PROMISED BY PROM by Jessica Bucher and M.F. Lorson

Rating: A cozy sweatshirt with your high school mascot on it

Summary: Nora's goal for spring her senior year is to find a serious romantic relationship by the end of the year so that she'll be less upset her friends are going to college in other places and she isn't. And to not be distracted by her friend's brother, because he's off limits.

Would you read more from these authors? Absolutely.

This is the third of the Squad Goals series, and my favorite. It ties everything up in a way that had me misty eyed, leaving me feeling like my actual friends were about to separate and go on adventures apart from each other. It's pretty amazing how much I grew to care about these kids over the course of the series.

Like the first two books, Hot by Halloween and Nerdy by New Year, Promised by Prom focuses on a group goal. In this case, Nora wants a serious boyfriend by the end of the year in hopes it will make her feel more like she has a local life when her friends leave for college. So she decides to find some guys who aren't leaving town and go on some dates.

Meanwhile. Max is the brother of one of Nora's squadmates. This puts him off limits, although he doesn't want to be and although he's a year behind them in school and planning on going to the same community college as Nora rather directly into a four-year university and thus will be in town for several years. And he doesn't like this goal at all, which he knows about because he snooped in the book they write it all down in a few novels ago when his sister had it. He's always been the amusingly goofy younger brother of her friend, but he's a friend of Nora in his own right, too. It will have been obvious for some time to readers of the series that the two belong together, and Max is aware of it from the start. But Max knows he can't force Nora's heart, so he watches her go on a series of dates and comforts her after the ones that go all wrong.

Nora likes Max. A lot. But she's never considered dating him for two reasons: 1) She thinks his sister will flip and 2) she thinks he's a bit of aplayer. She's actually right about the first one. But it's quickly apparent to the reader that the reason Max has a string of casual relationships that he cuts off the second he gets the impression the girl is getting attached to him is because he's been in love with Nora for years. He's not sure how to explain that to her without freaking her out though.

The shifting relationship between Max and Nora is incredibly sweet, extremely tender, and sometimes heartbreaking. It's one of those books where you're pretty sure the couple will end up together, but it still hurts to see them make choices that keep them apart.

The resolution is a happy one, although it was also bittersweet. There's a gathering in one of the closing scenes where Nora watches her friends and their boyfriends reflecting that this may be the last time they're all together. And she's right. No matter what, they're unlikely to ever be as close as they are in that scene again.

The book concludes with the Squad Goals notebook being handed to a younger sister who is told to form her own squad and continue the tradition. I hope she does. Maybe if we're lucky we'll even get to read about it.

This book is a great entry in the fields of friendship-to-romance and forbidden-partners-romance. It also also concludes a fantastic series about positive female friendships. I highly recommend readers start with the first in the series and read all the way through for the fullest impact.

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Below you'll find the notes I took as I read. Clearly, they contain major spoilers.

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Notes

6% Well, yeah, Max, you could try to make the goal go away. Or you could just make sure it applies to you, you doof.

10% Now you're on the right track, Max.
Also, I'm loving the dynamic Gray and Simon have developed.

11% I know someone who likes your weird, Nora...

12% Max is coming really close to being honest with Nora already. And she clearly likes him, even though she doesn't seem to know it. What would happen if he followed Simon's advice and just talked to her?

16% Hah. Kid sister Nina knows the score.

23% But WHY haven't you considered dating Max, you silly person? .... Apparently it's 100% that Addy would freak. Well, Addy can get over that.

27% Ok, and she thinks Max is a player. Which I guess makes sense as she doesn't know why he hasn't been serious with any of these other girls.

31% He's totally not wrong that a date should be as easy as hanging out with a friend. He was also right that she didn't actually need rescue in this case. She really was free to drive home.

33% A more astute girl might wonder why Max remembers the guys she's gone out with better than she does... Ah, there we go. "I had no idea you were paying such close attention."

38% lol. Even Nora's dad knows. Daaaamn.

42% There are a lot more typos in this book than the others. Did they fire their editor?

44% He's going to confess his feelings this weekend... But we're only at 44%, so... It may not go well. If it happens. Or it does happen and go well but then Addy is a problem...

45% Sharing a tent... That... Makes things more complicated, doesn't it? There's nowhere to go if you get shot down. So, yeah, it definitely needs to wait until the end of the festival. Which could make the ride home awkward... Maybe this weekend isn't a good idea.

47% Why doesn't Nora want Max to say he loves her? She's looking for a serious relationship, so it's not that that's too much. I guess she's just scared. It is a scary place to be.

50% um... Not to stereotype, but "Mr Perfect" works in a dress shop and knows what was worn by whom to which awards show. Why are people assuming he's straight?

52% Ah. It's his mom's store. That reads slightly less gay, I guess. But, still...

53% Andrew doesn't make her feel anything. So, yeah, friend material only even if he isn't gay.

59% Yeah, Nora really didn't handle that very well. Poor Max.

60% I like the Avett Brothers a lot, but wouldn't pick them to cheer me up if my heart was breaking. I am really sad for Max.

60% I guess Andrew is straight. Go figure.

65% I'm guessing that expression was Addy realizing she's messed up trying to keep Max and Nora apart.

83% Addy called in the strawberry shake. :)

87% Oh, my gosh! That scene was so sweet!

93% Wait, I am confused. It's been 90 days since prom and graduation is next weekend? Who has prom that early???

94% I'm sad about Gray going to school in California. That's going to suck.

95% Max is friends with Andrew now. Nice. The guy really is likable.

96% Dammit, I'm crying. Talk about bittersweet.

98% And the squad goals are passed on... The End.

I'm happy for Max and Nora. I think they have a good shot at being permanent. I'm unsure about Gray and Addy. Going to school in different time zones is going to really strain their relationship, so Nora may have been right that the party was the last time all six of them would be together. But I guess most people don't marry their high school loves even if I did, and most people seem to thinking picking schools without taking your significant other into account is reasonable.

NERDY BY NEW YEAR by Jessica Bucher and M.F. Lorson

Rating: A glass of sparkling non-alcoholic cider

Summary: Years ago, Lucy betrayed her best friend Simon and they've hardly spoken since. Her goal this fall: make things up to him and regain his friendship.

Would you read more from this series? I have, in fact, already read the entire thing. :)

This is the second in the Squad Goal series. Like the first, Hot By Halloween, it features a trio of friends coming together to help one of them with a life goal. In this case, we're working on Lucy's goal to regain the trust of her once-best-friend Simon after two years of estrangement. This involves joining the service club he leads and making an effort to show that she can be nerdy. (Or geeky as I prefer to think of it.) Losing Simon has haunted her their entire separation and she's willing to do anything to get him back. Either as a friend, or as she suddenly realizes she'd like, as a boyfriend.

Having read the description of this book, I started out thinking Lucy was going to be a mean girl. She wasn't though. Not at all. In fact, she's very nice to everyone and is popular because she's likable rather than because she's worked the system and made people afraid of her. Her concern for the birds at the rescue she starts working at midway through the book is beautiful. And the betrayal of Simon from years ago wound up being something that it seems like they could have resolved back then if they hadn't had the instinct to avoid each other. It was a mistake more than a calculated action, a matter of trusting someone she shouldn't have and then not knowing how to properly resolve the problem.

Simon was also easy to cheer for. His main issue is that he hide from conflicts rather than resolving them, so when his best friend hurt him at the start of their sophomore year, his response was to not talk to her for for two years. It's an interesting contrast to the fact that he heads the school service club, working hard to solve problems that his peers too frequently ignore. But I suppose he isn't the first person to find it easier to wear yourself out cleaning up riverbanks and helping charities than it is to make yourself emotionally vulnerable with the people you care about.

Both Lucy and Simon grow over the course of the story. When it looks like the same thing that originally tore them apart is happening again, they initially react the same way, but quickly realize what doing that before cost them and work to resolve their problem without losing each other again.

Once again, the Squad is an important element with Lucy's friends and her younger brother (who isn't Squad, but is somewhat Squad-adjacent) playing strong roles. The girls really go the distance in this one, even when it means doing humiliating and embarrassing things in front of the entire school. I continue to love the degree to which they have each other's backs.

This book is a good stand-alone and can be read without the other two in the series. In fact, it was the first one I read. The entire series is worth reading though, and it would be better to read them in order. I recommend this novel for  fans of cute teenage rom-coms and the series is excellent for those wanting to see positive female friendships in action.

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Below you'll find the notes I took as I read. Clearly, they contain major spoilers.

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Notes

1% I'm with her on goals. Everyone talks about how important they are and that having them is actually more important than meeting them, but it's depressing how often I fail to reach them.

2% Okay, so her friends are mean TO HER. They must be horrid to everyone in general. Lucy probably is to, but she has already said she feels bad about her ex, so she seems more redeemable. And possibly not so bad. She may just go along with the bitchy rather than actively contributing, which, of course, reminds me of Rina and makes me think she could be okay.

3% Now they don't seem so mean. And they like making amends as a goal. So maybe they aren't awful?

4% Yeah, I definitely relate to Lucy's mom.

17% I haven't figured out what "the incident" was, other than something so bad that best friends stopped speaking to each other for years. I like that Lucy thinks she deserves to feel weird but wishes that Simon didn't have to as well.

20% Wow. Trevor is an asshole. I'm not sure he deserved an apology.

40% Things seem to be progressing really well. They both are aware they're into the other. Is it really going to take another 60% of book for them to realize it's mutual or is something going to mess things up? Asshole Trevor maybe?

 60% Nice first kiss. Read it twice. Still wondering what is going  to provide a challenge for the rest of the book though.

67% Is the obstacle to overcome in the closing third going to be the pneumonia Lucy catches wearing something with spaghetti straps to a rooftop New Year's Eve party?

71% Yep, Trevor strikes.

80% The text says Simon pointed to start the playback, but I think it was probably Max...

85% Owl? I thought that it was a hawk.

86% It is a hawk.

THE END
Very sweet. I am happy. I'm going to read the other two. It'll be a challenge to read the first one though. I want to jump into the third.

HOT BY HALLOWEEN by Jessica Bucher and M.F. Lorson

Rating: A plastic pumpkin full of candy

Summary: Addy gets it into her head that her ex dumped for for not being hot enough, so she joins the swim team to get fit and find a new guy to make him jealous. Meanwhile, Gray needs to make a big enough splash to nab a college swim scholarship but finds himself distracted by the girl he's tutoring in swimming.

Would you read more from this series? I have, in fact, already read the entire thing. :)


If you're cringing over the premise of this book, ie that a teen girl decides she needs to be hotter to make her ex jealous, it might help to know that the response of everyone who learns of this goal is to tell her something along the lines of, "You're already hot! But swimming will make you healthier and it's good to try new things, so I'll support you."

This is the first book in the Squad Goals series, although it was the second one I read. Overall, I loved the series, although this wasn't my favorite of the three. Every school year, each girl in the squad trio makes a personal goal for the year. They then divide the year into three parts and assign each goal a time frame. Next they focus as a group on helping the current girl achieve her goal. The first book has Addy saying her goal is to be hot by Halloween. Her steps to this include joining the swim team and finding a new guy so the old one will see them together and regret what he gave up.

The plot is a classic sports romance. Girl meets boy. They help each other get better at their sport. They fall in love. There's a misunderstanding and everything comes to a head a big sports event. It worked really well for me.

There is a lot to admire about Addy. While the whole "I must get hot!" mission is questionable, what is certain is that it takes bravery for her to join the swim team for her senior year when she's never swam competitively before. And she really throws her whole heart into getting decent at the sport when it would have been very easy to give into the pressure to quit. She also does a great job of helping Gray learn that you can be serious about a sport without being uptight about it. And she shows a lot of development over the course of the story, both as a swimmer and as a human being.

Gray, who shares narration duties, is also highly likable. He's a general good guy who is trying to take care of his divorced mom while getting enough attention at swim meets that colleges will send scouts. He just moved to town and he's upset at the start of our story by how uncompetitive his new team is, especially new girl Addy, who is apparently bad enough to bring down the entire team's scores. At first, he wants to get Addy to quit, but he quickly shifts to mentoring her instead, trying to make her a strong enough swimmer that she can hold her own. His main flaw is taking everything way too seriously, but he works on it over the course of the novel.

The Squad is also an important element. They're Abby and her two best friends. Both they and their families play strong supporting roles and I really appreciated how dedicated the girls were to building each other up. And, like I said, they supported Abby's swimming while reminding her repeatedly that she didn't need to be "hotter" let alone be "hotter" to get at her ex, but that it was awesome she was going out and doing something new and challenging. Seeing them waving their signs in the stands cheering their friend on made me smile every time.

This book was a fun read that I recommend to those who enjoy a good sports romance. I also recommend the entire series as a positive example of female friendship.

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Below you'll find the notes I took as I read. Clearly, they contain major spoilers.

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Notes

12% A senior trying a new thing doesn't have a less valid excuse to not know what they're doing than a freshman. In fact, I admire them more because it's harder to get out of your regular zone senior year

24% I wouldn't have thought Gray needed his mom to point out that tutoring is good on applications or that getting someone who could hardly swim to be competitive would be the kind of miracle ability coaches beg for. But at least he knows now.

27% The bell's ringing already? Addy's been in the cafeteria for like five minutes.

34% It's been established that Gray's mom works weird hours, but why doesn't Addy's family expect her to eat with them?

37% I really love how supportive Addy's friends are.

38% Oh, man. That was brutal. Stupid brat with the kazoo.

57% The scene on the dock was adorable.

59% But, Gray, you'd be an awesome shark!

61% So I'm guessing the conflict in the second half of the book is going to be Gray being upset about the squad goals. But I don't know what's in there that would be upsetting. That she was swimming to be hot? Isn't to get in better shape a valid motive for taking up a sport? Does it specificallysay something like "Make Mitch jealous" that Gray can stretch into including hanging out with him?

63% Oh, Addy... Honey... I just want to hug this girl.

66% That was so sweet!

69% I very much enjoyed that retelling of the previous scene.

69% Ah, yeah... I can see why Gray isn't going to be happy finding a tickmark next to "Find arm candy to make Mitch jealous."

72% Ouch.

78% way to fix things, Gray! Threatening not to swim if she doesn't when there's a scout there. Daaaang!

83% Moms are wise. Boys should listen to their moms.

88% Nice makeup scene.

89% Nice lead into the next book. Although I guess Gray didn't read the other girls' goals for the year or he would have known what was up with Lucy and Simon.