2024 the best plan review

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(as of Dec 11, 2024 06:11:12 UTC - Details)

Lauren Morrill's Better Than the Best Plan is a fresh, funny, romantic YA novel about a teenage girl who finds an unexpected silver lining in her life when plans get turned upside down.

Plans are made to be broken.

It’s the last day of junior year, and seventeen-year-old Ritzy—short for Maritza—is pretty sure she has a great plan. Summer job—check. Hang with friends at the beach—check. Keep looking after herself as she’s been doing since her mom bailed to follow her bliss—check. Or no check?

After someone reports that Ritzy is living alone, a social worker shows up and puts her into foster care. That’s surprise enough. Even more surprising? Ritzy has been in foster care before, as an infant, and the woman who cared for her then takes her in again. But maybe the greatest surprise of all for Ritzy is that living with her foster mother, Kristin, in Kristin’s gorgeous house, isn’t all that bad. And neither is the cute, friendly boy next door. If Ritzy’s mom hadn’t gotten her back all those years ago, this is the life she could have had. But is it the life she should have had?

When Ritzy’s old life catches up with her new one, she has some decisions to make. Can she plan for the worst, but still hope for the best?

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07G13NP1Q
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (June 25, 2019)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 25, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3327 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 330 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0374306192
Reviewer: Sarah McC
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Awesome realistic teenage perspective!
Review: Ritzy/Maritza is a funny, snarky teenager handling a very grown up situation.I love her voice- her observations about privilege and about the contrast between her everyday life and the island world she's been plunged into are rich without seeming like things that should be coming out of the brain of someone twice her age. The characters and their relationships help Ritzy's story come alive in a way that is complex without being heavy, and young without being juvenile. I loved reading it, and recommended it to a friend for her trip to the lake! Such a great book!

Reviewer: But1toeclimbshi
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Good summer reading!
Review: This is my first book of Lauren’s to read and I really enjoyed it. I’ll be looking at her other books. Enjoyed her character development and scenes from teenage life that reminded me of my own awkward relationships. Fun, easy beach read for your summer list.

Reviewer: Ashley
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Lovely
Review: This was an emotional story without being heavy. Each time I thought "oh, here's where it is going," it subverted my expectations. It didn't rely on miscommunication. The characters were honest and actually said what they thought and felt rather than relying on their inability to draw out the plot. The adults were present and not caricatures. It was quiet and cute and exactly what I needed.

Reviewer: Crystal
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Heart-Warming Contemporary Romance with a Beach Setting
Review: Better Than the Best Plan hooked me from the first pages.The characters fit into standard tropes. I never felt like I got to know them beyond a superficial level. Nevertheless, the protagonists are likable. Maritza is nice girl who enjoys to read, has a crush on a cute boy, and thinks carefully about her future. She’s mature for her age, having had to take on so many responsibilities at home. And she enjoys a good book. I loved seeing Martiza’s relationships with her foster parents and Spencer, the cute boy next door, blossom. Seeing her learn what it means for a parental figure to provide security and stability, even if it means placing boundaries on her freedom. And seeing her learn that the wealthy don’t all coast through life; the teens work during the summer too, if at nicer establishments, and experience conflicts with parental figures.If any character breaks the tropes, it’s Spencer. Spencer initially comes off an the arrogant rich boy, but he’s actually not the troubled jerk hiding a nice heart. He’s a genuinely kind person, albeit with some issues of his own, who thinks about others and, like Maritza, is carefully considering his future. I especially love his relationship with his rowdy younger brother. Ryan was born with a gestational amputation and is missing one of his forearms, but he’s super hyperactive and finds ways to work around his disability. Spencer is an advocate for treating his younger brother normally, and he demonstrates this by example. He’s also fixing up a car and enjoys playing tennis competitively, though he doesn’t plan to go pro.The book progresses quickly from scene to scene, never lingering long on any one character, activity, or setting. This causes some discontinuity in the story. For example, Maritza is roped into creating a children’s program for a July 4th celebration. After she accepts the role, the next time the program comes up is on the day of the performance. Still, enough is given that I understood where the story was going, and the end didn’t come as a surprise, though it felt rushed. Pretty much everything wraps up in the last few chapters, some a little too neatly and some given to us without showing us the process.Although the problems and central conflicts of the novel resolve rather quickly and neatly, Better than the Best Plan is an enjoyable, heartwarming story about the importance of communication in relationships, finding first love and new love, and opening oneself to new beginnings. As it takes place during summer vacation and features some beach scenes (set in Florida, by the way), it’s perfect for a summer read.

Reviewer: Jennifer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great YA read!
Review: I really enjoyed this book — it was the perfect mix of romance, self-discovery and family understanding. (If that makes sense? Lol.) Above all else, what has stuck with me since I read it a few months ago, is how authentic Lauren is at capturing different voices/personalities within her writing, and it's truly lovely to read.

Reviewer: Jmhicks22
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Contemporary
Review: A cute, easy read about a girl dealing with family baggage, foster care, and relationships.

Reviewer: Susan RFK
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Better, better, best
Review: So v, v, much to love in Better Than the Best Plan -- a great main character to root for (love you, Ritzy), a nuanced look at wealth and privilege, a sweet, Sarah-Dessen-y romance, and a smart take on what happens when your old life and your new life collide.

Reviewer: Booksrule56
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Emotional
Review: Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for the E-arc copy of this novel.I found myself loving this book the more pages I read. It is at the heart about family and the choices they and we make for ourselves as we grown up. Ritzy learns first hand that what we choose and how we deal with those choices will influence us going forward into our future. We love our family, Ritzy's birth mom, but that doesn't mean they make the best life for us. I love this book for teens who have the maturity to understand that family is more than blood. Families can be what you make them. A group of individuals who care for your emotional and physical well being without having to be ask or made to care about you.