Rosemead’s true values are rotten to the core. It’s not about protecting Rosemead’s values, like you pretend it is. “This is what Amelia Westlake is all about. Amelia Westlake is going to challenge all of that and bring it to light. There is a lot of unethical and downright illegal actions from administration and teachers that have been swept under the rug or left unchallenged. And so we get Amelia Westlake, fictional student, the two girls create to sign off on a series of pranks and mischief at their elite school. They are at odds with each other and have a lot of preconceived notions about one another.īut one day in detention, they end up talking and learn that they may actually have some common values underneath their very different personalities. Each chapter flips between Harriet and Will, and they do not get along in the beginning. The book starts off with these two girls coming off as caricatures, but it’s only because we are seeing from each of their perspectives. These two girls are stereotypes of two different high school students: the perfect goody-two-shoes and the rebel punk. There are a lot of elements to this book that tick my YES boxes:Īll these things added so much fun to the book, but what I think made it all work was the flawed but likable characters we find in Harriet and Will. But as tensions burn throughout their school–who is Amelia Westlake?–and between Harriet and Will, how long can they keep their secret? How far will they go to make a difference? And when will they realize they’re falling for each other? When their swim coach’s inappropriate behavior is swept under the rug, the unlikely duo reluctantly team up to expose his misdeeds, pulling provocative pranks and creating the instantly legendary Amelia Westlake–an imaginary student who helps right the many wrongs of their privileged institution.

Will Everhart is a troublemaker who’s never met an injustice she didn’t fight. Harriet Price is the perfect student: smart, dutiful, over-achieving.

Appeal: Young Adult Contemporary FictionĪ fiercely funny, queer romantic comedy about two girls who can’t stand each other, but join forces in a grand feminist plan to expose harassment and inequality at their elite private school.

Amelia Westlake Was Never Here by Erin Gough

Erin gough