What Are Friends For?

What Are Friends For was an enjoyable debut YA Romance novel, and this is coming from someone who doesn\’t normally read romance. I wasn\’t sure I would be able to get into this, but was pleasantly surprised. Though I do have a few critiques, overall, I quite enjoyed it and would recommend it, especially if you\’re already into this genre. First the good. I have read (or in most cases, started to read) many indie novels from first-time authors. Sadly, a lot of them are so not-ready. This was not the case for Sutton. The writing was refreshingly good. She was able to draw me into the world of her story and get me invested in the characters. For most of the book, I forgot I was reading a book, easily losing myself in her world. I also really liked the opening of Sutton\’s book. From what I read mostly, I\’m used to stories that start with action. This one did not, and yet, it was interesting and engaging enough to capture my attention and keep me turning pages. I felt it set the tone for the book quite well. The end was a satisfying payoff, as well, and the middle didn\’t sag or drag, as middles of books sometimes do. Okay, now the not-so-good. My biggest critique is that it took me a long time to really warm up to Remi. My favorite books (or even movies and TV shows) are ones where I fall in love with the main character. Sadly, I did not fall in love with Remi. I wanted to. But I didn\’t. It\’s not that I disliked her. I just didn\’t like her particularly much. Eventually, she did grow on me, but I would rather have liked her from the start. She struck me as a bit shallow, and didn\’t have anything unique or interesting about her to help her stand out from the other characters. Elijah was, for me, by far the most interesting character. I loved his passion for art, the backstory involving his brother, and even his quirky love for ice cream all year round. Remi, we\’re told, gets good grades, and she seems a decent person, but that\’s about it. I have no idea what she\’s interested in or what she\’s good at, aside from flirting with boys and shopping. I wish Sutton had given her something to make her special, something I could latch onto that would make her more likable. My second critique is more of a minor one, and involves what I would call \”beginning author mistakes.\” There were a few \”began to\’s, some filtering language (she could see/hear/feel), a couple typos, and some confusing blocking, at times. For example, there was one scene in which Remi\’s mom was having a talk with Remi in Remi\’s room, and then, suddenly, Remi\’s mom stood up, revealing she had been sitting on Remi\’s bed. I\’m like, \”hang on, when did she sit down?\” I went back a page and found it. Yes, indeed, she had sat down on the bed, but it was a blink-and-you-miss-it moment. Character movement is something easy to overlook, but it\’s really important. Not only that characters actually make the movements the authors say they do, but, that those movements are obvious enough that the reader doesn\’t miss them. Essentially, I think the book could have used one more good edit. Anyway, despite these few criticisms, I did end up enjoying the book overall. I think What Are Friends For is a good start to what I hope will be a long and productive writing career for Sarah Sutton. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA romance, and even to those who don\’t normally read it.

I seriously debated between ratings because I really loved the ending, but felt the beginning was so subpar. In the end, I decided on 3.5 stars, and here\’s why. It was a bit of a slow start. The characters were trying to be established (I\’ll get to this later) and the plot was being laid down, but we didn\’t really get into it all until about 7 chapters in. Despite this slow start, I was still a bit intrigued so I kept reading. About halfway through the book, I realized why I was feeling so torn with the plot. The first half of the book felt like it should have been the second half. The usual tension and high emotions that I feel like I usually see in YA contemporaries towards the end was at the beginning. But it continued until the end so it was all a bit contentious. Now, back to the characters. Because of the odd start to the book, I feel like Remi and Elijah\’s personalities shifted super hard within a few chapters. Remi was being super weird and negative and Elijah was being super lovey and then angry and then lovey. Despite this, I really liked Elijah. He was sweet and thoughtful, even if he acted like a teenage boy sometimes. Remi, however, was not as likable. At the very beginning, we start to get a sense of her personality, but then it\’s just kinda ripped away. Since the tension starts so soon in the book, I feel like the Remi we were supposed to get to know doesn\’t really make an appearance. She just kinda all over the place with her emotions and thoughts and we don\’t get a good sense of who she is. As well, I feel like the book didn\’t \”accomplish\” anything. Really, the point of most romance books is to get the two people together at the end, but usually, there is some other thing that is trying to be done. In this book, there were a few things that were trying to be accomplished (Remi is trying to pass her art class. Elijah is dealing with his family issues.), but I didn\’t feel a sense of resolve at the end. Maybe it was just me, but I didn\’t feel it and I really wish I would have. Now, I feel like I\’ve been writing a bunch of negatives so here are my positives. As far as best-friends-to-lovers goes, there were some really cute moments. As well, I really enjoyed the ending. In fact, I might have teared up a little. It was cute, hopeful, and tied up the relationship well. And it was interesting enough for me to read it in one sitting. I definitely wasn\’t suffering through it. Also, this book was pretty clean. There was almost no cursing and there were no sex scenes. Some good makeout scenes were definitely there, but nothing crazy. This book would be great for younger teen audiences. Overall, I liked this book, just didn\’t love it. It would be good for those who love best-friends-to-lovers tropes and who may or may not be failing a class.

Almost immediately when I started reading, I thought how FUN it was. It brought back memories of my own teenage years, which were full of snark and good-natured jokes. Remi and Elijah are both very likable, very relateable high school seniors, and you\’re immediately drawn into their snappy banter and familiarity with one another. That same familiarity is felt in the setting itself, which brings about a nice, cozy feeling despite the book taking place during the winter. I also found the wintry themes/setting very unique in and of itself, because I can\’t recall ever reading a YA book that takes place during the coldest months of the year. Most tend to be during the summer or springtime. With that said, the book would be charming regardless of the setting, because the engaging storytelling keeps you reading for more. It\’s a very quick, very easy read, and I found myself invested in the characters and seeing how everything would end. YA, admittedly, is not my genre of choice, seeing how I haven\’t been in high school in a long, LONG time, but I would most definitely read more of Sutton\’s work! Her style is very cute, quirky and humorous. There were a handful of typos, but that hardly brought me out of the story. Definitely check it out if you love a good, realistic YA book with lessons on love and friendships!

Okay so, I admit I didn\’t read this book until roughly a year after I purchased it. It took me 4 hours to read over 2 nights. I enjoyed it! I\’m not that much older than the characters in the book but it really took me back to secondary school and sixth form. The characters were fleshed out, each having their own defined personality, and the story was 100% believable (if a little cheesy haha). Not only was this a brill friends to lovers book, it also showed the importance of of friendship and family very well. Remi might be the most teenager teenager to ever teenager, but she was a realistic character and her narration got me very involved in the story. Definitely going to by Sarah\’s other books (and this time not take a year to read them!)

This was such a fun read. Sarah has fit her book to her readers perfectly and it is a wonderful blend of romance and friendship. I found the friendship between Eli and Remi so heart-warming and the lengths Remi was willing to go to, to try and keep Eli from finding about their initial kiss was really sweet. My opinion of Eli did sour a bit as the book went on, as he was a jerk to Remi despite her doing nothing wrong and him blaming her for his voluntary actions was completely out of line. That being said, I was glad when he finally manned up, admitted that he had feelings for Remi and broke up with his girlfriend to be with her, particularly as his girlfriend was super annoying and tried to sabotage Remi, when she was trying so hard to be accepting of her best friends new girlfriend, which just makes her a bitch in my book and Remi is a much better person than me for befriending her at the end.

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