guy she ever thought she would like.

This was... not good. Is this really kasie west?

Does hadley like to swim? I think i forgot from every single second she thought of swimming and literally nothing else

Jaye wrote: "Does hadley like to swim? I think i forgot from every single second she thought of swimming and literally nothing else"

for me it felt like "of course I love swimming, why would you ask?" as she itches chlorine rashes on her neck - she didn't seem to like it and there were so few moments where she talked about it positively :/

Jaye wrote: "This was... not good. Is this really kasie west?"

I absolutely hated everything about (view spoiler)[the brother - it felt so CARELESS and soulless and she was so mean to her parents about it??? they lost their CHILD (hide spoiler)]

turniip wrote: "Jaye wrote: "Does hadley like to swim? I think i forgot from every single second she thought of swimming and literally nothing else"

for me it felt like "of course I love swimming, why would you a..."

Right? her constant talk of how much her shoulder hurt like sis??

turniip wrote: "Jaye wrote: "This was... not good. Is this really kasie west?"

I absolutely hated everything about [spoilers removed]"

^^^
So fucking GROSS I HATE IT. (view spoiler)[she didn't even care because it was allll about her. Selfish much? (hide spoiler)]

I really didn't like the Fake Heath Hall aspect - it didn't feel like there was enough of a reason for her to care - and that came through in the actions because (view spoiler)[she seemed so disinterested and her friend put more effort into it than she did LOL (hide spoiler)]

turniip wrote: "I really didn't like the Fake Heath Hall aspect - it didn't feel like there was enough of a reason for her to care - and that came through in the actions because [spoilers removed]"

Her friend really did most in this, truly. Uhhh (view spoiler)[is kasie going to write her book now??? (hide spoiler)]

The heath hall thing was (view spoiler)[so STUPID. really all of those people wearing the mask, passing it FROM ANOTHER CITY over 5 years????? so dumb (hide spoiler)]

Jaye wrote: "The heath hall thing was [spoilers removed]"

And then for some reason (view spoiler)[her friend gets it???? that made NO sense? It didn't seem like it mattered at all, just that she wanted to give it to someone new Hadley knew, and now i'm sure her friend will meet someone through that and we'll never be free of this dumb plot point (hide spoiler)]

Jaye wrote: "turniip wrote: "Jaye wrote: "This was... not good. Is this really kasie west?"

I absolutely hated everything about [spoilers removed]"

^^^
So fucking GROSS I HATE IT. [spoilers removed]"

Yeah, I find more often than not I'm on the parents' side - am i really this old to not understand where the teen is coming from or are Kasie books just getting more whiny to me? :/

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Date changed. Restarting August 13th 2020. Happy Reading ☺

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Up to ch4. Our intro to Hadley shows her obsessive focus on swimming (even though she’s clearly showing signs of physically struggling) and introduces the notion of a fake Heath Hall character interrupting events. I know we expect light, but this is on a whole other level.

Up to ch14. The willingness the fake Heath has to message her suggests it’s someone who likes her in real life. I was amused by the trip to the art exhibition, though I do feel she’s being put in a difficult situation regarding these clashing dates.

Up to ch24. Much as I want to empathise with her parents, they’re ignoring their living child for the memory of one who died. To be honest, I don’t think Hadley makes things easy though.

I'm listening now. Just finished another Kasie West book

Karen wrote: "Up to ch4. Our intro to Hadley shows her obsessive focus on swimming (even though she’s clearly showing signs of physically struggling) and introduces the notion of a fake Heath Hall character inte..."

Yeah, the fake Heath is the drama? LOL I'm more interested in how much her parents still grieve her brother and basically have a shrine to him

Up to ch29. Aly, it does seem the focus is not quite where we want it, I agree. (view spoiler)[ Surprise,surprise there’s a lot of fake Heath Halls but Jackson is behind it. Hadley is put in a position to start shifting things but it really does seem as if she should have her parents around to do this bit. (hide spoiler)]

Finished. Review on home page and, Aly, I’ll be keen to see what you make of this. Something didn’t quite sit right for me - it felt like the focus needed a bit of refinement.

ch 12 (view spoiler)[ It seems like fake Heath is this big secret, but then everyone knows who he is but Hadley and Amelia.
I don't like that her parents were guilting her into the cancer benefit when they should be supporting her dreams of swimming (hide spoiler)]

Karen wrote: "Up to ch14. The willingness the fake Heath has to message her suggests it’s someone who likes her in real life. I was amused by the trip to the art exhibition, though I do feel she’s being put in a..."

Yes I agree. I also liked seeing Cooper and Abby, even though I thought Abby should have ended up with someone else in that book.

ch 20 (view spoiler)[Okay, her mom knew she was getting an award and still pushed her to come to the benefit?! That is so messed up, clearly her mom needs therapy to start letting go. 18 years is a long time and she's pushing her alive child to the back

I think the fake Heath is DJ, but if it is, then I'm confused about Jackson. Unless the 2 of them split it or DJ just becomes Hadley's friend? Idk (hide spoiler)]

Karen wrote: "Up to ch29. Aly, it does seem the focus is not quite where we want it, I agree. [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ there being multiple Heath's makes sense and that she was messaging Jackson. I really hope she tells her parents how she feels about her brother (hide spoiler)]

ch 32 (view spoiler)[ I'm glad she apologized to Jackson and took some chances. Her issues with her parents are relatable but the story isn't as compelling as I hoped (hide spoiler)]

finished I thought this was okay. I liked the plot about her brother and parents, the romance was okay and I didn't so much care about the Heath Hall thing. (view spoiler)[ Her mom suddenly realizing what she was doing with prioritizing the brother over Hadley seemed unrealistic, but okay. (hide spoiler)]

Karen wrote: "Finished. Review on home page and, Aly, I’ll be keen to see what you make of this. Something didn’t quite sit right for me - it felt like the focus needed a bit of refinement."

Yeah, there were too many elements at once.

Starting next.

Aly wrote: "ch 12 It seems like fake Heath is this big secret, but then everyone knows who he is but Hadley and Amelia.
I don't like that her parents were guilting her into the cancer benefit when they shoul..." (view spoiler)[

It was strange how everyone knew who "he" was, but after finishing i understand why. (hide spoiler)]

Aly wrote: "ch 20 Okay, her mom knew she was getting an award and still pushed her to come to the benefit?! That is so messed up, clearly her mom needs therapy to start letting go. 18 years is a long time and ..."

(view spoiler)[It was very messed up. I feel bad for Hadley. (hide spoiler)]

Aly wrote: "Karen wrote: "Up to ch29. Aly, it does seem the focus is not quite where we want it, I agree. [spoilers removed]"

[spoilers removed]"

I agree! (view spoiler)[It all made sense and i saw it coming a couple chapters before the reveal. (hide spoiler)]

Aly wrote: "finished I thought this was okay. I liked the plot about her brother and parents, the romance was okay and I didn't so much care about the Heath Hall thing. [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[It was unrealistic how they didn't seem THAT upset about the whole truck thing, i thought... (hide spoiler)]

Finished

(view spoiler)[A light read. I liked it, in spite of the things that were unrealistic. (hide spoiler)]