Off the bat, I had some issues with Evie's character, but as the story progressed and we see her continue to grow into a more confident, self assured person, my issues went out the window. See, Evie is a very anxious person who is socially awkward and has frequent panic responses to things. At first her responses came across stereotypical and, as someone who suffers from anxiety myself, I wasn't a fan of how she was depicted. But, as I learned more about Evie's individual case of anxiety, the more I realized that my initial assumptions were biased and wrong. Not everyone shows anxiety in the same way nor do they deal with it in the same away. Once I acknowledged that I was trying to compare Evie's anxiety to my own, I quickly shut it down and found myself relating to and enjoying Evie's POVs more.

Now for Caleb, I loved him off the bat. He was a little annoying in the beginning as well as he confesses to us his love for Evie without even hinting or telling her that he was in love with her, but he's so cute and charming that I forgave him. Once we got more into the plot, I found myself once again falling in love with this character more (as a friend, obviously). Caleb definitely comes across as a player but once we see these personal moments between him and Evie it's so clear that they're in love. I was rooting for them so hard!

Evie's friend Bex was also a great side character and I wish we got to see more of her. She really paired well as a friend for Evie and as a confidant for Caleb. Her own self journey with facing her parents expectations and pursuing her dreams got me so excited for her! But Leo - oh Leo - he sucked. He was really controlling over Evie and while Caleb was definitely showing signs he was in love with Evie, he happily stepped aside for Leo when Evie showed she was interested. But Leo still acts like a controlling boyfriend and a jerk friend - it was so frustrating to watch!

Throughout the book, I was so happy to see all of these character's self journeys to becoming better people and more mature teens. And of course, the fact that Caleb kept track of the "almost kisses" was so cute I could burst! One thing to be aware of though is that these kids are super geniuses. There are a lot of math and physics theories and concepts discussed in this book and as a person who can barely add/subtract large numbers without a calculator, these concepts were surprisingly easy to understand. Or at least, to get the gist of. If you aren't super into physics or math (neither am I) then you'll be fine! The math is only 5% important and the other 95% is plot/love related. I definitely feel smarter knowing that I understood a lot of the math jokes contained inside though. 

Overall, the beginning was a little rough for me to get into, but I quickly found myself loving the story and the characters. This was such a cute rom-com about two friends finding their way towards love. A solid 4 // 5 stars!

The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss is an absolutely adorable story in every way possible. This refreshing romantic read is full of beautiful friendship moments, emotional support, and what it’s like to be in love with your best friend with she doesn’t quite understand feelings. This book is full of sparks flying, heartwarming scenes that I was swooning over, and what it means to fall in love. I loved everything about this book!

Evie is the rockstar of this story. She’s wildly intelligent, but yet doesn’t quite understand the prospect of feelings (unlike the charismatic Caleb). I loved that she was a character I could easily relate to, in the sense of anxiety. I also struggle with anxiety so seeing Evie overcome her battles was truly inspiring. I’ve also experienced panic attacks before, and I thought Parks captured the full aspect of what it’s like to go through a panic attack. Her emotional support system and her therapy sessions were wonderfully depicted.

But, honestly, what was great about Evie was watching her grow throughout the book. At the beginning, she’s more closed off and not entirely comfortable in her own skin. But then she starts to grow and understands that she has the power to be brave. She starts to become comfortable in her body and comfortable in herself. Evie’s one of those characters that does end up surprising the readers, but in the best way possible. So, watching Evie overcome some of her crippling fears was inspirational and something I think many people will be able to relate to.

And then there’s Caleb. I loved Caleb. He’s the wonderful best friend we all hope to have, and he’s always there for Evie, even when he’s jealous of the boy in her life. Caleb’s sweet and understanding and caring. Most of his chapters are spent with him pining after Evie or vying for her feelings, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s somewhat rare in books to read about boys with the feelings for a girl when it’s usually the other way around. And even though he’s deeply in love with Evie, he never leaves her side; he’s always there to support her and to be her best friend. He knows that he’d rather have Evie in his life as his best friend than not in his life at all.

Parks has crafted a truly captivating story with phenomenal and relatable characters. Her writing is fresh and stylish. But what blew me away about her writing is how well Parks executed the story and the relationship between Evie and Caleb. Both are so supportive of each other, even when they don’t see eye to eye. But Parks captured the aspect of a positive friendship and relationship so well in her writing. She’s one of those contemporary writers to keep an eye on; I have no doubt that she will be a new voice in the YA contemporary genre.

Overall, this debut is a sparkling contemporary romance that left me with a smile, a full heart, and a new love for this genre. If you’re looking for a childhood friends to lovers style story with quirky and in-depth characters, then I highly recommend The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss!

Caleb and Evie have been best friends for most of their lives, and Caleb has been pining for Evie for a good part of that. When his first attempt to express his feelings went horribly wrong, Caleb decided to give Evie space until she was ready to explore more with him. Needless to say, he was blindsided when Evie begins dating someone, and that someone is not him. But Caleb was still hoping that one of his almost-kisses would actually happen.

I must confess, I was drawn to this book because of the title. It called to the science geek in me, while also appeasing my romance loving heart. The book delivered both, as well as lots of fun, friendship, and feels.

Early on, Caleb declared his love for Evie, and of course, I immediately adored him. He had been pining for Evie for years, and my heart broke a little for him, when she began showing interest in other boys. I respected Caleb though, because he never let it hinder his love, support, and friendship for Evie. As her lifelong friend, he understood her and her anxiety disorder, and he always seemed to know when he was needed and when he wasn't.

Their friendship was one of my favorite things about this story. It was so solid, and the type of relationship one could only hope to experience. They definitely shared something special, and were often misunderstood by bystanders. That doesn't mean I wasn't shipping them. On the contrary, friends-to-more is one of my favorite tropes, and I was rooting and cheering for this couple the whole time. There was just something so magical about their bond, which made me want it to go to the next level. And, to be honest, I love the idea of being lucky enough to find your soulmate in kindergarten, even if you didn't know it back then.

Some other pluses for me:

✅ So much amazing science and math!
✅ Boarding school setting
✅ Fantastic female friendship
✅ Did I mention pining?
✅ Anxiety disorder rep
✅ STEM heroine who dominates
✅ Lots of shared history
✅ Evie's story arc
✅ Online antics
✅ Science competition

There were many things that made this an enjoyable read for me, but the friendship and romance between Caleb and Evie was what stole my heart. I expected science and a super-cute romance, but I got so much more, including a case of the warm-fuzzies.

Thank you to Dreamscape Audio and Amulet Books for alc & arc of the book.

The Quantam Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss was a really cute YA book. I loved that the heroine Evie, is unapologetically one of the smartest kids at her tech high school. She has two best friends, Caleb and Bex, and I loved the supportive relationship she had with these two. The story is a romance with a heavy emphasis on friendship. The book also does a good job addressing bullying and the deeply harmful effect it can have on a person's confidence.

I listened the the audiobook for this one and the narration was spot on. Elizabeth Cottle and Nick Mondell both do a great job bringing their characters to life. The book rotates between Evie and Caleb with the narrators switching off.

I received a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Overall I liked this book a lot. There were clichés and tropes that bugged me in the book but it was a great book.
Evie has anxiety and has been in therapy and medications for most of her life. She is also a math and physics genius attending a STEM boarding school.
Caleb is her best friend since childhood and has been in love with her forever.
When Evie gets her first bf, Caleb while wanting whats best for her also feels jealous.
I like Caleb and Evie's relationship for the most part. Except Caleb seemed to have very little personality other than curshing on Evie.
Evie on the other hand is a strong character. She learns to deal with her anxiety and her parents. She is a math genius who doesn't let any man degrade her abilities for being a woman and doesn't qurstion that this is the world she will succeed in.
Solid 4 stars.

I wasn't sure what to expect when heading into The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss but I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun, lighthearted contemporary that did address some harder and heavy topics as well.

Characters are a big part of my reading experience, and I loved the two main characters within this book. I see quite a bit of myself reflected in Evie, so it was great to see a female character who loves maths and physics, which is not seen enough within ya books. I loved how Caleb was happy for Evie to take the spotlight and supported her with whatever she wanted. But I also enjoyed the fact that he had a character arc and went through some self-discovery throughout the book. One thing I would have loved some more of was more development of the sub-characters. I wanted to find out more about Bex, as we kept getting hints but never got the complete picture. I think this would have made me love the book even more.

Evie and Caleb's romance was amazing; they were everything that I want from a friends-to-lovers romance. From the first page, you could see the connection between them, and it was just a case of when not if.
There was something very mature about their relationship, especially how they addressed Evie's mental health issues and her problems with her mother. I hope to see more relationships like this in the future, where both parties talk to each other and work things out together.

One thing that I did love from The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss was the ending. Unlike traditional, contemporary books, we did get to see after the events and how lives had changed and were changing. This is something that does not usually happen, as the endings tend to be quite abrupt. So it was nice to get a glimpse of what happens after.

While I am an engineer, I did not understand all of the physics behind Evie's concept, but at no point did I feel like I was stupid. This is something that I enjoyed. The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss also addresses sexism within the scientific field, specifically physics and maths. There were points that I did feel uncomfortable, but this was for Evie rather than with the content itself. One of Evie's teachers is very sexist, which left me raging, but I am glad that it is addressed rather than being ignored, as this is something women and girls do face daily.

The only thing that I would have liked a bit more of was world building. I would have loved to have seen some more of the school and the competition. I think this would have enhanced my reading experience and would have drawn me into the story even more. But I did enjoy the world building that we did get I just wanted more.

𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔 𝒕𝒐 @tours.terminal 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓!

↠ First, that title intrigued me. The cover is adorable. When I learned that this was a childhood best friends to lovers, I immediately wanted to read it. We follow Evie & Caleb who are friends since forever. They're both smart and love to resolve mathematic & physics problems. Their relationship was so adorable and heartwarming that I couldn’t help but root for them.

↠ Evie is ruled by logic and maths so feelings are definitely out of the way for her. She’s never had any interest in romance whatsoever but the arrival of a new student, Leo, finally changes her mind about it. Caleb, on the other hand, has fallen for Evie since middle school and he keeps counting the almost-kisses he almost had with Evie. I absolutely loved that we had both POVs. Reading through Caleb's thoughts was amazing. I just loved seeing him pinning over her and waiting for her to be ready.

↠ The anxiety rep in this book was really well done. I truly appreciated seeing how Evie was recovering through her therapy sessions and I honestly wanted more from that aspect. I liked that despite her failure in the past, she was determined to do her project even though she doubted herself at times. We see her grow and try to overcome her fears with her family's and friends’ support. It was truly heartwarming and hopeful.

↠ Overall, the author did an amazing job with this wholesome story. Best-friends to lovers is one amazing trope and to see these two people supporting each other was heartwarming. I absolutely adored the pinning and the romance, it was everything!! If you're looking for a cute feel-good contemporary romance, you should definitely pick this one up <3

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩

This book is out on Jan. 5th so you still have time to pre-order your copy✨♥️

Title: The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss
Author: Amy Noelle Parks
Pub. Date: January 5, 2021
Rating: 5

This will be a spoiler free review. Thank you to Amulet Books and Book Terminal Tours for letting me read this early and review it! I love being able to hype it up and being able to be a part of the tour for it! I absolutely loved it. Make sure you check out the other tour stops for this book, and make sure you pick up your copy when it comes out and/or request it at your local library! You’re not going to want to miss this one.

I inhaled this book in a day. I couldn’t put it down. I started it while waiting in line at the mall to get new glasses – and then immediately picked it back up when I got home. Then I spent the rest of the afternoon thoroughly engrossed in it.

I’m so glad that I fell back in love with YA romcoms, because I would have hated missing out on this book.

Have I mentioned that I love books where best friends become more? Because omfg, I’m absolutely trash for those kinds of stories and it makes me desperately wish I had a cute boy next door who was in love with me.

Can I just say over and over and over again that I loved this book and leave my review at that? Because I did and my brain does not want to cooperate with me right now and give me actual reasons. I just want to fling this book at you and say READ IT.

I love Evie and Caleb. So much. Their friendship is wonderful, and the way they know each other is so heartwarming. And how wholly infatuated Caleb is – I was sunk from the first line.

Leo on the other hand – that boy could swan dive into a bottomless hole and I’d be okay. Granted my feelings changed a bit by the end of the book, but I was not a fan of his.

I’m fully Evie + Caleb = 4Ever.

Which kind of funnily brings me to the math portion. To be honest, a lot of it went over my head. I’m not a math person, and while I find some theoretical physics interesting, it’s not something I can really wrap my brain around – I was an English major for a reason lol!

But I loved the use of math and physics in this book. Like, absolutely loved it. It was charming, cute and while those might be weird words to describe those two topics, it was fresh and exciting! Not something you usually find in YA romcoms, and I’m all for the promotion of girls in STEM. I just loved the way the two focuses were used and how it’s based in real world maths and physics. I tend to love when books (contemporary or other genres) integrate real world STEM - I feel like it grounds it.

And the fact that Evie is unapologetically fucking amazing at it – watching her come into her own and grow more confident was so satisfying. But I also fully appreciated her journey and her friends loved her for who she was and not some “normal ideal”.

And in some ways, I could really relate to Evie. I definitely have some social anxiety and hate even the idea of talking in front of people – let alone actually doing it. But like Evie, I had people in my back corner that by the end of my senior year of college, I took part in a major presentation, spoke in front of people and the whole thing was filmed. If you’d asked high school me, or even college freshman me, if I would have readily volunteered to do that, I would have laughed in your face.

I actually didn’t put that together until just now, writing this review. No wonder I felt such a connection with Evie – now, if I could only have a real-life Caleb. That would be fantastic. I’m waiting universe…

I also really loved the various belief systems in this book – not necessarily solely religious differences, but just world views – how Evie is very scientific and believing in a higher power is strange, or Caleb who is more than happy to believe that sometimes fate is steering the car, and Bex who has the Church and Bible background. I think it’s just really representative of how people actually are.

Also, can I just gush about how much I love Caleb and how in love he is with his best friend. The fact that he has a list of his Almost-Kisses with Evie and even has favorite ones – y’all.

I can’t.

I love him.

I think this book is amazing and such a fantastic read, and I urge you all to pick it up when it comes out. I loved this book, ever moment of it – even when I was raging at Leo and how in the way he was – I loved it. You get sucked in and you don’t want to put it down. I just kept hitting the next page button because I could not stop reading. I didn’t want to stop reading. You’re just carried through the book, following Caleb’s journey on his quest to be with Evie, and her journey of figuring out how to be okay, who she is and what she wants. You get to watch their relationship grow stronger, you get to watch Evie and Bex’s relationship grow and hell, even Leo’s.

So, if you’re looking for a really enjoyable YA romcom that has best friends fall in love, a You Got Mail type scenario, math, physics and a bit of quantum entanglement and just a lot of fun, you should definitely pick this up. You won’t regret it. I promise.

REVIEW: The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost Kiss by Amy Noelle Parks

Thank you to ABRAMS Kids and Amulet Books for this eARC via NetGalley!

3.5 stars!

This was such a cute YA friends to lovers story, mixed in with some love triangle and mathlete-style drama. Caleb and Evie were such fun characters to read about, and it was so fun to see their different POVs during the story (A female lead who excels in math but struggles with mental health and a golden retriever like leading man.). If you love a feel-good love story this is one to pick up.

There was one plot point that I didn’t love in this book, not to give anything away, but there was some catfishing that happened that felt icky to read about. Otherwise, this book was such a fun read. I could see a lot of young teens enjoying this story.

Amy Noelle Parks' novel 'The Quantam Weirdness of the Almost Kiss' is an adorable book which I look forward to recommending to any of my students who, like the characters, are passionate about the disciplines of Mathematics and Science. Set at a boarding school for gifted students, the characters love physics, beautiful mathematical proofs and Battlestar Galactica - I loved seeing them nerd out and feeling at home with one another in their unique school setting.

Our main characters, Evie and Caleb, have been friends since childhood but never crossed the line of friendship (despite, of course, Caleb being completely in love with Evie and having missed 15 opportunities to kiss her so far (and counting)). Evie has never been ready for a boyfriend before she meets new student Leo, a mathematical whizz just like Evie. As sparks fly, and competition between all the students heats up due to the prestigious 'Frontier' award, Caleb is vying for Evie's attention. But can they really turn their close friendship into a thriving relationship?

Overall, I enjoyed this young adult read. Likeable characters, a pure and heartwarming central romance and an honest yet tender portrayal of Evie's anxiety make made this an enjoyable read. 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss is a thoroughly funny YA coming-of-age romance and I really enjoyed reading it.

Evie and Caleb have always been friends, and Caleb has always been in love with Evie. She's never had any interest in romance whatsoever but the arrival of a new student at their school finally opens her mind to it. And I thought Caleb and Evie's relationship was so adorable, strong, and heartwarming to read about. It's the kind of friends-to-lovers scenario we all wish for in real life. I love seeing how Evie developed throughout the story, how the people in her life really shaped her but it was ultimately her own effort to improve her life that did it.

The secondary characters weren't any less interesting either. Bex is sweet, funny, and kind but lives a bit divided by her faith, her deeply religious parent's expectations, and demands, as well as trying to figure out what she wants for herself. Leo's the 'mystery man' who immediately gets smitten with Evie and her beautiful mathematical solutions and way of thinking; he was kind and smart, but I wasn't too fond of his jealous moments or his preconceived notions about certain things...

But this book deals with some very interesting topics, such as overcoming your fears, opening up to the world, friendship, first love, and mental illness.
And this story does have a big focus on math, physics, and the academic world in general but don't let that scare you. It was well placed/used throughout the story, though. The way the characters talk about these things and their passion for it made me interested in it as well even if it was just while I was reading this story. (Though I don't really know anything about math and physics and the only thing that was familiar to me here was Schrodinger's cat experiment).

With all that being said, I rate this book 3.5 stars (but round it up to 4). Overall, it was very fun, surprisingly interesting (and baffling), and somehow also relatable.

*Content warnings: graphic descriptions of anxiety and panic attacks, prescription drugs.

Evie and Caleb are inseparable. Best friends since kindergarten, they do about everything together, to include going to an exclusive math/science boarding school. When Evie starts dating Leo, Caleb is feeling jealous. Together, Evie and Caleb agree to work on the prestigious Frontier award which alters her relationship with Leo.
Opinion
This book is both fun and provoking. The connection between Evie and Caleb is unparalleled and this causes strife in the book. Evie doesn’t care. She wants her best friend. I loved watching her realize that wanting him is now a different kind of want.
A few of the mathematical/science topics presented gave me pause. They made me wonder about the truth of them and if there is a flaw in the reasoning.
I truly think this book will be most enjoyed by “mathy” or science people. Others will also enjoy the book, even if some of the references are lost on them. (I read about sports in books and have no clue IRL.)
As a side note, I love the influx of math fiction casting girls in the limelight. This makes my heart happy as a math teacher to show that woman can do it too.
Many thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This book was okay for me. Some parts were really cute, some parts were a little too much pining. At times I thought Caleb made some really poor decisions - like catfishing Evie on an online forum. I liked the anxiety rep in this one.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Pros-cute story, interesting characters, portrayal of anxiety and realistic reactions to it, excellent friend support
Cons-friendzoned main character who has waited forever for the girl.

Books like The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost Kiss by Amy Noelle Parks are why I don’t finalize a best of the year list until the year is actually over.

Evie and Caleb have been best friends forever and attend an elite boarding school. She’s a socially-anxious math and physics genius prone to panic attacks who has trouble reading people and he’s a really smart (maybe not genius?) coder who oozes emotional intelligence and charm. She doesn’t see the point of kissing anyone, especially not Caleb who dates constantly for about two and a half minutes. Secretly the only person he really wants to kiss is Evie. In fact, he tracks their missed kisses—one of the sweetest things I’ve ever read. When new student Leo thinks Evie’s physics proofs are beautiful and she’s suddenly not so sure kissing is a bad thing, Caleb’s left spinning in a world of quantum what ifs.

This book is definitely a romcom, but it handles so many other things beautifully. I’ve read a lot of books about anxiety recently and this one is my favorite. Told from the alternating POVs of Evie and Caleb, I completely understood how their friendship worked so beautifully. It didn’t feel one-sided even though Caleb helps Evie deal with her issues. I loved how she helped him right back with other things. There was also a beautiful female friendship, a lot of super fun traditions, and some really complex family dynamics that provided valuable food for thought about setting boundaries and the origins of our issues. I also loved the math in this book even though I didn’t understand any of it. It was the first time in my life that I wished I did.

After reading this one, I’m honestly shocked that I haven’t seen it around more. It will be released January 5, and even though I already have an ARC copy, I’m preordering it under the guise of a gift for my daughter whose birthday is next month. But who am I kidding? I want this book on my shelf! It’s perfect for the YA lover in your life and anyone who might like an uplifting STEM romance with smart girls and emotionally intelligent boys.

Thank you so much to @netgalley, @abramskids , and @amy.noelle.parks for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

Caleb and Evie have been best friends forever. And as you might imagine... Caleb is in love with Evie, and Evie...well, she doesn't know what she is.

Insert another boy into the story who falls for Evie before Caleb makes Evie realise she is in love with him, and oh, well... you have a pretty decent plot!

The story is told from Caleb's and Evie's perspective, therefore, if you enjoy multiple points of view, you will like this one. I personally do. When it comes to characters, I love how the author presented them to us, they were fully and thoroughly described so I could just close my eyes and envision all of them; how they walked, looked, talked, thought...

When it comes to characters, although I understood Evie and liked her, I really leaned towards Caleb more. The good thing is, you can actually see characters grow and develop, and go through some major breakthroughs. A lot of readers out there might lean more towards Leo, but I personally didn't like him. BUT, you get to meet Bex, and she is awesome!

If I were to summarise this entire book it would be that it is VERY CUTE. An adorable, fun read. It didn't blow my mind, but I can see why someone who loves YA romance would eat this up in one day. And how about that cover? The cover is everything!

Who would like it: If you like friends to lovers trope, YA romance, stories that have science and math in it (sort of like The Big Bang theory), but on a much lighter level.

Evie and her best friend Caleb attend a boarding school for gifted students. While Evie excels at mathematics, Caleb is a skilled programmer. Evie wants desperately to submit her mathematics project to a big conference but is hindered by her extreme stage fright and social anxiety. Caleb has always been her life jacket, her buoy, so she finds a way to bring coding into her project so that he can go with her and stave off her anxiety. And in the process of all this, she might be falling for the new mathematics transfer student… But what she doesn’t know is, Caleb has been in love with her since they were kids. In fact, he’s had seventeen almost-kisses with her through the years. Maybe it’s time to actually tell Evie how he feels, before this new guy steals her heart.

I was super excited to be approved for an ARC of The Quantum Weirdness. For one, this is the first ARC I’ve been approved for in years, and I’m excited to get back into reading them. Second, this just sounded like the cutest story to finish out my year of reading. Love triangle, friends-to-lovers, and a boarding school? Sign me up. Plus, I knew I’d relate to Evie and her anxiety just based on the synopsis alone, and I was very right.

The novel is told in first-person POV from alternating perspectives of Evie and Caleb. The two are BFFs, but Caleb is 100% in love with Evie, and Evie… well, she’s not sure what she feels for Caleb, other than knowing she absolutely needs him in her life. She might have feelings for him, but she doesn’t want to risk her friendship with him. Instead, she turns to a new student who makes her heart flutter when he looks at her. That is much, much safer. Except now Caleb is really jealous. So, drama ensues.

I really enjoyed the back-and-forth perspectives of Evie and Caleb. Both characters are so different, but so very endearing. I related heavily to Evie’s anxiety, and really enjoyed her growth throughout the novel. Yes, she does depend on Caleb. A lot. But I think that’s okay. I still think the novel showed her growth regardless. I liked the positive outlook on therapy and how useful coping mechanisms can be. I myself started going to therapy this year, so it was nice to see positive rep for both therapy and anxiety. The book is also pro-female, with many strong female characters other than Evie, who all have to fight for their gender in a very male-dominated boarding school.

I liked Caleb a lot, too, despite the crappy thing he does later in the story. I think, were I Evie, I would have been a little more upset about what he did, but also, she’s kind of in love with him, so I can understand why she would have let it slide. I also hate that Caleb basically just “expected” Evie to fall in love with him because he’s there and he’s nice to her. I don’t really love that entitlement. I wish Caleb could have expressed his feelings for Evie a little less “that.” But overall, I liked Caleb. Honestly there’s no way anyone is that perfect but it’s nice to pretend.

If you love YA romance, especially friends to lovers, this is right up your alley. Yes, there’s some math and physics and stuff thrown in, but it’s not too much to bear. Think John Green’s An Abundance of Katherines-level of math. It’s very readable and will kill you with cuteness. Though I didn’t fall head over heels for the story like I was hoping to—I needed a little more something, I don’t know know what, just something—I still very much enjoyed it and think you will, too. The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss hits shelves January 5th, so be sure to pick up a copy to start 2021 with a swoony romance.

Caleb is totally in love with Evie. They’ve known each other forever and go to a genius math/science school together (because Evie asked him to apply with her and he couldn’t say no) and Evie is odd, to be sure, but still lovable, at least in Caleb’s estimation. He believes he’s going to win her eventually, just because he’s been around the longest and she’s rejected everyone else.

So what if she’s afraid of lots of things, and finds feelings mysterious (and also has said she doesn’t want a relationship with anyone, but particularly not with Caleb)? Caleb reads as the nicest of “nice guys.” It is honestly hard not to hope that things work out for Leo, the threat to Caleb’s calm who Evie finds exciting and wants to kiss. At no point in this book did I find myself hoping that Caleb got the girl, I was Team Leo all the way. Particularly when Milo was introduced. Usually someone pretending anonymity to get to know their crush better, or let their crush get to know them better is a trope I like in romance, but what Caleb’s doing feels manipulative.

The chapters alternate points of view, and those which are told from Evie’s point of view are significantly less frustrating and, in fact, are often very funny, with lines like “Silent is my preferred state for most people.” Although Evie probably wouldn’t intend that as a joke. It’s a little hard to tell if she has a sense of humor, but that doesn’t mean her tone can’t still be dry and entertaining - which it is. Parks does a good job putting the audience into Caleb’s head, too, and presenting his thoughts on their relationship as being normal and justified (if one remembers that that’s only his opinion), but it still reads as manipulative entitlement to me.

Something else that seriously bothered me about the book was that Evie is weirdly tactile with Caleb. What kind of high school seniors who aren’t dating hold hands with enlaced fingers and kiss tops of heads and doesn’t understand why other high schoolers might find this behavior less than platonic? Perhaps I am simply from the wrong generation and this is actually normal behavior?

Another member of Evie’s family who acts very oddly around people she loves is her mother. The matter of Evie’s mother’s behavior toward her daughter, and how it makes her treat Evie as her mental illness, rather than as a person, is portrayed well. Several people say that her father is envious of her brilliance, but that isn’t as obvious. It is a very interesting dynamic, made all the more so because this is something that people really do to folks with mental illnesses, reducing them to their illness and using their illness as an excuse for denying them agency. I am so proud of how Evie deals with this, and of the author for her portrayal of therapy.

For all my gripes, I did not dislike this book. It does an important thing with Evie’s character, and Bex’s (though I didn’t discuss her at all here, and she deserves better than that). I really liked seeing girls - one of them a brown girl with religion - in maths and science, and the prose is truly good. Parks also included a note on the mathematics at the end which I very much appreciated as a non-maths person. Overall, this is a book I would not buy for myself, but I’d recommend borrowing it from the library.

My copy of the ARC had occasional typos that make no sense, like “wednesday” or “tess” being lower case, but I’m certain those will be fixed in the final copy.

Well wasn’t this a delightful read!
Full disclosure, I’m a scientist and love being immersed in the world of science and people owning and loving their geekery.
I’m a biologist and a lot of the maths and physics discussions went WAY over my head. I suspect a lot of readers could feel overwhelmed by the science and would hinder their enjoyment of the book.

This book covers topics of unrequited love, mental health, bullying and relationships.

I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. These opinions are my own.

The first thing I want to say is: LOOK at that COVER! The cover is totally what drew me in and made me want to read this book! I love the art style and the typography.

I wish I could say this book was amazing, but I had a few major issues.

First, the alternating POVs were hard to keep track of because they sounded very similar. There wasn't enough to differentiate voice if you happen to skip over the chapter header. The pacing was also off at different points, and I felt like the story dragged on a little too long. I think this could have been easily rectified if there was a more solid timeline. It was difficult to determine how much time had passed from start to end.

Second, the characters:
I actually really liked Evie. I can see where some people could find her unlikeable. I found her characterization was a bit flip floppy at times. This is a very, very light spoiler, but I was a little confused how Evie seemed to be very indifferent about relationships and against kissing (tbh she came off as aromantic to me) but as soon as she kissed someone she was interested in a little bit, it was like a 180 for her character? Idk it seemed weird to me? There are other times she seems to go out of character but those are spoilery. Our other POV character, Caleb, was a problematic golden retriever. I know that sounds weird, but he's meant to come off as very likeable and a bit of a goof, which he does, however, he also just assumes that Evie would eventually realize she loved him? He also is a bit of a serial dater and it rubbed me the wrong way for someone who claims to be completely head over heels in love with Evie. Idk. Other people will probably not even care about any of that. Leo, the other love interest, is fine. He seems pretty nice all in all, but eh. Bex was cool. I really liked that she had her own side thing going on and wasn't just there as friend to the main characters.

I enjoyed the representation of women in STEM programs and I think the anxiety rep was pretty good. The story also shows a positive relationship with a therapist, which is nice to see. Also maybe should have added to the character section, but Evie's mom is a piece of work and they have a very strained relationship. There is also a part with her mom that is pretty unforgivable to me and could be pretty upsetting for some people.

I wouldn't say I hate this book. It was just okay. I honestly think that a lot of people will end up liking this one more than I did.

Content/Trigger Warnings: Bullying (from peers and also from a teacher), discussions about mental health and anxiety, depiction of panic attacks, strained mother/daughter relationship, secret drugging of a character (with medication). I think that is all.