Review: Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin

Title: Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters

Author: Meredith Zeitlin

Release Date: March 1^st, 2012

Series: None

Number of Pages: 288

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Source: Publisher

Kelsey Finkelstein is fourteen and FRUSTRATED. Every time she tries to live up to her awesome potential, her plans are foiled – by her impossible parents, her annoying little sister, and life in general. But with her first day of high school coming up, Kelsey is positive that things are going to change. Enlisting the help of her three best friends — sweet and quiet Em, theatrical Cass, and wild JoJo — Kelsey gets ready to rebrand herself and make the kind of mark she knows is her destiny.

Things start out great - her arch-nemesis has moved across the country, giving Kelsey the perfect opportunity to stand out on the soccer team and finally catch the eye of her long-time crush. But soon enough, an evil junior’s thirst for revenge, a mysterious photographer, and a series of other catastrophes make it clear that just because KELSEY has a plan for greatness… it doesn’t mean the rest of the world is in on it.

Kelsey’s hilarious commentary throughout her disastrous freshman year will have you laughing out loud—while being thankful that you’re not in her shoes, of course…

Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters was a fun and entertaining book. Kelsey seems to always get in some disastrous situations. It’s really a novel that will make you thankful not to have had the same kind of freshman year. Well, at least for all the disasters.

Something that I really liked about this story is the friendship between the characters. If there’s one thing that should matter in high school, it’s friendship. Boys aren’t as important. Well, I don’t believe they should be when they are fourteen.

I really liked Kelsey as a main character. She simply was so real. She wasn’t the teenager with an unlimited credit card and unrealistic disasters. She simply had real problems; two friends falling for the same guy, making enemy with one of the popular girl that will make it her duty of making your life horrible… She was the overreacting thing teenage girl, that make every little problem seems like it is the end of the world. That’s what I liked about her. Kelsey also grows through all the problems and drama she has to face, which was a nice bonus. I don’t think anyone could have gone through all that without growing up a little.

Kelsey’s friends were really a nice bonus. Em and Jojo were simply the two best friends a girl could ask. Lexi was great too, but I have to say that I wasn’t sure what her intentions were with Kelsey. She seemed to be too much at some points. Cassidy was the kind of friend I probably wouldn’t want to ever speak again after what she did. Well, that’s me. I still think Kelsey forgave her a little to easily.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story. It was fun and entertaining. I did enjoy it more than I thought I would, simply because Kelsey was a really great main character. This is a book I definitely recommend if you’re looking for a fun and light book!