Mini ARC Review: Eleven Things I Promised by Catherine Clark



Title: Eleven Things I Promised
Author: Catherine Clark
Series: N/A, Standalone
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date:  April 5th 2016
Pages: Kindle, 304
My Rating: 2.5 Stars

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  Seventeen-year-old Frances wouldn’t describe herself as adventurous. She certainly isn’t the kind of person who would sleep under the stars or bleach her hair or have a truly epic kiss. Until now.

  For the next week Frances will be away from home, competing in a bike race with friends from her high school. But while her teammates are determined to get first place, Frances has another goal: Before she crosses the finish line, she will have done every single thing on the Fix-It List. Ten crazy, totally out-of-character ideas her best friend, Stella, came up with to make the ride unforgettable. Ten things that Frances has to do on her own because of the accident that left Stella broken and angry…and Frances struggling to find a way to reconnect with her friend.

  However, as each item on the list opens Frances up to new adventures, new friends, and possibly even a new romance, it becomes increasingly difficult for her to keep the one promise that she knows she absolutely must obey—her promise to not tell anyone the truth about what happened to Stella. When it comes to friendship, Frances must decide what distances she’s willing to go and what risks she’s willing to take for the person she cares about the most.

  I was given an ARC by the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. 

  To be honest, I almost gave up on this when I reached about 25% of the book. I felt like the writing was kind of raw and amateur, and the flow just felt off to me. I decided to continue, however, because it's always been hard for me to put down books just like that.

  When I finished the book, I felt glad that I read because the story truly is a good one. It's about coming to terms with the things that happened, about forming new friendships, being the best-est friend ever, having a sense of purpose and being strong enough to allow others to help you. Eleven Things I Promised made me learn so much, and for that, I would always be thankful.

  Now, you might ask, "If it's so great, then why did you only give it 2.5 stars?" Well, my inhibitions still didn't change. Although the overall idea for the story is amazing, the execution is just not for me. I felt like I was reading a final draft of a book, but still a draft nonetheless. Not to put down books on Wattpad, because there are a lot of amazing books out there, but this felt like a Wattpad novel instead of a published one. It's hard for me to give this book only 2.5 stars when the impact on me is so great, but there's still a lot to be desired in terms of writing.


2.5 i-wish-i-can-give-more stars


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