ARC Review: Fresh by Margot Wood (Jessica's Review)

Title: Fresh

Author: Margot Wood

Publisher: Amulet books
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Hardcover, 352 Pages
Publication Date: August 3rd, 2021

Summary: Some students enter their freshman year of college knowing exactly what they want to do with their lives. Elliot McHugh is not one of those people. But picking a major is the last thing on Elliot’s mind when she’s too busy experiencing all that college has to offer—from dancing all night at off-campus parties, to testing her RA Rose’s patience, to making new friends, to having the best sex one can have on a twin-sized dorm room bed. But she may not be ready for the fallout when reality hits. When the sex she’s having isn’t that great. When finals creep up and smack her right in the face. Or when her roommate’s boyfriend turns out to be the biggest a-hole. Elliot may make epic mistakes, but if she’s honest with herself (and with you, dear reader), she may just find the person she wants to be. And maybe even fall in love in the process . . . Well, maybe.

There aren't even words for how we reacted when we found out that Margot Wood was publishing a book. She had been our YA literary hero since we were little teens in high school who used to race home from the bus stop to catch the latest episode of Epic Reads's Tea Time with Margot & Aubrey. We've been fans of her for so long, following along with her writing journey, so it's safe to say that when she announced she was going to be a published author, we wasted no time adding the book to our TBR! And once more info came out about FRESH, we couldn't wait to get this book in our hands. So thank you to Margot for being so sweet and awesome and sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review! So without further ado, let's get into it.

As the summary explains, FRESH follows the story of Elliot McHugh as she leads the reader through her first year at Emerson College (which is where Margot actually went!). Elliot goes through a whole bunch of antics while she's there, some even based on Margot's own experiences -- everything from experimenting with sex, and friendship, classes, parties, and just the general anxieties and stress that come with going away to college for the first time (many of which I remember very well). And throughout the whole ride, she learns a lot of different things -- about herself, about her friends, and even about her future. The entire story is a fun rollercoaster ride, a loose retelling of EMMA, as Elliot makes her way through the chaotic jungle that is college.

I don't even have proper words for how much I loved this book. So just as a heads up, a majority of this review is going to be incoherent fangirling and flailing. It was so hysterical, and also so different than any other book I've ever read. I was so excited for my ARC of FRESH to arrive that I did something I'd never done before -- when it arrived, I stopped in the middle of the book that I was currently reading to dive right into it. I've never done that in my life before, so that's how you know how much I was anticipating this one! I enjoyed such a pleasant reading experience, laughing along with all of Elliot's antics, her internal monologues, her footnotes (which I'll talk more about in a second), and just all of the chaos and awkward situations she finds herself in. Her sparring with Rose was also super funny to see on the page, and watching them work out their dynamic was really fascinating. One thing I can absolutely say about FRESH is that it's so exciting and different, and really shook up my day-to-day monotony of reading the same types of books over and over. It absolutely stood out of me and I already started recommending it to so many friends and family members!

My favorite part of this book was definitely the footnotes. They were a fresh (ha), different take on reading a novel that I hadn't ever considered before. And they also added brief little snippets of the story that were directed straight toward the reader, so I didn't just feel like an outsider stepping into the story. I felt like I was actually part of the story myself, and Elliot even goes out of her way to address the reader directly several times. Fresh is also peppered with all sorts of interjections, choose-your-own-adventure segments, text transcripts, and more. All together, it made for a really fascinating, engaging, theatrical experience that I really enjoyed.

Overall, FRESH was such a fun, hilarious, sex-positive whirlwind of a ride that I enjoyed every second of. I spent so much time pausing my reading to share funny passages with my boyfriend and my co-bloggers, laughing out loud, and genuinely loving this story so much. I'm really looking forward to the book being published this upcoming Tuesday so I can go pick up a finished copy -- which is a hardcover without a dust jacket (!!) filled with all sorts of gorgeous endpapers, glossy text, and so much more that I'm excited to read. Let me reiterate: if you are a YA reader who needs a good laugh, you absolutely need to pick up FRESH. It's non-negotiable. And trust me, you'll thank me when you do!

Hats off to Margot Wood -- not only does she rock working in the publishing industry, but she rocks the author side of it as well! I'm really looking forward to reading more hilarious, captivating stories from her in the future.