Book review - I Hate You Fuller James

Title: I Hate You Fuller James
Author: Kelly Anne Blount
Genre: teen romance
Similar books: 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons
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Rating:

I have problems with it

Summary (provided by publisher): I hate you, Fuller James.
I hate your floppy hair and your lopsided grin and those laughing blue eyes that always seem to be laughing at me.
I hate that you’re the most popular guy in school and I’m still the girl who sneezed and spit out her retainer on someone at a middle school dance. It’s just such a cliché.
I hate that I’m being forced to tutor you in English and keep it a secret from everyone. Because otherwise it might put our basketball team’s chances at winning State in jeopardy, and even though I hate you, I love basketball.
I hate that it seems like you’re keeping a secret from me…and that the more time we spend together, the less I feel like I’m on solid ground. Because I’m starting to realize there’s so much more to you than meets the eye. Underneath it all, you’re real.
But what I hate most is that I really don’t hate you at all.

My opinion: Simply based on the description, most of us will be able to guess the major plot points of this novel. Predictability is generally not a desired trait, though we're far more inclined to forgive it in a romance than in any other genre. Personally, I can for give a predictable plot if the characters are compelling. And I'll grant Blount this: she's creating believable characters. I simply didn't find them especially likeable. This is largely because of the lengths the book goes to in order to reassure us that Fuller is a "good guy." His bet manipulating Wren is only to cover up his genuine feelings and to protect the basketball team (a thin explanation at best). The bullying he started was actually him repeating what someone else started. And let's talk about that bullying. The nickname "Wren-tainer". I acknowledge that this is a reference to what had been a painful moment for Wren, but she frequently references it as "the worst name ever". But is it really? Or is it akin to continuing to point out that someone vomited in a classroom once. Additionally, the plot relies on a number of tropes: the manipulative athlete, motivation-less mean girl, the surprisingly pretty smart girl. It takes a standard plot through a standard path, never plumbing any new depths.

More information: I Hate You Fuller James releases March 2.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley