Review: Can't Say it Went to Plan

Can't Say it Went to Plan by Gabrielle Tozer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars rounded up. It is difficult for me to write this review since I am not the target audience, and I haven't been for at least 40 some-odd years, plus I live on a different continent with different traditions! LOL! I like reading a variety of genres, and this book sounded very interesting. It was a compelling book in its own way; we deal with various serious issues (death, cancer, sexuality, rotten friends and acquaintances, etc.) However, what bothered me the most about this book was that there were too many groups of friends. I kept waiting for them to merge at some point, but that never happened -and this made it a difficult read for me. First, there were too many people to keep straight, too many different relationships. Then the author throws in more people outside the individual and initial groups. Perhaps the YA crowd will see things in this book that I missed. I still remember my high school days and understand a lot of what these groups are going through. But, unfortunately, some of this crap (like cancer and death and backstabbing) never ends even when we become "adults" and should know better. *ARC supplied by the publisher, Harper Collins, the author and ATTL/Edelweiss.

View all my reviews

SYNOPSIS: "From the award-winning author of The Intern, Faking It and Remind Me How This Ends.

School's out.

Forget study, exams and mapping out the future.

For the next seven days, the only homework is partying with friends, making new ones and living in the moment.

There are no parents or curfews - and no rules.

Zoe, Samira and Dahlia are strangers, but they have something in common: their plans for a dream holiday after their final year of school are flipped upside-down before they even arrive at the beach.

From hooking up and heartache, to growing apart, testing friendships and falling in love, anything can go down this week.

PRAISE FOR REMIND ME HOW THIS ENDS

'Bursting with humour and heart, Gabrielle Tozer reflects the pain, pressures and pleasures of life between high school and what comes next.' - Will Kostakis, award-winning author of The First Third and The Sidekicks

'A tale full of heart with characters who - by the final page - feel like friends. Milo Dark is the boy next door I always wanted. Gabrielle Tozer has delivered a story with depth and heart. Milo and Layla have stayed in my head long after the final page.' - Rebecca Sparrow, author of Ask Me Anything and Find Your Tribe

'How refreshing to read a book in which the real love story is the one between a young girl and her mum. It's rare to see grief explored in teen fiction, rarer still to see it handled in such a nuanced way.' - Dannielle Miller, author of Loveability and CEO of Enlighten Education and Goodfellas "