Book Review
Title: Cherry
Author: Lindsey Rosin
Genre: YA/Contemporary/Romance
Rating: *****
Review: So all I knew about Cherry was it follows four best friends; Alex, Layla, Zoe and Emma who are all determined to lose their virginity by the time they graduate from high school. It was recommended by a friend who says it would make me laugh out loud, so I had to pick it up as I have been reading a lot of horror lately. The girls from a sex pact, however, all the girls are really different, Zoe is the shy one, Emma is laid back, Alex is the crazy one and Layla is the sensible one. Alex, however, has already claimed to have had sex, so her goal is to have good sex in the next 169 days or 6 months. We also very earlier on see the girl’s love interests for the rest of the novel, Layla has her boyfriend Logan, Zoe has Dylan, Emma has Nick and Alex is crushing on Oliver.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, the girls are dealing with the sex pact, puberty, and a million other things but we also learn that Alex hasn’t actually had sex but plays the role she has designed for herself, I think she hasn’t come clean to the other girls because she is embarrassed or maybe she feels they will think less of her. One thing is clear here is that the girls have very few boundaries between them which make for some amazing conversation. Despite the girls being given one boy to focus on, a few of the girls have more than one person they are interested in and in the case of one of the girls more than one gender so that might hint at something that happens later on. I also really like the fact that two of the girls are really forward with their desires rather than playing the meek virgin, which is so overdone in YA especially, so this was a refreshing take. Cherry is also unique in its premise, the only other book I have read that is YA that focuses the heavily on sex without being erotica is Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn but that only focuses on one girl’s journey through her own sexual discovery and finding love for the first time, so while they aren’t that similar it is the only book I can compare Cherry to.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Emma is surprisingly the first one to take the leap, and we get some insight into her relationship which was interested as she seems as laid back about losing her virginity as she does about everything else. The other girls are quite surprised by Emma’s revelation, but this is quickly overshadowed by the tension between Alex and Zoe. I really feel for Zoe as she doesn’t want to get left behind by her friends, but she also doesn’t want to jump into something that she might not be ready for but the issue here is Zoe isn’t going to know if she’s ready until she is there.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Zoe is my favourite character by far, and her relationship with Austin is ok but I prefer her with Dylan as they already have a lot of chemistry together. There are some love triangles appearing, but they are brilliantly done, Alex is hanging out with Oliver but still has a major crush on Zoe’s brother Joey but feels he would never want her. Zoe also has a dilemma as she is dating Austin, but she has been thinking a lot about Dylan who behind the scenes is shown to care a lot about Zoe. It was nice to see the four girls switching roles, Zoe and Emma, the shy ones are coming out of their shells, while the two confident girls Alex and Layla, seem to be retreating into theirs.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, the girls seem to feel the pressure of graduation upon them and some feel pressured into fulfilling the pact which isn’t a good thing as no one should be pressured into doing something they aren’t ready for. I felt this was the case with Zoe as she didn’t seem mentally or emotionally prepared for what would come after and even before I don’t think her whole heart was in it and it seems to show in her behaviour. Meanwhile, Emma seems to realise it is a bigger deal than she made it out to be and isn’t sure how to cope with the relationship she has, while she has a good time she doesn’t really want to be in a relationship at that given moment. I have to say Cherry is more than a novel about teenage sexual discovery but about relationships, learning about your own body, friendship, moving on, growing up and so much more than I just can’t express in words right now.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, things are beginning to build towards the climax of the novel – pun intended. The girls begin to understand what it means for things to fall apart and have to build them from the ground up all over again. One of the girls also has a major revelation that was beautiful to read about. This book also tackled some hard-hitting topics like teenage sexuality, slut-shaming, coming out and so much more than just makes this book a complex but extremely enjoyable read until the very end. Something also happens to one of the girls, but she manages to not let it get to her that much but the implications of what it means for her are absolutely devastating.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, I couldn’t wait to see where the girls end up in the end. I can’t say much without giving too much away but the journeys these girls take together and apart, tore my heart out and put it all back together again but better. This is the peak of female friendship that every single woman should aspire to have in their lives. These girls also give some sound advice that all young woman at this stage in life should have. If you haven’t read Cherry yet or been putting it off like I have then I 1000% highly recommend you pick it up right now.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Also see: Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn Review
I received this book from review consideration from Hot Key Books.
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