Smash It by Francina Simone Book Review

“I’m not fearless. Everyone’s scared. We’re all scared to fail or scared to admit we’re in love. We’re all stupid and smart all at the same time. We’re all good at something someone thinks is stupid. Being brave enough to do it anyway is the difference.”

(pg. 72)

About

Author: Francina Simone

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

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Synopsis

Olivia “Liv” James is done with letting her insecurities get the best of her. So she does what any self-respecting hot mess of a girl who wants to SMASH junior year does…

After Liv shows up to a Halloween party in khaki shorts—why, God, why?—she decides to set aside her wack AF ways. She makes a list—a F*ck-It list.

1. Be bold—do the thing that scares me. 

2. Learn to take a compliment.

3. Stand out instead of back.

She kicks it off by trying out for the school musical, saying yes to a date and making new friends. Life is great when you stop punking yourself! However, with change comes a lot of missteps, and being bold means following her heart. So what happens when Liv’s heart is interested in three different guys—and two of them are her best friends? What is she supposed to do when she gets dumped by a guy she’s not even dating? How does one Smash It! after the humiliation of being friend-zoned? 

In Liv’s own words, “F*ck it. What’s the worst that can happen?” 

A lot, apparently.

Synopsis

Spoilers Contained Below

To the year of F*** it (aka 2020) [I’m joking, not really 😂],

I think we ALL know what this book would have been called if it weren’t for the obscene eye-sore to all concerned parents if they saw their child pick up a book that said F*** it 😂.

Truthfully, I would have LAUGHED and bought the book anyway if it truly was called F*** it. I mean, doesn’t that just sound like an interesting title! Smash it is a good title too, and it sure does live up to it’s name of smash it. . . in more ways than one if you know what I mean 🤪.

But this book was the laughter I needed—it was the ray of sunshine that made my whole month. There wasn’t a page that I wasn’t rolling on the floor and there wasn’t a page where I just didn’t want to throw the book out the window. Every part of the book was a joy to read and a growth journey I was happy to soak in. So after reading this book, I think I need to go back to my blog post of Books that Will Make You Laugh Until You Cry, to add this one there. It was that good.

I love Liv. I can relate to Liv.

We both feel as dull as brick walls. We both feel like people who are scared to truly be ourselves because We both feel as dull as brick walls. We both feel like people who are scared to truly be ourselves because we’re scared of how other people might see us, so we try to blend into what other people might think of us. Liv had it much harder than I had it because she’s a curvy Black woman who’s queer and to the world they would see her as having all these different intersectionalites. I’m just Asian. But Liv had a lot more to battle through because of all these societal expectations she “didn’t fit,” and that built her insecurities and was the reason she didn’t want to draw attention already; she already drew a lot of attention.

“Everyone saw my blackness before they saw me.”

(pg. 231)

And that’s hard 😕. I apologize if this next sentence comes out sounding uneducated or weird because I am not the most educated on the history of Black people in America, but I am learning and I am trying. So I just wanted to say sorry if this next part comes off uneducated. But with the Black Lives Matter movement and everything I have read or seen posts about—trying to educate myself—-there was one thing I read about how people who are in the black community claim it as an identity like how White people claim to be White, etc. And being black was part of who Liv was, and I had no doubt she was proud of who she was. But I also felt this internal battle within her that felt the need to hide because society has made black people feel inferior. And so when she said the quote above, I saw it two ways in how people just saw her for being black, and failed to see the person deep within. And it goes with the idea you can’t just think you know someone just by the way they look, because that’s surface level and there was more to Liv than just her blackness—-her identity. She wanted to be seen as more.

There was this part with David the racist who was calling out Jackie for using the n word, and Jackie went off on him, as she had every right to. David didn’t understand why or what he was saying to her was insensitive.

“I’m tired of being told I have to tone down my blackness. This is who I am.”

(pg. 231)

Jackie shouldn’t turn down her blackness just because it makes other people uncomfortable.

“Not fair to ask her to bend over backward so that everyone else feels comfortable.”

(pg. 232)

It’s not fair to ask the entire black community to “bend over backwards” just to make everyone else feel “comfortable.” They have a right to be who they are and feel comfortable and proud of that. They should be because this gosh darn country (America) and its culture are built from the lives in the black community who fought for democracy, voting rights, human rights, equal rights, and respect. And they shouldn’t have to fight anymore to receive what they should receive for being a human on this earth. Skin color doesn’t change the way a person should be treated. It absolutely should not.

So all of Liv’s insecurities made her fearful about trying new things or just doing her for her. And that’s something I understand well. I have let voices and the opinions of other people dictate my life for practically forever until I realized the same thing—-f*** and don’t care what other people think. I remember I went through this whole phase in middle and the beginning of high school where I didn’t dress up for Halloween because it was the “baby” thing to do or it was “uncool.” But who cares? Life is too short to care about what other people think of you, and it’s too short to spend it not having fun—-like dressing up for Halloween—–because of other people’s opinions. I legit wore a shirt one year on Halloween that said this was my costume. I was lame as a brick wall.

And I felt like Liv hit an all time low when she sat talking to the bartender because he felt sorry for her.

“I’m not saying high school is going to be the best time of your life, but you should get over yourself enough to have a little fun while you can. Otherwise, you’ll be a cool adult sitting alone at a bar wondering why your life sucks.”

(pg. 17)

Which I just want to say is true. I graduated high school three years ago, and if there’s one thing I would tell anyone is to enjoy it and make the best of high school. Because no, it might not be the “best four years of your life,” as everyone claims, it’s probably going to suck, but just have fun while you can. Responsible, safe, reasonable fun 😅, but fun. And don’t give two hoots about what other people think or do or whatever because it literally won’t mean anything once you graduate high school because for one, you most likely won’t see anyone from your high school ever again, and two, there’s more to life than high school. So live for you, and have fun. Because you don’t want to look back and think you missed out on all the good moments just because you were scared of people’s judgments. Trust me. I’ve been there, lived that.

Having that very low conversation, and feeling tired of not being powerful or confident enough to be bold or seen, Liv knew something had to change.

“Something has to change, because that bartender and the succulent are right. If I don’t, I’m going to disappear like I was never here.”

(pg. 18)

And it kind of goes along with the quote that you have to be uncomfortable to grow. Thus, birthed the f*** it list where she created all these things she always was too scared to do—-she was finally going to put herself in uncomfortable and growing up and out of herself.

Honestly, I LOVE the idea of. F*** it list, because why not 😂. And it did help her do things she would have never done if she didn’t actively want to change for the better, but at the same time, that list cost her a lot of things. I mean, when people say f*** it, it’s a big middle finger to everyone. And after a while, it felt like that was how Liv was functioning and acting to her friends, her family, and her life. So as much as you should just go for it and say screw it, it’s also good to be self-aware when you find yourself too far off track from who you are into someone else. Liv went from 0 to a 100 like that, and it really made the relationships in her life complicated and complex and I felt really bad about that because she had such a great group of people around her.

But sometimes, maybe not the most supportive.

Eli and Dré 🧐.

The two men in her life 🤪. They OBVIOUSLY both liked her 😂. She couldn’t see it because she never gave herself enough credit to see it. But I tell you the way Eli acted around her, he LOVED her 😆 and Dré’s protectiveness around her, he also LOVED her 😆. It was a big screwed up mess waiting to happen.

“It really sucks when everyone who is supposed to know you the best thinks you’re this hermit who can’t let loose and have fun.”

(pg. 98)

As her friend, they were kind of unsupportive. I didn’t like how when she made the list, the first thing they did was laugh about it like they didn’t believe she would do it 🤨. I mean, what kind of friends were they to laugh at something she wanted to do? I just didn’t appreciate that.

But let’s talk about Eli because this bro was giving me mixed signals 🤪. I COULD NOT! Word to the wise for you: if you like someone, FREAKING tell them because this whole game of back and forth isn’t necessarily telling someone you like them. It’s making them confused. I honestly don’t blame Liv for not knowing Eli liked her in that way because he didn’t tell her!!!!! ☹️ And yea, the signs and signals were there that he liked her, but how the FREAK was she supposed to know he actually liked her. Because his kindness or doing all these things for her could have been because he was a really good friend, but if she thought he liked her and he didn’t, that would have been completely embarrassing to her, thinking all these things were just because he was her friend. So she wasn’t in the wrong for going out or dating other guys because she wasn’t tied down in a relationship to Eli in the first place 👏🏼. AND HE HAD THE AUDACITY to be mad at her 😆. I’m sorry, I would like to see your relationship status on Facebook 😂. Because that sucker says single! I COULD NOT!

It was sweet he would call her or text her good morning and good night all the time because no guy goes out of his way to do something like that if he doesn’t like you in some sort of way. But guys think that just because they say things, that it sends the signal that they like a girl or a guy, when really, it’s confusing. Liv was confused about it all the time because she would think he liked her, and then she would talk herself out of it. And then I was confused and angry because I knew they both liked each other but at the same time, Eli didn’t deserve to act all possessive and hurt when Liv didn’t do anything wrong. And it was this big miscommunication and if he just told her from the get-go he liked her, she would have known and they would have kissed a lot sooner and did the deed a lot sooner than all this guessing and skirting around the truth. 😂 And don’t even get me started on the whole Eli dating someone else too. I mean, what was Liv supposed to think when Eli was dating someone else so obviously. She wasn’t going to wait out on the idea that Eli liked her or would like her one day. If there’s one thing Liv had, it was self-respect.

And the random-intimate conversations with Eli. I mean, bro, you weren’t helping 😆. I swear he talked about love with her, and Liv was so convinced he wasn’t in love with her, and he was talking about her. Eli just needed to put on his big boy khakis and tell her he was in love.

“We’re all scared to fail or scared to admit we’re in love. We’re all stupid and smart all at the same time. We’re all good at something and someone thinks it’s stupid. Being brave enough to do it anyway is the difference.”

(pg. 72)

Eli was stupid!

I swear, if you like someone tell them 😂.

OOOOH, and don’t even get me started on when he found out that Dré and Liv slept together ☹️. This guy was a PRICK! He freaking SLUT SHAMED HER!!! What a PRICK! I’m sorry your lack of telling her you liked her and her sleeping with your other best friend was her fault. Idiot 🙄. And then he acted like an emo-f-boy prick afterward, making her feel like a slut and everything and I just HATED that because who she did it with her first time was none of his business, and second, it’s not for him to judge. And good for Liv knowing her worth to not waste her time being all sad about how Eli felt because it wasn’t her fault. He was just mad at himself.

“He’s trying to un-liberate my lady parts because he didn’t have the balls to make a move.”

(pg. 292)

PREACH IT SIS 👏🏼.

Because him making her feel bad for having sex was wrong. And I don’t understand why in these types of situations, the woman is always shamed and not the man. Eli was angry at Dré too, but he didn’t make him feel dirty for it.

“You might not be responsible for someone’s feelings, but how you act and how you choose to behave says a lot about you.”  

(pg. 300)

And the thing was, Liv is not in charge of how Eli responded, but how she treated him afterwards and how she treated others afterward, was a judge of her character.

HUUUUUUUH! *Dramatically sighs***

Don’t even get me started on Dré. This guy was the most passive, protective, and caring guy. He loves the people he loves with a passion and he would do anything to stand up for them and protect them, which I respect.

But Dré was a RIDE or DIE 😂. Literally 😂.

Oh my goodness, when Liv slept with him 👉🏼👈🏼. I was like, this can’t be good. Girl, you said F*** it, and you meant It 😂.

I don’t have a problem wit Liv doing it and figuring out what pleases her or what sex is, I just didn’t like feeling the fall out coming because she had two best friends she loved and who loved her deeply and she had sex with the one who didn’t make it as obvious that he liked her because he knew the other friend liked her too 😂. F*** it, her whole situation was a big FREAKING MESS.

But I loved how sex positive this book was. It didn’t shy away from the vey realness of how teens in high school, sometimes do have sex, but we never talk about it or mention it. But I liked how Francina Simone made it an open and honest conversation and thing in this book and how Liv could talk about it to her girl friends without judgment. Because Liv felt like she was the type of girl that no one wanted to talk about sex around to that she wasn’t the type of girl guy would have sex with. And that hurt my heart because every person can and just because you are a different skin color or are curvier, doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy a pleasurable experience such as sex. And it doesn’t mean because you’re a girl, you also can’t talk about it because it’s not “ladylike.” Heck, most Gen-Z’s probably talk about sex. I also get maybe it’s a male respect thing to not talk dirty around girls about sex, but I just didn’t like the way Eli and Dré made her feel, and I also didn’t like how Liv felt like she wasn’t good enough because she absolutely was.

As a teen, sex is something we’re probably very curious about. And Liv was no exception to that, and she felt everyone was losing their virginity—-which is such a negative concoction for a woman—-and she just wanted to get it over with with someone who she felt wouldn’t be emotionally attached and who would do anything for her—hence Dré. I felt like it was peer pressure for Liv to rush into having sex, but again it was her choice. But I wish for her sake, it would have been more special to what for someone she actually wanted to have sex with rather than just doing it to feel like she checked something off her F*** it list or just to say she wasn’t a virgin anymore. There is nothing wrong with being a virgin and I would hope more people would realize that.

So doing it with Dré just felt like a bad idea because she was doing it for the wrong reasons and he was doing it for somewhat a misconstrued idea.While Dré and Liv were doing out, he came out to say he loved her, but Liv couldn’t return those feelings back because she was confused in her feelings about herself. Because part of the reason I also felt like she rushed into doing it was because she wanted to prove that she was good enough—-that she was the “type of girl” worthy of sex.

And it goes back to the idea of how she felt like she needed to hide who she was.

“Maybe constantly doing that is more than a shield—maybe it’s become a cage I can’t get out of. A way of doing that thing Dre does, hurting myself before anyone can beat me to it.”

(pg. 276)

Liv never used to be noticed by others and she would shy away from compliments because they made her uncomfortable. So she would deflect it by taking jabs at herself. This was her defense but now it’s her cage because in the end it only hurt herself to lock herself up and hide away from the good people who were telling her because she was scared to believe it. And that’s why whenever she thought Eli liked her, she turned the thought down because she didn’t believe in herself to think it was true. And it’s why she never noticed how both of her best friends loved her.

And in the end, she lost both of her best friends to everything she said F*** it too.

They had to work towards coming to a middle ground in their relationship going forward, and this is something I appreciated in the book. High school friendships are complicated. Sometimes we fall out of being friends with people and the is okay. I never knew that until l learned it.

She managed to mend things with Drê a bit because he was a good friend and would always care for her and protect her. He saw the best in her when she couldn’t see it in herself. I also respected how he knew Liv didn’t love him and he wanted her to be happy with someone she actually loved. That was very mature of him and I also liked how much closer they got because they had sex. Not just that, but because doing something as intimate as sex, allowed them to open up about real emotions below the stargaze that connected them.

“ . . .but the more I’m changing, the less afraid I am to be honest with the people I love.”

(pg. 335)

And both of them were starting to open up and I liked that. Especially with Dré because he came across as this tough-guy who was chill, but he had sooooo many deeper layers to him that we wouldn’t have seen if he didn’t open up to his feelings.

With Eli , they had this whole romantic moment where Liv wrote the letter of how he always loved her since they were little and then they had their whole Taylor SwiftYou Belong with Me moment with the note in the window of how sorry they were. To be honest, he didn’t deserve her love because of all the shiz he put her through with the games and the slut shaming and she didn’t need his validation to be loved. But you know, it was cute because they FINALLY got together and stopped denying her feelings and it was a cute moment.

But what really got me was Eli and Dré because that was the one relationship in this book that seemed unmendable to what it was before.

“Sometimes people fall out of love, and sometimes they need the space to figure out what love is. Sometimes they make stupid mistakes.”

(pg. 350)

For Eli and Dré they fell out of the bro love they had for each other and they needed space to figure out how to feel and to shake off the hurt they felt. I understood that they were not going to be the same three musketeers of friends again because of such a heated and different dynamic, and that saddened me, but it’s also very realistic. Sometimes friendships do change—-they evolve. I had a friend in high school who I drifted from after high school because I felt hurt and I needed space. With space, I felt less hurt and it wasn’t until recently that we have actually reached out to each other. I don’t think we’re going to be friends like we used to be, but you know what? That’s okay. We’re not the same people we used to be when we hurt each other. I will always have love in my heart for this person, and I would love to still be her friend, but when we take space from the people who have hurt us or the people we hurt, it gives us time to heal. So I’m curious how or if they ever reconcile.Because there was more to the anger and hurt than them both loving Liv. All three of them were in the middle of very complex family situations and this whole cheating scandal. When Liv went over to Dré’s house, it rubbed me the wrong way how friendly Eli’s dad, Yosef, was with Dré’s mom because Eli’s mom was very much married. There was just something too friendly about their interaction and it sucked how Liv witnessed that. It put her in the middle of something she didn’t want to see, nor did she need to see. So she had a hunch of what might be going on between Eli’s dad and Drê’s mom, but it could have just been friendly behavior. But then we have the whole scene with Eli’s dad where he’s yelling at Eli and then Eli’s popping of fin anger at his dad because he found out he was cheating on their mom, and when I tell you I felt Eli’s anger, I felt it. I know it well 😔. My heart broke for Eli knowing what he just found out—how betrayed he felt for his family and his mom. I didn’t blame his anger. But, boy, really shocked me when he threw a toaster at his dad’s head 😟. The dad should have been less hostile to Eli because he was the one who cheated and he should have seen it from Eli’s perspective of how he was feeling. Liv and the mom were there to stop things from going too far, and Liv took Eli back to her house to cool down. But when he asked her if she knew and Liv was at least honest and thought they might be, I didn’t feel like it was fair of Eli to shut Liv because she had a hunch. She didn’t know. And it wasn’t like she was just going to mention something she wasn’t sure about because then if she told Eli beforehand it would have sounded off. It wasn’t her fault. But I get it, Eli was just angry and hurt. So I honestly gave him grace for being a shizzy friend to Liv—-not basically calling her a slut because that is not okay—-but for the rest of it. Because as much as she was going through it in her life, he was going through a lot too. I felt even worse for Eli’s mom who left town. She was just in the middle of things 😢.

Or Dré. It wasn’t Dré’s fault his mom and Eli’s dad cheated together. But they were mad at each other because of it, and on top of everything complicated with Liv. And I didn’t feel like it would be good for them to be close friends after everything because there will always be a part of Dré that might like like Liv and seeing Liv and Eli together might not be healthy for him. And it might also not be healthy for Eli to hang out with Dré knowing he and the person he loved (Liv) slept together or that his mom cheated on his mom with his dad. And so their whole relationship was different.

“Different isn’t always bad. It’s just different.”

(pg. 356)

As for friends, this whole year, Liv started to make genuine friendships that weren’t just Eli and Dré, and I thought that was healthy for her—to have her girl friends. Because as much as you can talk to boyfriends about things, there are some things they just don’t want to hear, they don’t listen to, and they just won’t get. So I was happy Liv had Jackie and Lennox who accepted her without question into the drama club theater and showed her the ropes.

I LOVED Jackie! She was a no shiz, confident, tell-it-to-you-straight, and funny gal and I respected her without a doubt. She knew her worth and her sexuality and wasn’t afraid to talk about it. I could NOT when she told Liv to talk to herself in the mirror everyday and say:

“I’m a bad***, smart-b*****, boss b*****. I got bomb pu***.”

(pg. 169)

I COULD NOT 😂.

Or when Jackie was like:

“I got on water-based mascara—I can’t afford to cry over limp d.”

(pg. 267)

She’s so freaking hilarious 🙈.

It’s just so refreshing to see a character who’s so unapologetically confident in herself and who makes you want to feel confident in yourself as well. I also liked how imparted her relationship wisdom of if you’re a busy beach, you’re a hot beach because guys like girls who are busy because it makes the girl seem less attainable and they chase her. But I liked how it was girls like Jackie who made Liv feel comfortable talking about sex and sexuality and to speak up for herself and create boundaries.

I also liked what Jackie said:

 “I’m not responsible for anyone else’s feelings.”

(pg. 268)

Because we’re not.

We tell our piece and it’s not up to us how we react to that. That is up for the other person—something we cannot control. And it’s something I need to remind myself too because I am not responsible if someone feels angry, sad, or mad. Maybe I partially am, but that is up to the other person to feel and figure out. And Liv needed to hear that when Eli was mad at her.

With her newfound confidence of putting herself out there and doing all these things, Liv lost sight of who she was or why she was doing this whole list in the first place. And it made me think about what Al from the fair/carnival said.

“I don’t know what old people do after they get old— besides work at universal studios and giving advice to teenage girls…”

(pg. 318)

Golly, I Loved Al! What a nice older man😆.

“Good judgment . . .comes from a string of f***ups.”

(pg. 178)

I mean, you can’t learn if you don’t f-up, am I right?

Or when Al said

“Al said change isn’t about creating opportunities, it’s about taking advantage of the ones present . . .”

(pg. 77)

There is wisdom in that too because sometimes it’s about doing the things we were always scared to do and were in front of us the whole time. For Liv, that was the play and just telling people she loved them.

And when he mentioned the mom too.

“Don’t be afraid of mistakes, Livia… and remember, she’s still got some to make, too.”

(pg. 178)

The mom’s only human and capable of messing up but the mom had always been there for her and did everything for her.

Liv had a complex relationship with her mom, cousin, and sister. Her mom is hard on her out of love—-a tough love. But her mom loves Liv and it might not always show, but I loved when Liv’s mom came to pick Liv up from work and the mom was late because she was trying to get extra hours to get tickets for something Liv really wanted to watch. So even if her mom worked a lot or did not seem as involved in Liv’s life, she did everything for her daughters.

“I’m always judging everything my mother does, and sometimes I’m so busy judging that I don’t see what she’s doing for me.”

(pg. 180)

Sometimes we don’t see everything a parent does for us and we think they don’t care, but they do. Because most parents do everything for their kids. The mom also imparted some much needed wisdom to Liv for her string of f***-ups. Because Liv effed it up with Eli, Dré (literally), and then she eventually popped off on Lennox and Jackie, and that was not okay. Because that was Liv’s anger and hurt coming through and it was kind of monstrous to see her act so rude to people who cared about her.

“I didn’t realize the Year of F*** It meant f**** everyone you know.”

(pg. 306)

And when Dré said that I felt like it angered Liv because she knew Dré was telling her the truth. She was unintentionally hurting everyone she love and not opening up to it because she thought that she was just living her truth and being herself. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But if the person you are, is hurting the people around you, people who know and care about you, then it’s a good time to look in the mirror and ask yourself why? Or what’s going on? And even Lennox and Jackie tried to tell Liv straight, and Liv, not wanting to hear it, lashed out at them. I thought Jackie and Lennox were being good friends and Liv was not. But I understood why Liv felt frustrated and tired of being put in the middle, of being who everyone and the world wanted her to be. She was done with being the one who had to say sorry to everyone. And I know that well When you feel like you have to apologize for being who you are, it sucks. But I feel like the anger is justified, but saying F*** it to everything in life is not the right attitude to go because it will cost you a lot of people who will eventually back away from that attitude.

And I thought the whole parallel between the Othello tragedy and Liv’s life was soooo well-done 👌🏼. If only my English teacher in high school actually taught me what Othello actually was, I would have appreciated it more 😂. It’s okay.appreciated it more 😂. It’s okay.

We love each other, but Liv’s relationship with her sister reminded me a lot of my relationship with mine. We love each other, but we don’t really talk or know each other. And it’s something I’m not proud of saying, but that’s our relationship.

“I realize I really don’t know a whole lot about my sister. I think that I do, but I’m totally oblivious about everything going on in her life.”

(pg. 318)

So when Liv said the quote above, it resonated with me. Because it’s hard when you don’t have a close relationship with the people in your life, and they have this whole other life that you feel like you should know about, but don’t. And it feel sucky because you want to know, but don’t know how to bridge that gap. But Liv was at an all time low tip no friends, no boy friends, and when her sister came home and they had the heart-to-heart, my heart warmed 🥺. Because I too, felt that. sometimes we have these complicated sister or family relationships, but when it matters most, they are there for us. And her sister was someone Liv felt like she could talk to without judgment because her sister didn’t know the life Liv was living back home, so the sister could give her honest feedback. And so the sister talked her through how she felt everything went and it made Liv realize her mistakes and how she needed to apologize for her actions.

When looking back on her list, Liv realized that she forgot to love herself in the process of doing new things. But for me, I didn’t feel like that was why she said f*** everything because I had a sense it came from just forgetting who she was to her core. Because she was not caring about her friend’s feelings felt like it was because she was so focused on doing everything that scared her—everything uncomfortable—that she didn’t realize she forgot to be herself. To be someone of compassion, love, kindness. Because Liv was all that and more before she said f*** everything and everyone. And , again, sometimes it’s a good attitude to have, and others not. And a string of it was not.

Liv made ammende with the people in her life because they knew they also played a part in screwing up. Liv made ammende with the people in her life because they knew they also played a part in screwing up. Because in a situation it’s never just one person’s fault, but I appreciated how. Liv learned and was trying to be better.

“There are friends you make who don’t deserve you, and then friend you make that you don’t deserve.” 

(pg. 328)

And she wouldn’t have made half the friends if she didn’t say yes this year.

She also wouldn’t have tried out for the play—yet alone get a part. Her in the play brought a whole different drama—pun intended 🤪.

Talk about Cleo

the play

Making friends and community

Angelica bully