Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills
Release Date: December 5, 2017
My Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A contemporary novel about a girl whose high school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream leads her to new friends—and maybe even new love.
The day of the last party of the summer, Claudia overhears a conversation she wasn't supposed to. Now on the wrong side of one of the meanest girls in school, Claudia doesn't know what to expect when the two are paired up to write a paper—let alone when they're both forced to try out for the school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
But mandatory participation has its upsides—namely, an unexpected friendship, a boy band obsession, and a guy with the best dimpled smile Claudia's ever seen. As Claudia's world starts to expand, she finds that maybe there are some things worth sticking her neck out for.
If you've read some of my other posts (especially if you follow me on Tumblr), you probably know that I am desperately and wholeheartedly in love with Emma Mills's books. I know I talk about her a lot but it's because I love her and her books, and honestly her books are sooo underrated. She's definitely a must-read/buy author, something I say a lot probably, but I actually mean it this time.
What appeals to me the most about Mills's books are that they always always always make me cry because they are all so reminiscent of me personally. They're all full of heart and love and warmth. Her characters all have some trait that you'll so closely identify with, something that would be negative in someone else's hands but Mills turns into a positive. She just really understands me on a fundamental level honestly, and I'm so thankful for her works.
If you loved To All the Boys I've Loved Before (and who doesn't tbh), I would recommend Foolish Hearts and Mills's other books to you. I do hesitate to do so purely because her books feature primarily white characters, so here's a disclaimer that I am comparing them to TATBILB because they share the same essence to me: lighthearted and heartwarming and overall just a feeling of being known. TATBILB is a book that will reach into your heart and just hold you, making you feel safe and secure and loved, and Foolish Hearts, as well as her other books, evokes that same feeling to me.
BUT let's just ignore how emotional I just got and get to the review part! So much of Foolish Hearts is so good but I'll try and touch only a few aspects.
One thing that Mills does so well is including the protagonist's interests and hobbies without those being the entirety of their character. Here, Claudia likes to game and eventually gets into an obsession with a boy band (but more on that later). Neither of these are treated as her entire character, but rather, they help you to understand her entire personality; she mentions that she likes to game with her siblings and best friend because it makes her feel more connected to them. Claudia gets into the boy band This Is Our Now because of another friend, again because she feels more closer to her friend. The fact that she is so...I don't even know how to explain it fully. Encompassing of her friends? Yeah, we'll go with that. The fact that she loves her family and friends with her whole heart, that even though she's constantly around them anyways yet still wants to be closer to them all, makes my heart want to combust with love honestly. I love her!! I love all the characters in this book!!
And I love that Iris (the aforementioned friend) and Claudia's love for TION is never trivialized or made to be the whole "teenage girls obsessing over a boy band are so basic and they're shallow" thing. As Harry Styles said,
"Who's to say that young girls who like pop music -- short for popular, right? -- have worse musical taste than a 30-year-old hipster guy? That's not up to you to say. Music is something that's always changing. There's no goal posts...How can you say young girls don't get it? They're our future. Our future doctors, lawyers, mothers, presidents, they kind of keep the world going."(Sorry, I just had to work him in here because I myself am in a bit of a One Direction chapter of my life, YES I KNOW 4 years too late, but I'm fine, it's fine.) Anyways, I love that they're just allowed to like the band and it's never just a throwaway thing. Also the fact that Iris "Resting Would-Probably-Murder-You Face" Huang, also a lesbian, is in love with them? Valid.
Claudia's family dynamic is fairly different than what we usually see in YA. She has two older siblings, with her sister ten years older and her brother only two. That's part of the reason she likes playing the game because she gets to talk to and bond with her sister more often. Also her brother isn't doing a "traditional" college route (i.e. going away to university), but rather he's attending community college in order to save up to go to a bigger university. I liked that touch; it's a reminder that not everyone can afford college, even with loans and aid, and that community college shouldn't be looked down on.
The female friendships in here are amazing!! Claudia and her best friend keep in touch despite going to different schools, private and public respectively. I've been in the same boat, but unfortunately I never really kept in touch with anyone that I didn't see regularly. I honestly regret that, so it was nice to read about them two. Throughout the book, we get to see Claudia and Iris become better friends in spite of, you know, Claudia accidentally witnessing Iris's heart-wrenching break-up, Iris hating her, them being forced to be partners for a class essay, and then subsequently bombing that essay because she refused to actually work with Claudia (see: Iris hating her). It's a hate to friends situation that I loved, especially because they bring the best out in each other.
Which brings me to the characters. I love every single character in this novel: Claudia with her awkwardness, Iris with her warm heart under a cold exterior, Gideon with his entire personality, and I could go on, but I'll leave it to you to read this book and figure the rest out for yourself. I especially love Iris because she is a small, angry girl, which I very much relate to. And she's half of a super sweet f/f relationship; they're so cute😭
And can we fucking talk about Gideon Prewitt, who, yes, shares a name with a Harry Potter character (#it's spelled differently #I had it first). I'm just gonna say it because it's true: He's honestly one of the best love interests in YA. First off, he's just such a lovable character with all his quirks (they literally made a social media page with random things he says) and his charm. The line they say that always gets me (and I've read this book four times in less than a full year):
“I’ve seen him cry at two movies, and those two movies were Spy Kids and Spy Kids 2.”
"Look at him. Seriously, look at him. Look at those legs. Look at that bone structure. Look at those eyes, you could get fucking lost in them."Also the fact that!! He is THE soft boy of my heart!! Emma Mills writes soft boys to end soft boys honestly; every new book of hers features the best love interest. For example, Gideon so obviously has a crush on Claudia, but of course she's ignorant :'))) And how when he thinks that Claudia doesn't like him, he backs off and apologizes for reading too much into it and making her uncomfortable, and he keeps his distance so he doesn't seem overbearing but still tries to be a good friend!! Your MCM could never!! Honestly, name me a better love interest, I dare you.
"You need GoogleMaps to find your way out of my eyes," Gideon says. "Or at least a comparable navigation app."
I should probably end the rambling here, so I'll just end with a plea for you to read Foolish Hearts (as well as her other books). If you like gamer girls, boy bands, or Shakespeare, you'll definitely want to pick this up! Especially if you love the found family trope, soft love interests, and the best female friendships!! I'll just leave you with some quotes:
“It's like a snort," I say. "Like a snort chortle. It's a snortle."
He moves a little closer. "Is that a Pokemon?”
“Are you ready to put the ‘fun’ in Fall Fun Fest?” he says as I slap his palm.
“I can at least put the ‘trip’ in ‘Triple F.’” A pause. “By being clumsy, I mean. Not by, like, sharing drugs with the group.” Three sets of eyes are on me, and I can’t stop myself from talking. “I don’t have any drugs. In case you were worried. Or, in case you were … expecting me to have drugs.…”
Gideon grins.
"Oh great," Iris says, looking up from her computer. "Is Straighty McHetero going to give me a lecture on living my truth?"
About the Author: Emma Mills is an author better known to her subscribers as vlogger Elmify. She is also cocreator and cohost of the "life skills" channel How to Adult, which ended in 2016.
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