**I received an ARC from The Novl (thank you, The Novl!). These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.**
Amelia Westlake Was Never Here by Erin Gough
Release Date: May 21, 2019
My Rating: 4.25 stars
Summary: A fiercely funny, queer romantic comedy about two girls who can't stand each other, but join forces in a grand feminist hoax to expose harassment and inequality at their elite private school.
Harriet Price is the perfect student: wealthy, smart, over-achieving. Will Everhart, on the other hand, is a troublemaker who's never met an injustice she didn't fight. When their swim coach's inappropriate behavior is swept under the rug, the unlikely duo reluctantly team up to expose his misdeeds, pulling provocative pranks and creating the instantly legendary Amelia Westlake--an imaginary student who helps right the many wrongs of their privileged institution. But as tensions burn throughout their school--who is Amelia Westlake?--and between Harriet and Will, how long can they keep their secret? How far will they go to make a difference? And when will they realize they're falling for each other?
Award-winning author Erin Gough's Amelia Westlake Was Never Here is a funny, smart, and all-too-timely story of girls fighting back against power and privilege--and finding love while they're at it.
I've been super excited about this book since I first heard about it, but unfortunately, at that time, it was only being published in Australia. I'm so glad that it's now (about to be) out in the US, because I so very desperately wanted to read it! Amelia Westlake Was Never Here is a tale of learning to be your best self while helping others to be their best selves.
I actually wasn't too into this book once I started reading it because the points of view read so differently; however, this helps characterize the differences between Will and Harriet and adds to the story. They're complete opposites, yes, but they help each other grow. Also, this adds to the romance because!! We get an opposites-attract lesbian love story!! And I loved every second of it!!
Harriet is the stereotypical A-type student, but I love that she never considers closeting herself to fit more into what's expected of her, even in the face of the microaggressions she faces from her mom and her supposed best friends. Will is the stereotypical rebel who doesn't care about school, but actually, she does a little, but her teachers refuse to believe that she cares. Both see each other as these up-front impressions, but over time, they realize that they're more than their reputations.
They team up to expose the bad things their school covers up; now, I'm so weary of books marketed as "feminist" because almost all of them only deal with white feminism, but this book surprised me with some intersectional issues. Both Harriet and Will are white, so they have a fairly narrow worldview in the face of racial issues, something they don't notice. This was subtle even to me, because I'm so used to only thinking about issues of gender; that's how narrow feminism is often depicted.
Will's best friend, Natasha (VIETNAMESE BI REP, I'M IN LOVE WITH HER), calls them out on some things even when she doesn't know they're behind the whole Amelia Westlake thing. She notes that Amelia Westlake is probably white, because they chose an Anglo name and white people usually consider these names to be the "standard." Later, when she helps them, Natasha notes that Will and Harriet wanted to donate to a charity without fully researching it (one that aids female domestic victims, but was also known to turn away immigrants without papers).
It was nice to have a character help them realize these things, although it really shouldn't have been on her to teach them all these things. I do think that her character is more than an informant, and I honestly loved her so much. Viet rep! Bi rep! She's honestly a bitch, and I love her!
Anyways, having gone to a private school (albeit not as nice as Rosemead . . . ), I can definitely attest to the things that happen in this book. Stuff is swept under the rug, money buys anything and everything, and so many privileged kids are racist and ignorant. I liked reading about students standing up in the face of this; also, the ending is pretty realistic. The swim coach is the school's token bragging rights (he's a former Olympian), and they finally called attention in the news for his continued sexual harassment. However, there are still people defending him, and it's very likely he'll get away with it with a slap on the wrist. Such is our world today, but I'm glad that the girls at least got someone to acknowledge that this was happening.
Amelia Westlake Was Never Here is a humorous, clever book that tells the story of girls everywhere. It also has front-and-center lesbian rep (both main characters!), and I loved reading about their opposites-attract love story. I can't recommend this book enough!
About the Author: Erin Gough is a fiction writer whose short stories have been published in a number of journals and anthologies, including Best Australian Stories, The Age, Overland, Southerly and Going Down Swinging. Her work has been broadcast on radio. She has also worked as a freelance writer and columnist. Awards Erin has received for her short fiction include first place in the Banjo Patterson National Short Story Competition, the Wimmera Literary Competition, the University of British Columbia “Ubyssey” Literary Competition and the FAW Frank Page Award for Short Story Writing. She is a past recipient of the Varuna Eleanor Dark Flagship Fellowship for Fiction, an Australian Society of Authors Mentorship, a Bundanon residency and an Australia Council Emerging Writers Grant.
Harriet Price is the perfect student: wealthy, smart, over-achieving. Will Everhart, on the other hand, is a troublemaker who's never met an injustice she didn't fight. When their swim coach's inappropriate behavior is swept under the rug, the unlikely duo reluctantly team up to expose his misdeeds, pulling provocative pranks and creating the instantly legendary Amelia Westlake--an imaginary student who helps right the many wrongs of their privileged institution. But as tensions burn throughout their school--who is Amelia Westlake?--and between Harriet and Will, how long can they keep their secret? How far will they go to make a difference? And when will they realize they're falling for each other?
Award-winning author Erin Gough's Amelia Westlake Was Never Here is a funny, smart, and all-too-timely story of girls fighting back against power and privilege--and finding love while they're at it.
⚞💗⚟
I've been super excited about this book since I first heard about it, but unfortunately, at that time, it was only being published in Australia. I'm so glad that it's now (about to be) out in the US, because I so very desperately wanted to read it! Amelia Westlake Was Never Here is a tale of learning to be your best self while helping others to be their best selves.
I actually wasn't too into this book once I started reading it because the points of view read so differently; however, this helps characterize the differences between Will and Harriet and adds to the story. They're complete opposites, yes, but they help each other grow. Also, this adds to the romance because!! We get an opposites-attract lesbian love story!! And I loved every second of it!!
Harriet is the stereotypical A-type student, but I love that she never considers closeting herself to fit more into what's expected of her, even in the face of the microaggressions she faces from her mom and her supposed best friends. Will is the stereotypical rebel who doesn't care about school, but actually, she does a little, but her teachers refuse to believe that she cares. Both see each other as these up-front impressions, but over time, they realize that they're more than their reputations.
They team up to expose the bad things their school covers up; now, I'm so weary of books marketed as "feminist" because almost all of them only deal with white feminism, but this book surprised me with some intersectional issues. Both Harriet and Will are white, so they have a fairly narrow worldview in the face of racial issues, something they don't notice. This was subtle even to me, because I'm so used to only thinking about issues of gender; that's how narrow feminism is often depicted.
Will's best friend, Natasha (VIETNAMESE BI REP, I'M IN LOVE WITH HER), calls them out on some things even when she doesn't know they're behind the whole Amelia Westlake thing. She notes that Amelia Westlake is probably white, because they chose an Anglo name and white people usually consider these names to be the "standard." Later, when she helps them, Natasha notes that Will and Harriet wanted to donate to a charity without fully researching it (one that aids female domestic victims, but was also known to turn away immigrants without papers).
It was nice to have a character help them realize these things, although it really shouldn't have been on her to teach them all these things. I do think that her character is more than an informant, and I honestly loved her so much. Viet rep! Bi rep! She's honestly a bitch, and I love her!
Anyways, having gone to a private school (albeit not as nice as Rosemead . . . ), I can definitely attest to the things that happen in this book. Stuff is swept under the rug, money buys anything and everything, and so many privileged kids are racist and ignorant. I liked reading about students standing up in the face of this; also, the ending is pretty realistic. The swim coach is the school's token bragging rights (he's a former Olympian), and they finally called attention in the news for his continued sexual harassment. However, there are still people defending him, and it's very likely he'll get away with it with a slap on the wrist. Such is our world today, but I'm glad that the girls at least got someone to acknowledge that this was happening.
Amelia Westlake Was Never Here is a humorous, clever book that tells the story of girls everywhere. It also has front-and-center lesbian rep (both main characters!), and I loved reading about their opposites-attract love story. I can't recommend this book enough!
⚞💗⚟
About the Author: Erin Gough is a fiction writer whose short stories have been published in a number of journals and anthologies, including Best Australian Stories, The Age, Overland, Southerly and Going Down Swinging. Her work has been broadcast on radio. She has also worked as a freelance writer and columnist. Awards Erin has received for her short fiction include first place in the Banjo Patterson National Short Story Competition, the Wimmera Literary Competition, the University of British Columbia “Ubyssey” Literary Competition and the FAW Frank Page Award for Short Story Writing. She is a past recipient of the Varuna Eleanor Dark Flagship Fellowship for Fiction, an Australian Society of Authors Mentorship, a Bundanon residency and an Australia Council Emerging Writers Grant.
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