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Love, Jacaranda
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beastly, Alex Flinn, comes a new contemporary novel about one girl’s journey to find her voice and let love in.
“A delicious bonbon of a love story.”—New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Nancy Werlin
Jacaranda Abbott has always tried to keep her mouth shut. As a foster kid, she’s learned the hard way that the less she talks about her mother and why she’s in jail, the better.
But when a video of Jacaranda singing goes viral, a mysterious benefactor offers her a life-changing opportunity—a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school for performing arts. Eager to start over somewhere new, Jacaranda leaps at the chance, and she pours her heart out in emails to the benefactor she’s never met.
Suddenly she’s swept up into a world of privilege where the competition is fierce and the talent is next level. As Jacaranda—Jackie to her new friends—tries to find her place, a charming boy from this world of wealth catches her eye. She begins to fall for him, but can he accept her for who she really is?
“A delicious bonbon of a love story.”—New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Nancy Werlin
Jacaranda Abbott has always tried to keep her mouth shut. As a foster kid, she’s learned the hard way that the less she talks about her mother and why she’s in jail, the better.
But when a video of Jacaranda singing goes viral, a mysterious benefactor offers her a life-changing opportunity—a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school for performing arts. Eager to start over somewhere new, Jacaranda leaps at the chance, and she pours her heart out in emails to the benefactor she’s never met.
Suddenly she’s swept up into a world of privilege where the competition is fierce and the talent is next level. As Jacaranda—Jackie to her new friends—tries to find her place, a charming boy from this world of wealth catches her eye. She begins to fall for him, but can he accept her for who she really is?
367 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 7, 2020
21 people are currently reading
3193 people want to read
About the author
Alex Flinn
29 books5,646 followersLove Jacaranda is out in the world! Hope you'll check out this fun wish-fulfillment romance!
Now, bio:
I grew up on a street called Salem Court. This probably influenced my interest in witches. When I was five, my mom said I should be an author. And when I was eight, I got my first rejection letter from Highlights Magazine.
I learned to read early. But I compensated for this early proficiency by absolutely refusing to read the programmed readers required by the school system -- workbooks where you read the story, then answered the questions. When the other kids were on Book 20, I was on Book 1! My teacher, Mrs. Zeiser, told my mother, "Alexandra marches to her own drummer." I don't think that was supposed to be a compliment.
My family moved to Miami when I was in middle school. I had a really hard time making friends, so I spent a lot of time reading and writing then. By high school, I'd made some friends and gotten involved in various "gifted and talented" performing arts programs. I studied opera in college (I'm a coloratura -- the really loud, high-pitched sopranos.) and then went to law school.
It was law school that probably helped with my first novel. Breathing Underwater deals with the serious and all-too-common problem of dating violence. I based the book on my experiences interning with the State Attorney's Office and volunteering with battered women. I thought this was a really important topic, as 27 percent of teenage girls surveyed have been hit by a boyfriend. I'm happy that the book is so popular, and if you are reading this bio because the book was assigned for school, I'm happy about that too.
I think I write for young-adults because I never quite got over being one. In my mind, I am still 13-years-old, running laps on the athletic field, wearing this really baggy white gymsuit. I’m continually amazed at the idea that I have a checking account and a mortgage. So I try to write books that gymsuit girl might enjoy. It’s a way of going back to being thirteen . . . knowing what I know now.
Right now, I live half a mile away from my old middle school, in Palmetto Bay, a suburb of Miami, with my husband, daughters, dogs, and cats.
Now, bio:
I grew up on a street called Salem Court. This probably influenced my interest in witches. When I was five, my mom said I should be an author. And when I was eight, I got my first rejection letter from Highlights Magazine.
I learned to read early. But I compensated for this early proficiency by absolutely refusing to read the programmed readers required by the school system -- workbooks where you read the story, then answered the questions. When the other kids were on Book 20, I was on Book 1! My teacher, Mrs. Zeiser, told my mother, "Alexandra marches to her own drummer." I don't think that was supposed to be a compliment.
My family moved to Miami when I was in middle school. I had a really hard time making friends, so I spent a lot of time reading and writing then. By high school, I'd made some friends and gotten involved in various "gifted and talented" performing arts programs. I studied opera in college (I'm a coloratura -- the really loud, high-pitched sopranos.) and then went to law school.
It was law school that probably helped with my first novel. Breathing Underwater deals with the serious and all-too-common problem of dating violence. I based the book on my experiences interning with the State Attorney's Office and volunteering with battered women. I thought this was a really important topic, as 27 percent of teenage girls surveyed have been hit by a boyfriend. I'm happy that the book is so popular, and if you are reading this bio because the book was assigned for school, I'm happy about that too.
I think I write for young-adults because I never quite got over being one. In my mind, I am still 13-years-old, running laps on the athletic field, wearing this really baggy white gymsuit. I’m continually amazed at the idea that I have a checking account and a mortgage. So I try to write books that gymsuit girl might enjoy. It’s a way of going back to being thirteen . . . knowing what I know now.
Right now, I live half a mile away from my old middle school, in Palmetto Bay, a suburb of Miami, with my husband, daughters, dogs, and cats.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
January 3, 2020
Note: An ARC was granted generously by the publisher HarperTeen, the author, Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I was so excited for this novel, one because the cover is cute as hell, two some of my friends loved it and I in general loved the summary. SO these were obvious reasons why I requested an ARC from Edelweiss.
But then it all fell to...nothing. Disappointed me beyond hope.
So let me tell you how it all happened.
First of all the cover - The cover was cute as hell, a guy and a girl holding each other at night, so yeah cute as heck image and I liked it immediately: 1. the night. 2. the couple. SO yeah definitely a favorite cover of mine. Hence a star.
Second - The summary - Jacaranda is a girl who has a talent of singing even though lives in a poor condition, works and still goes to school and behaves like a normal 16 year old as best as she can. One day while singing for a customer at the supermarket she works at, she gets viral after being filmed there. Soon her life changes after a mysterious benefactor offers to pay for everything and send her to a prestigious music school. There she embarks on a life changing path, meeting new friends, finding love and navigating the world of music and finding her place among the prodigies and the rich ones who don't have much talent.
A good summary. Not so cliche but not that original. I liked it, hence the star.
But then it all blew like a volcano on my face.
ONE thing that completely ruined it all- the formatting of the writing.
Look, she originally started off as a POV. But then somehow magically, it all switched to letter writing. I don't like being mislead like this. Hence my DNF.
The author should try to stick to one writing style and not manipulate or trick a reader into writing something and making them think that it's still the same.
So a miss for me, alas. Maybe someone else will like it. But I certainly didn't.
I might not even try her other novels for this misleading.
So yeah, DNFed. Not recommended.
Until the next read,
TMR
I was so excited for this novel, one because the cover is cute as hell, two some of my friends loved it and I in general loved the summary. SO these were obvious reasons why I requested an ARC from Edelweiss.
But then it all fell to...nothing. Disappointed me beyond hope.
So let me tell you how it all happened.
First of all the cover - The cover was cute as hell, a guy and a girl holding each other at night, so yeah cute as heck image and I liked it immediately: 1. the night. 2. the couple. SO yeah definitely a favorite cover of mine. Hence a star.
Second - The summary - Jacaranda is a girl who has a talent of singing even though lives in a poor condition, works and still goes to school and behaves like a normal 16 year old as best as she can. One day while singing for a customer at the supermarket she works at, she gets viral after being filmed there. Soon her life changes after a mysterious benefactor offers to pay for everything and send her to a prestigious music school. There she embarks on a life changing path, meeting new friends, finding love and navigating the world of music and finding her place among the prodigies and the rich ones who don't have much talent.
A good summary. Not so cliche but not that original. I liked it, hence the star.
But then it all blew like a volcano on my face.
ONE thing that completely ruined it all- the formatting of the writing.
Look, she originally started off as a POV. But then somehow magically, it all switched to letter writing. I don't like being mislead like this. Hence my DNF.
The author should try to stick to one writing style and not manipulate or trick a reader into writing something and making them think that it's still the same.
So a miss for me, alas. Maybe someone else will like it. But I certainly didn't.
I might not even try her other novels for this misleading.
So yeah, DNFed. Not recommended.
Until the next read,
TMR
January 7, 2020
Not-put-downable from start to finish! I had the privilege of reading this ARC and devoured it in one sitting. This novel is definitely my favorite out of all of Alex Flinn's books. You will root for Jackie (Jacaranda) all the way from its beginning to its satisfying ending. I love the characters, especially the many layers of Jackie, including her heart and humor. Flinn gives readers the dream of every talented person: to get discovered. Many young adults who are singers, dancers, and actors will love the world of a prestigous boarding school of the arts, which Flinn depicts in delicious detail. From the comaraderie to the rivalry, the alternating confidence and insecurity, readers of all ages will relate to Jacaranda's journey, as well as those of other characters as well. The author also serves up twists that kept me turning pages well past my bedtime, and of course, a beautiful romance. Just writing this review is making me want to read it again. Looking forward to a movie deal for this one. I loved this book!
August 5, 2020
A book about a girl who hasn't lived an easy life. Then she is granted a paid scholarship to a art school in Michigan. This book is written in emails which I liked bit didnt at the same time.
August 29, 2020
3.5⭐
Bellísima historia ♥️
Bellísima historia ♥️
June 29, 2020
Jacaranda loved to sing, and she was doing just that, as she bagged groceries at Publix. Little did she know, a recording of her would go viral and attract the attention of a generous anonymous benefactor, who wanted to send her to the Midwestern Arts Academy. Jacaranda knew this was the chance of lifetime, but wondered if she had the talent to make the cut at MAA.
Jacaranda had not had it easy. Her mother was an addict who would bring dangerous men into their lives. After her mother was imprisoned for attempted murder, while protecting them, Jacaranda was bounced around several foster homes. No, Jacaranda had not had it easy, but she kept her head up and held on her dreams. I had so much space in my heart for this sweet and charming young woman, and I was happy to cheer her on as she embarked on her next chapter at the school of the arts.
This was an epistolary novel, and therefore, I spent a whole lot of time in Jacaranda's head which I rather enjoyed. Most of her letters related to her daily ins and outs, while she shared her past and her emotions in others. It was wonderful watching her life change from letter to letter. She made friends, learned new skills, and even fell in love. And each detail was conveyed via a voice that was clear and honest.
It broke my heart that Jacaranda felt like she had to hide pieces of herself. She worried that coming from an economically disadvantaged background and having a mother who was incarcerated would bring the wrong kind of attention. She struggled with the guilt of not being herself, with not being honest, throughout the book, and it hampered her friendships. Yet, it didn't dampen my love for her, because Jacaranda was so sweet and endearing, and I just wanted everything to go her way.
The story may be a bit predictable, but I think people will delight in meeting Jacaranda and watching her dreams come true. I know I did, and I was also really proud of all the ways she grew. Overall, I appreciated this story about a girl, who when given an opportunity, she grabbed on with two hands and worked and worked to get closer to achieving her dreams.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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Jacaranda had not had it easy. Her mother was an addict who would bring dangerous men into their lives. After her mother was imprisoned for attempted murder, while protecting them, Jacaranda was bounced around several foster homes. No, Jacaranda had not had it easy, but she kept her head up and held on her dreams. I had so much space in my heart for this sweet and charming young woman, and I was happy to cheer her on as she embarked on her next chapter at the school of the arts.
This was an epistolary novel, and therefore, I spent a whole lot of time in Jacaranda's head which I rather enjoyed. Most of her letters related to her daily ins and outs, while she shared her past and her emotions in others. It was wonderful watching her life change from letter to letter. She made friends, learned new skills, and even fell in love. And each detail was conveyed via a voice that was clear and honest.
It broke my heart that Jacaranda felt like she had to hide pieces of herself. She worried that coming from an economically disadvantaged background and having a mother who was incarcerated would bring the wrong kind of attention. She struggled with the guilt of not being herself, with not being honest, throughout the book, and it hampered her friendships. Yet, it didn't dampen my love for her, because Jacaranda was so sweet and endearing, and I just wanted everything to go her way.
The story may be a bit predictable, but I think people will delight in meeting Jacaranda and watching her dreams come true. I know I did, and I was also really proud of all the ways she grew. Overall, I appreciated this story about a girl, who when given an opportunity, she grabbed on with two hands and worked and worked to get closer to achieving her dreams.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS
February 3, 2021
It’s been so long since a book truly swept me away like Love, Jacaranda did. So long since I sped through a book the way I did with this one. Love, Jacaranda is the hilarious, beautiful, and endearing tale of a girl who has her dream of becoming a singer fulfilled.
I’d never heard of the story “Daddy-Long-Legs” before the author of Love, Jacaranda came to my book club to discuss another book of hers. At the end of the online meeting (this was 2020, the days of COVID-19, for anyone reading this in the future), Alex Flinn advertised for this book. If I’m being honest, I wasn’t a fan of her book “Beastly,” so my expectations were very low when I picked up this book. But the premise had been so intriguing - I couldn’t resist. And I’m so glad because I absolutely adored this story.
I’ve always loved epistolary novels. In a way, they feel quicker-paced and it’s almost as if they remove the mundane details of everyday life. For me, Love, Jacaranda was like rereading the Princess Diaries series. The main character, Jacaranda, is hilarious and the way she rambled in her emails was endearing. In a way, she reminded me of myself. You know, without the incarcerated mother and the dream of becoming a Broadway star.
When this book ended, it made me sad. I hadn’t wanted it to end. I would be perfectly content if the book just continued forever. I loved Jarvis, Phoebe, and everything else about this book. I’m sad to have finished it, but I’m sure I’ll reread it someday, judging on how much I loved it. This book is a thousand-star read for me!
I’d never heard of the story “Daddy-Long-Legs” before the author of Love, Jacaranda came to my book club to discuss another book of hers. At the end of the online meeting (this was 2020, the days of COVID-19, for anyone reading this in the future), Alex Flinn advertised for this book. If I’m being honest, I wasn’t a fan of her book “Beastly,” so my expectations were very low when I picked up this book. But the premise had been so intriguing - I couldn’t resist. And I’m so glad because I absolutely adored this story.
I’ve always loved epistolary novels. In a way, they feel quicker-paced and it’s almost as if they remove the mundane details of everyday life. For me, Love, Jacaranda was like rereading the Princess Diaries series. The main character, Jacaranda, is hilarious and the way she rambled in her emails was endearing. In a way, she reminded me of myself. You know, without the incarcerated mother and the dream of becoming a Broadway star.
When this book ended, it made me sad. I hadn’t wanted it to end. I would be perfectly content if the book just continued forever. I loved Jarvis, Phoebe, and everything else about this book. I’m sad to have finished it, but I’m sure I’ll reread it someday, judging on how much I loved it. This book is a thousand-star read for me!
July 23, 2020
I read this book in less than 12 hours. I really enjoyed the format of this book. The story was written through a series of emails from Jacaranda to a mysterious person who gives her a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school to study musical theater.
She hasn't had it easy. Her mother was imprisoned for convicted murder and she's bounced around in several foster homes. So she's excited to go to the new school, for a new adventure and opportunities.
Although this story was predictable at times, I liked the gentle romance, the drama, and watching Jacaranda grow as a person. I love an MC who chases after their dreams, and she did just that.
Thank you to Epic Reads for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
She hasn't had it easy. Her mother was imprisoned for convicted murder and she's bounced around in several foster homes. So she's excited to go to the new school, for a new adventure and opportunities.
Although this story was predictable at times, I liked the gentle romance, the drama, and watching Jacaranda grow as a person. I love an MC who chases after their dreams, and she did just that.
Thank you to Epic Reads for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
July 8, 2020
when i read the synopsis i was thrilled and excited and oh boy, was i wrong.
i started reading and i was intrigued by the writing style, how it was structured; i completely loved how different it was, and by the circumstances it was molded. however, as i processed her personality, what she was going through and how detached i felt from the story; i despised it.
it felt like i was reading a book where the characters are 10 years old. it was a horrible experience to say the least.
*special thanks to edelweiss+ and harperteen for the arc*
i started reading and i was intrigued by the writing style, how it was structured; i completely loved how different it was, and by the circumstances it was molded. however, as i processed her personality, what she was going through and how detached i felt from the story; i despised it.
it felt like i was reading a book where the characters are 10 years old. it was a horrible experience to say the least.
*special thanks to edelweiss+ and harperteen for the arc*
April 23, 2020
Enjoyed this modern retelling of Daddy Long Legs:
https://perfectretort.blogspot.com/20...
https://perfectretort.blogspot.com/20...
September 30, 2020
This could have been a really cute story but the format completely ruined it for me. We had one "normal" chapter but then after that it was only told in letters written by the MC to someone who we don't know the identity. (the MC doesn't know either but yet, she doesn't mind spilling her guts to a stranger and private details of her love life as well. If it was real life, I would find it really weird and maybe unsafe)
In this book, you follow a teenage girl as she's sent to a art school after going viral by a video taken by a stranger when she sang at her job. Someone decided her talent shouldn't go to waste and they helped financially. The only way she can contact them is by email. You might think it sounds pretty cute and yes sure but when you expect a story told like most stories and you keep thinking "when are these emails going to stop??? Is there an end to them??" then you know it might not be the book for you. I wish those emails could have been fewer and in-between chapters but that's just not the concept of this book and I didn't know beforehand. I didn't even know how many of them I had to go through to get to the end because my ebook didn't have an index.
Anyway, that whole emails thing drove me nuts but the last twenty percent I managed to enjoy the story that the author tried to tell. It doesn't change the first 80% though.
(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Edelweiss)
In this book, you follow a teenage girl as she's sent to a art school after going viral by a video taken by a stranger when she sang at her job. Someone decided her talent shouldn't go to waste and they helped financially. The only way she can contact them is by email. You might think it sounds pretty cute and yes sure but when you expect a story told like most stories and you keep thinking "when are these emails going to stop??? Is there an end to them??" then you know it might not be the book for you. I wish those emails could have been fewer and in-between chapters but that's just not the concept of this book and I didn't know beforehand. I didn't even know how many of them I had to go through to get to the end because my ebook didn't have an index.
Anyway, that whole emails thing drove me nuts but the last twenty percent I managed to enjoy the story that the author tried to tell. It doesn't change the first 80% though.
(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Edelweiss)
August 13, 2020
Full disclosure: I'm a HUGE Alex Flinn fan. Her newest book, Love, Jacaranda, is an epistolary novel (it's told all in e-mails) and the style works beautifully. Main character Jacaranda is a foster child, living in Miami, working as a Publix bagger. Her life changes dramatically after a video of an impromptu singing performance goes viral, and a mysterious benefactor - "John Smith" - sends an emissary to offer Jacaranda the opportunity to attend a boarding school for the performing arts in Michigan.
Though "Mr. Smith" wants to remain anonymous, Jacaranda e-mails him regularly about her life and experiences, and the story unfolds through her emails. Her suitemate's cousin Jarvis takes an interest in her, and the development of their love story is so sweet.
The book is a retelling of the 1912 novel Daddy Long Legs, and as with her fairy tale retellings, Flinn does an excellent job of updating and modernizing an older text for a new generation of readers. Highly recommend!
Though "Mr. Smith" wants to remain anonymous, Jacaranda e-mails him regularly about her life and experiences, and the story unfolds through her emails. Her suitemate's cousin Jarvis takes an interest in her, and the development of their love story is so sweet.
The book is a retelling of the 1912 novel Daddy Long Legs, and as with her fairy tale retellings, Flinn does an excellent job of updating and modernizing an older text for a new generation of readers. Highly recommend!
May 29, 2020
4 stars, probably closer to 4 1/2. RTC
June 12, 2020
I want to take the opportunity to thank both Alex Flinn who personally offered to let me read this ARC and her lovely publishers in exchange for an honest review. So in that vein of thought I’d like to write this in the style of the book.
Dear Ms. Flinn,
I’ve been reading your work ever since Beastly and you wouldn’t believe the times your words have helped me. They really have. I was so shocked and excited when you reached out to my on Instagram and asked if I’d like to read this. I cried! I really did. No one has really ever taken any notice of me or my blog but I felt seen.
I write about books because they’re the thing that gets me through the day. Somethings that eases my depression and let’s me know there is something better. I never thought I’d fall in love with this book. I’m not really one for books rooted in reality instead of magic, but I wanted to read it because you sent it to me. On my birthday no less!
I have to apologise it too me so long, I’ve been in a slump since early March. But here I am. It’s 1am and I stayed up to finish this. I won’t lie and say I didn’t cry pretty much constantly from 60% all the way to the end, I did. I sobbed, I felt it in my soul. I heard from some that this is w retelling of a story, but I didn’t know it. It didn’t really matter because I connected with it so deeply.
You wrote a story that eased my pains and helped me come to terms with some of the stuff that’s been happening in my life. It sounds so dumb to write it that way but I felt like Jackie. But with less talent haha!
Thank you for keeping me up into the earlier hours crying when I felt unable to feel anymore.
Love,
Pixie
PS. You should write a sequel so I can cry some more.
Dear Ms. Flinn,
I’ve been reading your work ever since Beastly and you wouldn’t believe the times your words have helped me. They really have. I was so shocked and excited when you reached out to my on Instagram and asked if I’d like to read this. I cried! I really did. No one has really ever taken any notice of me or my blog but I felt seen.
I write about books because they’re the thing that gets me through the day. Somethings that eases my depression and let’s me know there is something better. I never thought I’d fall in love with this book. I’m not really one for books rooted in reality instead of magic, but I wanted to read it because you sent it to me. On my birthday no less!
I have to apologise it too me so long, I’ve been in a slump since early March. But here I am. It’s 1am and I stayed up to finish this. I won’t lie and say I didn’t cry pretty much constantly from 60% all the way to the end, I did. I sobbed, I felt it in my soul. I heard from some that this is w retelling of a story, but I didn’t know it. It didn’t really matter because I connected with it so deeply.
You wrote a story that eased my pains and helped me come to terms with some of the stuff that’s been happening in my life. It sounds so dumb to write it that way but I felt like Jackie. But with less talent haha!
Thank you for keeping me up into the earlier hours crying when I felt unable to feel anymore.
Love,
Pixie
PS. You should write a sequel so I can cry some more.
August 10, 2020
I both enjoyed Love, Jacaranda because I love Daddy Long Legs and didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as I could have because I love Daddy Long Legs.
The premise of Daddy Long Legs is seriously one of my favorite stories of all time so I was somewhat excited to hear about a contemporary retelling of it (especially because Flinn has written some quality retellings and recently got her writing groove back with last year’s Girls of July). For the most part Love, Jacaranda is exactly what I expected—cute tween fluff—though there are a couple of ways in which it’s a little less.
Flinn definitely knows Jean Webster’s book, as well as the Paul Gordon musical adaptation (as everyone should; it’s the best version), and Love, Jacaranda is basically a beat-for-beat reenactment in a 21st century musical theater setting. Also with teenagers. There are definitely times when the age (and, to a lesser extent, the setting) change hurts the book. A seventeen-year-old multimillionaire philanthropist is a little harder to swallow than the adults of Webster’s novel. I was also a little weirded out by the amount of crazy privileged and rich stuff these kids were running around and doing, since most seventeen-year-olds’ biggest excitement is getting to borrow their parents’ car. That said, Daddy Long Legs is a fairytale at its core and Love, Jacaranda is blatant teenage wish fulfillment, and the version of myself that devoured Daddy Long Legs as a tween and daydreamed about being swept off my feet by some teenage heartthrob celebrity probably would have eaten this stuff up. This is definitely a book where I’d be curious to see how younger readers would react (especially if they’re already familiar with Daddy Long Legs). As an adult, the concept of a sixteen- and seventeen-year-old spending ginormous amounts of money, living in insane luxury, and professing their undying love seems weird and unrealistic; but it’s quite possible that my thirteen-year-old self who thought that teenagers were way more mature than they actually are and wanted nothing more than to be the object of a teen star’s affection would have thought this was amazing.
But there are shortcomings of Love, Jacaranda that can’t be chalked up to my age and cynicism. Possibly the biggest one in the book itself (because there’s a wider discussion to be had about this novel, which I’ll get to in a minute) is Jacaranda, who, for some reason, is a big fat blank of a character even though I just spent 350 pages reading her innermost thoughts. It shouldn’t be possible for a book so based in one girl’s experience and confessions to have said girl contain next to no personality, and yet it’s somehow true. Jacaranda is such a flat character and the few traits she has seem to be inconsistent (she loves to sing yet she knows practically nothing about some of the most famous songs or musicals, even the obvious pop culture ones that you’d have to be living under a rock to not recognize; she’s shy and insecure but also outspoken at a moment’s notice; she talks about how much she misses her mother but then goes months without mentioning her). She also reads as super immature for a sixteen-year-old who has been through the harsh realities of her childhood. Everything is written in a perky fashion that feels closer to ten. It’s honestly quite bizarre, given how Jacaranda is basically written as a carbon copy of Jerusha Abbott, how she totally lacks her realism.
Another pretty problematic development is the fact that Jacaranda and Jarvis are making out and sleeping (literally, not figuratively) together throughout the majority of the book, an intimacy that is WAY different from the tentative courtship in Webster’s novel. I don’t think I’m out of line for believing it is a thousand times weirder for Jarvis to keep some big secrets from Jacaranda when they’re at that level of relationship. Flinn at least bothers to , which makes his behavior far less creepy and manipulative, and , but it still didn’t quite sit right with me. Say what you will about Jervis Pendleton: he at least had the decency not to make an overt move on Jerusha, probably because he knew it was all kinds of wrong. (Okay, he did propose to her near the novel’s end, but that reads very differently in an early twentieth-century story vs. Flinn’s “making out for hours and spending the night together” deal.)
Which brings me to another issue about Jarvis: I see no reason for him to not tell Jacaranda what was up from the beginning. Webster kind of kept that a mystery, too, but Jervis himself was kind of ambiguous throughout the novel so you could draw your own conclusions. Jarvis, by contrast, is presented as a total charmer and completely confident in his romantic pursuit of Jacaranda; I never got the sense of insecurity and awkwardness that form the basis of the story’s misunderstanding in the first place. Why wouldn’t this dude have just told her his whole story upfront?
Also, this is a small thing, but it’s so jarring that, for a book based in musical theater geekery and clearly written by someone who enjoys musicals quite a bit herself (this is not the first book by Flinn to feature extensive musical performance), musicals are always referred to as “plays.” That’s just incorrect lingo. You would get laughed out of Musical Theater 101 for that. No one, unless they’re so out of the loop that they only have the vaguest concept of what live theater is, would refer to Wicked, Into the Woods, or The Sound of Music as plays. Death of a Salesman and Blythe Spirit are plays. Shakespeare’s works are plays. My Fair Lady and Bandstand are not plays. No way would Jacaranda, who is taking musical theater courses on a daily basis and surrounded by some of the biggest theater nerds on the planet, still be referring to musicals as “plays” a year after she began her performing arts education.
But all of this is fine, I guess. At the end of the day, Love, Jacaranda is a fluffy little escapist read about romance and performing, and I won’t deny that, loving Daddy Long Legs, epistolary novels, and musical theater, I raced through it. It’s fun. It’s cute. Given how easily the material could have turned skeevy, it’s decidedly unproblematic.
However…
There is some terrible, nitpicky, adaptation-obsessed part of me that can’t help but wonder what the point of all this was. Love, Jacaranda is basically Daddy Long Legs, with the only differences being that the characters are teenagers, Jerusha is “Jacaranda” (a change that I find inexplicably hilarious) and sings instead of writes, and there’s a bunch of musical theater trivia in there. Some of Jacaranda’s emails are very close copies of Jerusha’s letters, to the point where it actually doesn’t make any sense in the new setting (see Jacaranda’s random comment about Jarvis being “a socialist,” something that reads very differently now than it would have at the beginning of the twentieth century). Most infuriatingly of all, two of the best and most memorable quotes from Daddy Long Legs are directly copied into Flinn’s novel and presented as Jacaranda’s original words. “Perhaps when two people are exactly in accord, and always happy when together and lonely when apart, they ought not to let anything in the world stand between them” and “This is the first love letter I ever wrote. Isn’t it funny that I know how?” And that’s just… There’s honoring and reimagining a story, and then there’s taking someone’s work entirely. Yes, yes, Daddy Long Legs might be in the public domain but giving Jacaranda not only Jerusha’s story but her literal words… That just seems wrong.
Overall, Love, Jacaranda feels easy. I’m not saying that I could have written this book, but I also don’t think that there’s much innovation happening. Flinn just took Webster’s text, substituted in some names and locations, threw in a dash of Broadway geekery, and that’s Love, Jacaranda. I didn’t feel it interacting with the text or expanding upon it or challenging it in any way so much as copying it with a few extra details that reflected Flinn’s own interests (i.e., she likes musicals). I guess Jacaranda has some issues with her incarcerated mother (unlike Jerusha, who’s an orphan), but they’re never made out to be that big of a deal? (This could be a flaw of execution rather than intention. Like I said, everything about Jacaranda’s voice comes off as a little flat, especially when it comes to her past and present trauma.) Jacaranda’s also way more hung up on not telling anyone her backstory, but this also feels strangely irrelevant, and the last 100 pages are completely redundant, with Jarvis being like, “I don’t care that you’re poor!” and her being like, “But you must secretly care, so I can’t be with you!” and him being like, “But I. Seriously. Don’t. Care” over and over again. I’m just not sure what I got out of this that Daddy Long Legs didn’t already cover, or why I should recommend this book in place of, or even in addition to, the original.
I don’t mean to hate on Love, Jacaranda because it’s mostly harmless and sweet, and I recognize that Flinn loves the source material. But, as someone who also loves the source material, I can’t help but feel like this could have been a lot more. Readers unfamiliar with Daddy Long Legs might not care one way or the other but, for those who are, it’s an odd imitator that never quite justifies its own existence and doesn’t do much that the original (let alone the musical) didn’t do better.
3 stars.
The premise of Daddy Long Legs is seriously one of my favorite stories of all time so I was somewhat excited to hear about a contemporary retelling of it (especially because Flinn has written some quality retellings and recently got her writing groove back with last year’s Girls of July). For the most part Love, Jacaranda is exactly what I expected—cute tween fluff—though there are a couple of ways in which it’s a little less.
Flinn definitely knows Jean Webster’s book, as well as the Paul Gordon musical adaptation (as everyone should; it’s the best version), and Love, Jacaranda is basically a beat-for-beat reenactment in a 21st century musical theater setting. Also with teenagers. There are definitely times when the age (and, to a lesser extent, the setting) change hurts the book. A seventeen-year-old multimillionaire philanthropist is a little harder to swallow than the adults of Webster’s novel. I was also a little weirded out by the amount of crazy privileged and rich stuff these kids were running around and doing, since most seventeen-year-olds’ biggest excitement is getting to borrow their parents’ car. That said, Daddy Long Legs is a fairytale at its core and Love, Jacaranda is blatant teenage wish fulfillment, and the version of myself that devoured Daddy Long Legs as a tween and daydreamed about being swept off my feet by some teenage heartthrob celebrity probably would have eaten this stuff up. This is definitely a book where I’d be curious to see how younger readers would react (especially if they’re already familiar with Daddy Long Legs). As an adult, the concept of a sixteen- and seventeen-year-old spending ginormous amounts of money, living in insane luxury, and professing their undying love seems weird and unrealistic; but it’s quite possible that my thirteen-year-old self who thought that teenagers were way more mature than they actually are and wanted nothing more than to be the object of a teen star’s affection would have thought this was amazing.
But there are shortcomings of Love, Jacaranda that can’t be chalked up to my age and cynicism. Possibly the biggest one in the book itself (because there’s a wider discussion to be had about this novel, which I’ll get to in a minute) is Jacaranda, who, for some reason, is a big fat blank of a character even though I just spent 350 pages reading her innermost thoughts. It shouldn’t be possible for a book so based in one girl’s experience and confessions to have said girl contain next to no personality, and yet it’s somehow true. Jacaranda is such a flat character and the few traits she has seem to be inconsistent (she loves to sing yet she knows practically nothing about some of the most famous songs or musicals, even the obvious pop culture ones that you’d have to be living under a rock to not recognize; she’s shy and insecure but also outspoken at a moment’s notice; she talks about how much she misses her mother but then goes months without mentioning her). She also reads as super immature for a sixteen-year-old who has been through the harsh realities of her childhood. Everything is written in a perky fashion that feels closer to ten. It’s honestly quite bizarre, given how Jacaranda is basically written as a carbon copy of Jerusha Abbott, how she totally lacks her realism.
Another pretty problematic development is the fact that Jacaranda and Jarvis are making out and sleeping (literally, not figuratively) together throughout the majority of the book, an intimacy that is WAY different from the tentative courtship in Webster’s novel. I don’t think I’m out of line for believing it is a thousand times weirder for Jarvis to keep some big secrets from Jacaranda when they’re at that level of relationship. Flinn at least bothers to , which makes his behavior far less creepy and manipulative, and , but it still didn’t quite sit right with me. Say what you will about Jervis Pendleton: he at least had the decency not to make an overt move on Jerusha, probably because he knew it was all kinds of wrong. (Okay, he did propose to her near the novel’s end, but that reads very differently in an early twentieth-century story vs. Flinn’s “making out for hours and spending the night together” deal.)
Which brings me to another issue about Jarvis: I see no reason for him to not tell Jacaranda what was up from the beginning. Webster kind of kept that a mystery, too, but Jervis himself was kind of ambiguous throughout the novel so you could draw your own conclusions. Jarvis, by contrast, is presented as a total charmer and completely confident in his romantic pursuit of Jacaranda; I never got the sense of insecurity and awkwardness that form the basis of the story’s misunderstanding in the first place. Why wouldn’t this dude have just told her his whole story upfront?
Also, this is a small thing, but it’s so jarring that, for a book based in musical theater geekery and clearly written by someone who enjoys musicals quite a bit herself (this is not the first book by Flinn to feature extensive musical performance), musicals are always referred to as “plays.” That’s just incorrect lingo. You would get laughed out of Musical Theater 101 for that. No one, unless they’re so out of the loop that they only have the vaguest concept of what live theater is, would refer to Wicked, Into the Woods, or The Sound of Music as plays. Death of a Salesman and Blythe Spirit are plays. Shakespeare’s works are plays. My Fair Lady and Bandstand are not plays. No way would Jacaranda, who is taking musical theater courses on a daily basis and surrounded by some of the biggest theater nerds on the planet, still be referring to musicals as “plays” a year after she began her performing arts education.
But all of this is fine, I guess. At the end of the day, Love, Jacaranda is a fluffy little escapist read about romance and performing, and I won’t deny that, loving Daddy Long Legs, epistolary novels, and musical theater, I raced through it. It’s fun. It’s cute. Given how easily the material could have turned skeevy, it’s decidedly unproblematic.
However…
There is some terrible, nitpicky, adaptation-obsessed part of me that can’t help but wonder what the point of all this was. Love, Jacaranda is basically Daddy Long Legs, with the only differences being that the characters are teenagers, Jerusha is “Jacaranda” (a change that I find inexplicably hilarious) and sings instead of writes, and there’s a bunch of musical theater trivia in there. Some of Jacaranda’s emails are very close copies of Jerusha’s letters, to the point where it actually doesn’t make any sense in the new setting (see Jacaranda’s random comment about Jarvis being “a socialist,” something that reads very differently now than it would have at the beginning of the twentieth century). Most infuriatingly of all, two of the best and most memorable quotes from Daddy Long Legs are directly copied into Flinn’s novel and presented as Jacaranda’s original words. “Perhaps when two people are exactly in accord, and always happy when together and lonely when apart, they ought not to let anything in the world stand between them” and “This is the first love letter I ever wrote. Isn’t it funny that I know how?” And that’s just… There’s honoring and reimagining a story, and then there’s taking someone’s work entirely. Yes, yes, Daddy Long Legs might be in the public domain but giving Jacaranda not only Jerusha’s story but her literal words… That just seems wrong.
Overall, Love, Jacaranda feels easy. I’m not saying that I could have written this book, but I also don’t think that there’s much innovation happening. Flinn just took Webster’s text, substituted in some names and locations, threw in a dash of Broadway geekery, and that’s Love, Jacaranda. I didn’t feel it interacting with the text or expanding upon it or challenging it in any way so much as copying it with a few extra details that reflected Flinn’s own interests (i.e., she likes musicals). I guess Jacaranda has some issues with her incarcerated mother (unlike Jerusha, who’s an orphan), but they’re never made out to be that big of a deal? (This could be a flaw of execution rather than intention. Like I said, everything about Jacaranda’s voice comes off as a little flat, especially when it comes to her past and present trauma.) Jacaranda’s also way more hung up on not telling anyone her backstory, but this also feels strangely irrelevant, and the last 100 pages are completely redundant, with Jarvis being like, “I don’t care that you’re poor!” and her being like, “But you must secretly care, so I can’t be with you!” and him being like, “But I. Seriously. Don’t. Care” over and over again. I’m just not sure what I got out of this that Daddy Long Legs didn’t already cover, or why I should recommend this book in place of, or even in addition to, the original.
I don’t mean to hate on Love, Jacaranda because it’s mostly harmless and sweet, and I recognize that Flinn loves the source material. But, as someone who also loves the source material, I can’t help but feel like this could have been a lot more. Readers unfamiliar with Daddy Long Legs might not care one way or the other but, for those who are, it’s an odd imitator that never quite justifies its own existence and doesn’t do much that the original (let alone the musical) didn’t do better.
3 stars.
September 12, 2020
I absolutely LOVED this Daddy Long Legs retelling. Finally, a current YA novel that doesn't have sex in it. That's not why I loved it but it was refreshing to see because while some teens have sex not all of them do. This is just a super sweet romance that takes place at an elite music school. Personally, I am rather obsessed with Jean Webster's Daddy Long Legs so I found it fascinating how Alex Flinn reimagined it and tackled some of the more problematic areas like I loved how some of the lines were direct lifts from Webster's novel and others were playful references (like Jacaranda shortening her name to Jackie). This is a great book to hand to middle schoolers who want to read YA. It definitely tackles some tough things but it pretty free from profanity and sexual references.
Content Notes:
Profanity/Swearing: Very little; 1 bitch; a couple of damns, a few instances of taking the Lord's name in vain
Sexual references: Jackie mentions that some boys/men try to take advantage of teen girls. She doesn't really spell it out but you know she is referencing sex. Someone is making out with a boy at a party. It's unclear how far they go. Otherwise, just some kissing and snuggling
Teen drinking: Yes, there is a scene where Jackie goes to a party and TONS of teens are drinking but she does not. Later in the book, Jackie & her suite mates share a bottle of champagne. Jackie has 1 glass, her suite mates have more. Overall, Jackie is not interested in drinking.
Religious references: None that I can remember
LGBTQ rep: Not that I can remember
Could a conservative Christian school library add this?
Yes!
Content Notes:
Profanity/Swearing: Very little; 1 bitch; a couple of damns, a few instances of taking the Lord's name in vain
Sexual references: Jackie mentions that some boys/men try to take advantage of teen girls. She doesn't really spell it out but you know she is referencing sex. Someone is making out with a boy at a party. It's unclear how far they go. Otherwise, just some kissing and snuggling
Teen drinking: Yes, there is a scene where Jackie goes to a party and TONS of teens are drinking but she does not. Later in the book, Jackie & her suite mates share a bottle of champagne. Jackie has 1 glass, her suite mates have more. Overall, Jackie is not interested in drinking.
Religious references: None that I can remember
LGBTQ rep: Not that I can remember
Could a conservative Christian school library add this?
Yes!
July 9, 2020
Very inspiring, fluffy book. jacaranda works at Publix and sings a made up song for one of her favorite customers per his request. It becomes viral and she is offered a generous offer from a mysterious benefactor for a full tuition, room and board plus an allowance to an performing arts high school in Michigan. jacaranda’s home life is far from
Idea. She is in foster care, her mom is in prison, she doesn’t know her father. She has alway been poor and her mother has been more interested in her current scummy boyfriend then her daughter. She accepts but decides not to give any details about her home life because she is embarrassed. She goes by Jackie. The school is competitive and she makes a friend but also a rival. She meets her rival’s cousin Finn and they begin a romance. She tells him more than she tells the others but she is still keeping a lot of secrets. All the characters go thru anxiety and doubt about being good enough. I enjoyed all the reference to broadway musicals and plays. It pulled me in and kept me entertained. I would definitely recommend this.
Idea. She is in foster care, her mom is in prison, she doesn’t know her father. She has alway been poor and her mother has been more interested in her current scummy boyfriend then her daughter. She accepts but decides not to give any details about her home life because she is embarrassed. She goes by Jackie. The school is competitive and she makes a friend but also a rival. She meets her rival’s cousin Finn and they begin a romance. She tells him more than she tells the others but she is still keeping a lot of secrets. All the characters go thru anxiety and doubt about being good enough. I enjoyed all the reference to broadway musicals and plays. It pulled me in and kept me entertained. I would definitely recommend this.
January 5, 2023
I've seen people rating this lower because it's in epistolary (letter) form and that's kind of frustrating. Did you like the plot, characters, pacing? If you don't like the emails, stop reading then.
I didn't mind the format and knew what it was going in. It was a bit strange for a teen girl to write these diary-like emails to a mysterious man. She told him her inner thoughts, crushes, even kisses and I don't think I could bare myself like that. I did have suspicions about who Mr. Smith was, but I was expecting it to be someone else. Not sure how much I loved the reveal, but oh well.
The story was pretty cute and Jacaranda was adorable. She was excited to be at the school and make friends and her positivity pulled people to her. I wanted her to succeed and get everything she wanted and I'm pretty happy with how things ended.
I didn't mind the format and knew what it was going in. It was a bit strange for a teen girl to write these diary-like emails to a mysterious man. She told him her inner thoughts, crushes, even kisses and I don't think I could bare myself like that. I did have suspicions about who Mr. Smith was, but I was expecting it to be someone else. Not sure how much I loved the reveal, but oh well.
The story was pretty cute and Jacaranda was adorable. She was excited to be at the school and make friends and her positivity pulled people to her. I wanted her to succeed and get everything she wanted and I'm pretty happy with how things ended.
October 31, 2020
An utterly charming modern re-telling of Daddy Long Legs. Nestle in and enjoy every moment! This sweet story is the perfect balm for a pandemic-weary soul. Escapism at its best.
Daddy Long Legs is a true favorite from my childhood and Flinn does a lovely job paying homage to the original and bringing it into contemporary times. Fans of the original will find much from that book tucked into this one in ways that made me smile. You don't have to have read the classic to enjoy this one but hopefully those who haven't will scurry to find it too.
Daddy Long Legs is a true favorite from my childhood and Flinn does a lovely job paying homage to the original and bringing it into contemporary times. Fans of the original will find much from that book tucked into this one in ways that made me smile. You don't have to have read the classic to enjoy this one but hopefully those who haven't will scurry to find it too.
August 4, 2020
3.5
For the music, drama, theater kids
For the music, drama, theater kids
September 26, 2020
This book is SO so cute!! I loved the entire thing!!
April 24, 2020
Love, Jacaranda will make you laugh lots and it's totally immersive! My complete review: https://bataysbookshelf.wordpress.com...
January 20, 2021
This book is SO GOOD!!!! If you have seen the musical or movie, or have read the book "Daddy Long Legs" you will absolutely love this! If you haven't, guess what? You will still love this book! I love the main character. I love her grit, determination, and her perseverance even when life is really hard. She is a very relatable character (even though she's 16 and I'm way older, I still enjoyed reading about her triumphs and troubles). This book is told completely through letters, and they were so much fun to read, and peek into someone else's life. I also liked that this wasn't a "high school whiny drama". The characters were fun and enjoyable, all the way through. Definately recommend.
March 28, 2020
I have mixed feelings on this book. I loved Nothing to Lose (2004) by Alex Flinn and Beastly (2011), so I snagged this one when I saw it was by the same author.
I love the way it was written. Jacaranda is a teen in foster care living in Miami. Her mother is in prison and her aunt couldn't take her in anymore. Jacaranda is working at Publix when someone records her singing for a customer. The video goes viral and a benefactor (Mr. John Smith) sees her and offers to pay her room and board at a performing arts boarding school in Michigan.
The book is written in emails she sends to "Mr. Smith" as he won't identify himself. She goes by "Jackie" as she doesn't want to share her past with her new friends and admit her mother is in prison or that she is poor and someone else is paying her way. She writes about her new friends and frenemies and how hard her classes are coming in as a junior without previous vocal or dance lessons. Jackie also confides in Mr Smith about the new boy she meets and the competition in her classes between her and her classmates.
The book was predictable. I read it on my Kindle and by 43% of the way through I knew what was going to happen. It was still a good read, but there wasn't any suspense or surprises. The characters are 16 and 17, but I thought it read as more of a middle grade book than a YA novel.
6/10 for fans of romance but more PG than PG-13.
July 6, 2020
This adorable letter format story was one that I finished in one sitting. I loved how the story unfolded and ended. I haven't read a story like this before so it was something new to keep me entertained. I loved the character of Jacaranda she knew what she wanted to do and knew what she would do to get it. The setting where this all began was here in Florida so that was pretty cool!! Nothing like seeing Publix in a book. It just made the story more real. Like I could have seen this girl in one of the stores that I have been to.
I haven't read many books by Flinn but that is about to change. I loved everything in this story and can not wait for more!
I haven't read many books by Flinn but that is about to change. I loved everything in this story and can not wait for more!
April 22, 2022
DNF because of the format
Read
December 28, 2021This was so lowkey cursed.
Love, Jacaranda is about a girl named Jacaranda who after singing in public and the video of it going viral, gets a mysterious benefactor who offers her a scholarship to a performing arts boarding school. There at the school, Jacaranda sees all the rich kids and immediately decides to pretend her mother isn't in jail and she's there only at the school because of a scholarship. As she tries to find her place at the school, she makes new friends and falls for a charming boy, but is still afraid to let them know who she really is.
First you have to get rid of your suspension of disbelief then you have to throw your brain away because this was all so dumb? First she goes viral from some random ass singing video and people are so in love with her voice which is so weird because the internet has millions of good singers just chilling.
So why is this awkward shit famous but anyway... Then she is blessed by some random dude going by John Smith who offers her a scholarship to a boarding school which is actually so fucking weird. The book is told in her letters to him as she tells every detail to some random ass dude she doesn't even know the real name of or has ever met??? Like why does this rich man have to hear about you and the girls hanging out or how you are kissing some boy? You wild sis.
It was even weirder because it wasn't actually letter writing in the beginning until it switched over and then we couldn't escape that.
The mystery around "John Smith" was so funny because it was so obvious the entire time but Jacaranda rly was shocked and upset when ??? it was so obvious??? You dumb??? And then she was like i DoNt WaNt ChArITy i hAtE yoU as she was literally taking charity but alright.
Romance was gross, super gross. When you know more about their situation it left a bad taste in my mouth. So much of their relationship was so cringey too. If I'm just trying to eat my dinner and some girl just starts singing at the diner I'm taking my plate and leaving.
Cover is cute as hell but nothing else really was.
Love, Jacaranda is about a girl named Jacaranda who after singing in public and the video of it going viral, gets a mysterious benefactor who offers her a scholarship to a performing arts boarding school. There at the school, Jacaranda sees all the rich kids and immediately decides to pretend her mother isn't in jail and she's there only at the school because of a scholarship. As she tries to find her place at the school, she makes new friends and falls for a charming boy, but is still afraid to let them know who she really is.
First you have to get rid of your suspension of disbelief then you have to throw your brain away because this was all so dumb? First she goes viral from some random ass singing video and people are so in love with her voice which is so weird because the internet has millions of good singers just chilling.
So why is this awkward shit famous but anyway... Then she is blessed by some random dude going by John Smith who offers her a scholarship to a boarding school which is actually so fucking weird. The book is told in her letters to him as she tells every detail to some random ass dude she doesn't even know the real name of or has ever met??? Like why does this rich man have to hear about you and the girls hanging out or how you are kissing some boy? You wild sis.
It was even weirder because it wasn't actually letter writing in the beginning until it switched over and then we couldn't escape that.
The mystery around "John Smith" was so funny because it was so obvious the entire time but Jacaranda rly was shocked and upset when ??? it was so obvious??? You dumb??? And then she was like i DoNt WaNt ChArITy i hAtE yoU as she was literally taking charity but alright.
Romance was gross, super gross. When you know more about their situation it left a bad taste in my mouth. So much of their relationship was so cringey too. If I'm just trying to eat my dinner and some girl just starts singing at the diner I'm taking my plate and leaving.
Cover is cute as hell but nothing else really was.
Read
November 29, 2021Wow, this was utter trash. I’ve never felt so morally disgusted by a novel before this one. The main character is so foolish, especially once you get to the ending. I wanted to see if this novel would redeem itself, and it had progressively more cringy as I kept reading. I do not understand how anyone would allow this to be published. I got to give it something because I did actually finish it, but I wasted money on it so I might as well. So disappointed.
June 6, 2021
I did like this book. It was very sweet, but super cliche. I didn’t like the Jarvis romance because it felt forced. I liked the story being told through emails, but the ending just landed wrong for me. I was a little disappointed, but still enjoyed the story.
July 3, 2021
This is such a touching story of a young woman from a troubled background who gets a scholarship from an anonymo0us donor to a prestigious boarding school to study musical theater. Told in emails, it's reminiscent of Daddy Long Legs. And her romance with Jarvis is beautiful! Highly recommended!
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