Freshmen

Book Name

Freshmen

Author

Lucy Ivison and Tom Ellen

Book Description

Phoebe loves college. She’s free, has her own schedule, can be the cool person she’s always wanted to be. However, her longtime crush, Luke, is also going to her college. Phoebe has always wanted to be with him, and lucky for her, Luke and his girlfriend have called it off, so she has a chance. So they begin to talk, and everything seems to be going well. However, rumors about a Wall of Shame started by the soccer team begin to emerge, and Phoebe begins to feel troubled about their ‘relationship’. Will they be able to get through their freshman year of college and figure everything out? Or will everything go down in flames? Read the book to find out!

Age Rating

15+

This book is appropriate for readers above the age of 15. This is because there is a lot of adult content in this novel (details below). The concept of college and living on your own may be difficult for some younger readers to understand as well. There is a lot of relationship turmoil that the characters in the novel go through, and this may be difficult for some younger readers to understand as well. The concept of the Wall of Shame (explained below) may be upsetting and confusing for some of the younger readers as well.

Good Messages

2/10

There aren’t very many good messages in this novel. The few that exist include doing what is right no matter how difficult it is (seen through the relationship difficulties that Luke and Phoebe go through) and persevering through difficult times (seen through the characters’ conflicts throughout the book).

Violence

2/10

There isn’t a lot of violence, just a few scenes in which it is not very graphic.

Language

Intensity: 8/10

Usage: 5/10

Bad language is commonly used in this novel. It includes words like the f-word, b**ch, a**, and various others.

Romance

8/10

This novel completely revolves around romance. Luke goes through turmoil with his longtime girlfriend. Multiple characters talk about their feelings for one another and other people, and Luke and Phoebe also develop feelings for each other. Kisses are mentioned.

Adult Topics

There is a LOT of adult content in this novel. First of all, the characters drink a lot of alcohol and get drunk almost every night. The characters hook up and in one scene, one of the characters gets a condom stuck inside her and there is a vivid description of her friends trying to get it out of her. There is talk of a Wall of Shame, where people post pictures of girls that they sleep with.

Tvix’s Take

I don’t generally say this about books (if I’m being honest, I never say this about books), but I didn’t like this novel at all. I felt like it was all over the place, and there wasn’t a solid storyline. It kind of just felt like the characters went out, got drunk, made stupid mistakes, had deep thoughts, and regretted them afterward. I absolutely didn’t like how the novel ended. There was a plot twist, but I didn’t think it was well placed. It felt more like a last attempt to get a reader’s interest. I wouldn’t recommend this book to people.