If I’m Being Honest by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka - HIGH

If I’m Being Honest by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, 359 pages. Viking Press (Penguin), 2019. $18

Language: R (51 swears; 4 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Cameron is a popular girl at a fancy LA prep school who has no pangs of conscience about being one of the mean girls in her school.  When her crush, Andrew, walks away from a relationship with her because of her bad attitude, Cameron decides to take a lesson from Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew”, which she’s studying in English class, and apologize to all the students she’s bullied.  She works hard to make amends to the students she’s hurt and discovers a whole new group of friends, a new boyfriend, and a few things about herself along the way.

I thought this book was going to be tough to read—I really disliked the main character, Cameron, at the beginning.  However, it really drew me in and I thought the authors did a great job showing Cameron’s growth throughout the book.  I think teen girls that don’t mind edgy content will really like this book.  That said, this book’s first word is a swear word and it is liberally sprinkled with more swear words throughout.  It has a lot of teen drinking, teens “hooking up” for casual sex, and some drug use.

Reviewer: M. Wilson