Lucy Ivison

Freshmen is the story of two young adults from the same high school that find their lives entangled during their freshman year of college. Phoebe is the smart, pretty, but usually lost in the masses girl that's set out to be a new version of herself. She'll be fun, she'll party, she won't have a curfew, and everything will be great, especially since her longtime crush is there too. In just one week Luke breaks up with his girlfriend, makes just one true new friend, and lands himself a spot on the soccer team. He's a bit lonely, but things are looking up when he starts hooking up with Phoebe. The Wall of Shame changes all that though, leaving Luke trying to fix things and Phoebe seeking answers to what might truly make her happy.

Freshmen is a classic NA college novel, the pages filled with partying, hook ups, and an occasional class. Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison take the fun a step farther by exploring loneliness, homesickness, and shameful events that can make or break the college experience. I really connected with both Phoebe and Luke, their experiences similar to my own four year adventure. It was a fun-to-read novel, the sort that gets you out of reality, but doesn't challenge you too much. I laughed quite a bit, appreciated the focus on events beyond drinking and one night stands, and ultimately found this book to be a really great, positive new adult read. It was a very authentic portrayal of college that took me back in time.

Though Freshmen is labeled as a YA novel, I'd put in more in NA adult territory. There is a lot of drinking, time spent between the sheets and literally everywhere else, and a serious, thought provoking question of appropriateness and questioning what everyone else is doing. I really appreciated the secondary characters, but they seemed more well rounded than Phoebe and Luke at times, their voices more mature and adult than that of the narrators. Additionally, the end left me feeling like it was unfinished, like maybe there must be more to the story, a happier ending. I wish there had been an epilogue that revealed all is well for the characters after a dramatic freshman year.

Freshmen is a must read for young adult and new adult fans, I mean, I want to hand it out to freshmen on college campuses right now. It was so accurate, funny, and had a very smart message to it.

ARC provided.… (más)