Sophomore Year is Greek to Me by Meredith Zeitlin

Title: Sophomore Year is Greek to Me

Author: Meredith Zeitlin

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Release Date: April 21, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

A laugh-out-loud high school adventure set in Greece, perfect for fans of Meg Cabot.

High school sophomore Zona Lowell has lived in New York City her whole life, and plans to follow in the footsteps of her renowed-journalist father. But when he announces they’re moving to Athens for six months so he can work on an important new story, she’s devastated—he must have an ulterior motive. See, when Zona’s mother married and American, her huge Greek family cut off contact. But Zona never knew her mom, and now she’s supposed to uproot her entire life and meet possibly hostile relatives on their turf? Thanks…but no thanks.

In the vein of Anna and the French Kiss, Zona navigates a series of hilarious escapades, eye-opening revelations, and unexpected reunions in a foreign country—all while documenting the trip through one-of-a-kind commentary.

Remember a few weeks ago when I was complaining that there weren’t really any books out there that were even a little representative of my high school experience? Well, guess what? I found one! But beyond that, Meredith Zeitlin’s Sophomore Year Is Greek to Me was also a fun read that made me want to hop on a plane to Greece.

Bona Lowell has her sophomore year all planned out. She’s editor of the Features section of the school paper and she’s got a notebook full of idea to pitch, hoping to follow in her award-winning journalist father’s footsteps. But then her father announces that they are moving to Greece for the second half of the school year. That wasn’t exactly part of Zona’s plans. Neither was finally meeting her mom’s family, the people who have refused to acknowledge her for as long as she’s been alive. But Zona doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter. As reluctant as she is to move to Athens, Zona quickly finds out that this experience might not be as horrible as she thought.

A few years ago, I read Meredith Zeitlin’s debut Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters and really enjoyed it, enough that I was looking for more from this debut author. And then I never heard about anything. Until quite recently when I was given the opportunity to review Zeitlin’s newest, Sophomore Year Is Greek to Me. Having now read it, I’m happy the wait was that long because the story was worth it. If for no other reason, I loved this story because the school Zona, the main character, goes to in Athens was pretty similar to the high school I went to. A few weeks ago I wrote a post about my own high school experience, saying that I struggled with finding books that reflected the experience I had. Any time I was reading descriptions of the international school Zona goes to, I was smiling. So many of the comments she made about the school and the people who attended were what my high school was like. So thank you Meredith Zeitlin for writing about a character who goes to an international school overseas. Beyond that, this story was just fun to read. Zona’s adventures with her estranged Greek family were nothing if not entertaining, especially when you start taking into consideration the cultural and language barriers. And as funny as it was, there were many instances when this story was touching, thanks to all the relationships in the story.

Bona was a fantastic character with a really entertaining voice. I loved the way that her journalistic aspirations could be seen in the way she told this story. Sure, she injected a lot of her own thoughts and opinions (this was her story, after all), but there were plenty of times where she felt more like an observer than a participant in her own life. Which is what people were telling her to do, to actually live her life as opposed to only focusing on writing about it. So it was really great seeing her start to do that. My favourite part of Zona, though, was the relationship she had with her dad. Maybe it’s just me, but I haven’t read a lot of book where there is such a strong emphasis on a father-daughter relationship. I’m not saying there aren’t any, I’m just saying I want more of them. And while I’m talking about relationships, all the different ones Zona forged over the course of this story were among the best parts of this book. Seeing her get to know this family she’d never met, and see them as people who care about her as opposed to people who abandoned her mother was really touching. Relationships, of any kind, are just my favourite to read about.

Meredith Zeitlin’s Sophomore Year Is Greek to Me was a great read. I loved all the relationships that developed over the course of this story. And the fact that it was set in Greece and was filled with descriptions of the Greek islands didn’t hurt. It also made me want to hop on a plane to Crete. But that’s a different story.  

Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin

Title: Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters

Author: Meredith Zeitlin

Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons

Release Date: March 1, 2012

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

Kelsey Finkelstein has a plan for greatness…but that doesn't mean the rest of the world is in on it.

Okay, so let's say you're fourteen and live in New York City. You'd think your life would be like a glamorous TV show, right? And yet…

You don't have a checking account, much less a personal Black American Express Card. The only couture in your closet is a Halloween costume your mom made out of an old laundry bag when you were eleven. You've never been to a club, or had a drink served in a martini glass, or frankly, done anything really NYC-ish at all.

You definitely don't have any secret powers or friends who are vampires. You're about as normal and totally boring as a human being living in the most editing city on the planet could possibly be.

In other words? You're me: Kelsey Finkelstein.

But don't despair, people--this is going to be the year that I live up to all my untapped potential--finally.

I have to say…I'm feeling almost optimistic.

When I first heard about Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters, I thought it sounded like it would be a very fund and light read. After having read it, I can say that it was exactly that. It was definitely a book I enjoyed reading, but I still had some small issues with it.

Kelsey Finkelstein is all ready to start high school, and make her mark during her freshman year. She even has a plan to be the star of the JV soccer team and finally start dating her long-time crush. Except the rest of the world doesn't seem to be in on that plan. Right from the first day of school, nothing seems to be going quite according to Kelsey's plan. When she isn't being harassed by the captain of the JV girls soccer team, unflattering pictures of Kelsey mysteriously appear in the school newspaper. And if that wasn't enough, her group of friends seems to be falling apart and it feels like everyone is keeping secrets from each other. For Kelsey, freshman year is turning out to be a lot more complicated than she originally thought it would be.

As I've said, when I first heard about Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters I thought it would be a fun and adorable read and that's exactly what it ended up being. It was definitely a book I enjoyed and it even had me laughing out lout on more than one occasion. And at the time when I read it, it was exactly what I needed. But that doesn't mean the book was perfect. Since it covers an entire year, parts of the story felt kind of rushed but that was something I was able to overlook. My main issue was with the characters, but I'll get to that later. As far as the story goes, Meredith Zeitlin wrote a pretty great one in Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters, and it's one that made me laugh more than I thought it would.

While I actually liked the characters themselves, what I had a problem with was how their age didn't match up with some of their behaviour throughout the book. Maybe I had a sheltered childhood, but it struck me as odd that fourteen-year-olds would be going to parties and getting completely drunk. And without giving too much away, I also found it a little weird that high school juniors would be interested in dating freshmen, and everyone saw that as normal. But aside from that, I liked Kelsey and her friends as far as their personalities were concerned. There were definitely aspects of their personalities, especially Kelsey's, that reminded me of my own freshman self. And in spite of everything , I still found myself rooting for Kelsey by the end of the book.

Despite some of my issues with the book, Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters was still a really enjoyable read. If nothing else, this is a book that is likely to make you laugh out loud on more than one occasion.