288 pages
Published: May 12th 2015
Published by: Razorbill
Source: Publisher
Rating: 2/5
Best friends. BFFs. Soul twinsies. Whatever you want to call them, Harper and Lily were born to be besties. With high school just around the corner, casual-cool Cali girl Harper and awkward, always-costumed Lily make sure to text each other every day about their bond:
Harper: I love you so much that I am going to sneak out of detention to pay that guy from Craigslist $100 to cut off all your hair for my secret collection.
Lily: I love you so much I’m going destroy everyone in your life that matters and force you to depend and love only me.
Harper: That sounds beautiful. I love you.
Not even the threat of different high schools could throw this BFFship off-course, even if Lily begs her parents not to send her to the “dreaded Pathways," a special school for creative types, while effortlessly-popular Harper attends Beverly High with the rest of their class.
But in a city where fitting in means standing out and there’s nothing more uncool than being cool, it’s the naturally charismatic Harper--with her blond hair and perfect bone structure--who finds herself fighting the tide of American Apparel’d teens who rule the school. Meanwhile, it’s the perpetually “gawkward” Lily--who accessories every ensemble with a pair of tattered fairy wings--who finds herself flying alongside the queen bees of Pathways. Can BFF-ship survive the tidal wave of HS drama, or does growing up mean leaving some friends behind?
I really wanted to love this one. It sounds so fun! And I love stories about best friends! But, even though the reading experience was fun, I couldn't connect with A Tale of Two Besties.
I think the issue really comes down to age. I'm too old for this story, which makes perfect sense since the demographic probably falls somewhere between middle to high schoolers. Also, the author loves to name drop---like every few sentences. I guess this might serve as a way to attach the novel to the new generation but I don't know if I enjoyed it. Honestly, I didn't always get what she was talking about (again, I'm old) so it annoyed me more often than not. One thing that I actually liked were the messages between Lily and Harper. They are quirky and remind me that there's nothing better than being your geeky self with your best friend. I love that this is a story about two female characters since there are so few available for younger teens. That being said, I'm a little sad that this didn't exist when I was in middle school. I think I would've liked it a lot more then.
I think you should skip this one if you're over 16. However, if you have a little sister/cousin/etc or if you're about to start high school, this novel is definitely for you!
