Call it What You Want - Brigid Kemmerer

Call it What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

Blurb (on back of book): When his dad is caught embezzling funds from half the town, Rob goes from popular lacrosse player to social pariah. Even worse, his father’s failed suicide attempt leaves Rob and his mother responsible for his care.
Everyone thinks of Maegan as a typical overachiever, but she has a secret of her own after the pressure got to her last year. And when her sister comes home from college pregnant, keeping it from her parents might be more than she can handle.
When Rob and Maegan are paired together for a calculus project, they’re both reluctant to let anyone through the walls they’ve built. But when Maegan learns of Rob’s plan to fix the damage caused by his father, it could ruin more than their fragile new friendship...
This captivating, heartfelt novel asks the question: Is it okay to do something wrong for the right reasons?

MY OPINION: ****

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Considering that the book is not exactly out yet and won't be for a good amount of time, I'm not entirely sure what I'm allowed to say and what I'm not allowed to say. Obviously, I will do my best to not spoil anything and will not go too far into anything in case.

CHARACTERS: This book is told from dual perspectives. Rob's father was caught embezzling money from the entire town. He tried to kill himself but the bullet only hit the front part of his brain so he's basically paralyzed and can't speak or recognize anything around him. He spends his day staring at the wall or the TV. That's completely awful. Rob, in a way, lost his father but still has the shell of him that he's forced to take care of everyday. I felt so bad for him and his mother having to deal with this because of the guilt his father felt. His father was a truly good man. Even if somebody does something bad, it doesn't make them a bad person, which I think was a strong message of this book.

Maegan is our other protagonist and she was caught cheating on the SATs. While I would hope I would never cheat on something as large as the SATs (or anything!), I do understand why she did it. The amount of pressure that parents, friends, family, and teachers put on you in school is sometimes beyond overwhelming. Maegan just cracked and it's not exactly her fault. However, her reputation is tarnished and so is Rob's.

So obviously they meet and the two broken souls collide.

PLOT: From what I think I can say-- THE PLOT is so INTRICATE. You think that this is going to be a fairly simple story, tinged with wrongdoing and guilt and remorse as well as a bit of romance but this turns out to be so much more. When the book comes out, I may reread it because I'm sure there will be things that are changed (this is unedited, etc), but for now, I really and truly enjoyed reading this book.

FINAL THOUGHTS: It's a fairly lengthy book for a YA Contemporary but it's worth it. I loved the characters and their personalities. Another theme that the book centers on is the idea of "is it okay to do something wrong if you're doing it for the right reasons?" To be completely honest, I'm not entirely sure if the book answered the question and I think it's because there really is no right answer. Is it ever right to do something wrong even if it means helping others? I guess it really depends on your circumstances.

The idea of money and reputation is focused highly on in this book. I would recommend this book to people looking for a young adult romance/drama.

Main Character: Rob, Maegan
Sidekick(s): Owen, etc
Villain(s): Money, embezzlement, mistakes, misunderstandings, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life.