Gretchen has always been more of a “least likely” than a “most likely” kind of girl. So how does she somehow find herself living out every trope from her favorite rom-coms…?

The Best Friend Crush: Why is it suddenly so hard to act normal around her childhood BFF, Samuel? Must be time for a—

Makeover(!): Black leather pants and some red lipstick are apparently enough to lend Gretchen the bravado to do an impromptu set at a comedy club, and catch the eye of—

The Roguish Bad Boy: Jeremy, the alluring young comic who thinks her name is Sabrina. It might just be—

The Perfect Cover: A funny-girl alter-ego that frees Gretchen to explore who she really is—and what she really wants. But as rom-coms have taught her, leading a double life can only last so long.

This book was a fun read, and while parts of it were predictable, I found myself not caring because I just really enjoyed the story and Gretchen’s development through it all. I also loved the element of featuring a character doing stand-up comedy – it’s not something I’ve ever read in fiction before, and I loved it!

There are some ways I found that I related to Gretchen, and still do. I’m not one to go out to parties (never have been) and I stuck close to a couple of good friends in high school, but primarily my best friend. If we weren’t hanging out, it was likely that I was just home doing my own thing, which was playing video games, writing, reading, playing loud music, and watching my favorite shows… you know, typical introverted teenager things. This was pretty much Gretchen, but she loved to watch rom-coms with her sister and cousin or hang out with her best friend, Sam.

When Gretchen finds herself going to a bar/comedy club with her sister and cousin, using fake IDs, she ends up on stage under her alias. By doing so, she’s entered into a contest to open up for Marney James, who happens to be Gretchen’s favorite stand-up comedienne. While she’s terrified about being in a contest, she finds herself wanting to go back to the club because when she’s up there as Sabrina, she doesn’t feel the need to hide her true self. She just has different clothes on and a different name. Despite going along with this, she knew it was wrong to pretend to be someone else, and it of course backfires at one point, which leaves Gretchen to question herself… does she want to keep doing stand-up as herself, or is she going to hide in the wings for the rest of her life?

Gretchen’s development through this book is pure and inspiring. She’s not normally one to cause conflict, or go out and do things on her own, yet after that second show she does, she’s suddenly finding herself trying some new things and speaking her mind. She also finds herself naturally becoming closer to her yearbook comrades, Natalie and Ethan, as well as some of Sam’s football friends without meaning to, but the growth of her friendship with all of them is so organic and sweet. Ethan, of course, was such a sweetheart and I loved how he was with Gretchen while she was going through everything that she did.

There’s a lot more I want to say about this one, but I also don’t want to spoil anything. You’ll just have to read it for yourself. So if you love YA contemporary/romance, you’ll be bound to like this one! You’ll love it even more so if you love stand-up comedy, because Gretchen isn’t the only character doing stand-up in this book.

Rating: 4.25/5 stars

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