Review: Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters

Author: Meredith Zeitlin
Pages: 288
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Source: Review E-ARC (Thank you so much!)
Synopsis: Kelsey Finkelstein is fourteen and FRUSTRATED. Every time she tries to live up to her awesome potential, her plans are foiled – by her impossible parents, her annoying little sister, and life in general. But with her first day of high school coming up, Kelsey is positive that things are going to change. Enlisting the help of her three best friends — sweet and quiet Em, theatrical Cass, and wild JoJo — Kelsey gets ready to rebrand herself and make the kind of mark she knows is her destiny. 


 Things start out great - her arch-nemesis has moved across the country, giving Kelsey the perfect opportunity to stand out on the soccer team and finally catch the eye of her long-time crush. But soon enough, an evil junior’s thirst for revenge, a mysterious photographer, and a series of other catastrophes make it clear that just because KELSEY has a plan for greatness… it doesn’t mean the rest of the world is in on it. 


 Kelsey’s hilarious commentary throughout her disastrous freshman year will have you laughing out loud—while being thankful that you’re not in her shoes, of course…

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Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters is the funniest book I've read in more than a year! Seriously, at some point I choked because I was laughing so hard. My friends would tell you that almost never happens. I don't know what it was about this book that was just so funny.

I think it was Kelsey. I love her. She's dramatic, and unsure, and gosh she makes a ton of mistakes. She grows though. She doesn't take herself too seriously and she's really a nice girl. She's kind of the life of the party. Stuff (usually some crazy, hilarious stuff) happens around her. I adored reading in her perspective. She's a freshman in high school so there's a lot of times she just felt really new or unsure about something and you could tell. I guess I liked the fact that overall she was strong, but she did have vulnerabilities.

What I also liked was how I could relate to the story. I'm a sophomore, and so I could understand a lot of the stuff Kelsey was going through (though my school is much smaller, has way less activities, and is much easier). I really enjoyed the memories that resurfaced last year, since my freshman year was a blast. Like when Kelsey talked about acting all mature because you're not kids anymore, I could remember having that same convo with my friends. The story wasn't 100% real, but it was entertaining and relatable. There were so many scenes and scenarios I completely understood like dealing with your parents, friends, and putting yourself out there. That's definitely one of the strengths. There's a lot in this book and (yes, I'm resorting to clichés) it has something for everyone.

The pacing of the book is excellent. Every single page is funny and I read some parts out loud because I adored the voice in the writing. Kelsey's life is never boring. Something is always happening, be it boy troubles, friend troubles, or even annoying little sister troubles. This made me finish the book really fast. The story is about Kelsey's freshman year so it covers a lot, but that doesn't mean there are endless pages of useless scenes. There are main events and the story kind of focuses on them.

Overall, I am so happy to have gotten this book to review. I wasn't sure it would be my style, but I loved it. It was so entertaining and I'm definitely going to recommend my school library buys a copy, and share this book to my friends. 4 awesome stars,

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