Review: Sophomore Year is Greek to Me

Author: Meredith Zeitlin
Edition: G.P. Putnam's Sons eARC
Releases: 21st April 2015 (in one week!)
Series: n/a (Standalone)
Pages: 336 approx.
Links: Goodreads | Author's Website | Preorder the book!

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 renowned-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 an 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.

When I was asked whether or not I was interested in reading and reviewing this book all the way back in February, I jumped at the chance. You see, I was still in my cute contemporary kick at the time and couldn't resist another light hearted read (if you can't tell, I'm writing this amidst the aforementioned contemporary kick and this post will be scheduled). Though Sophomore Year is Greek to Me certainly did provide me with a light-hearted read, it, unfortunately, did not quite enthral me like I hoped.

Zona, our main character, is a teenager in the midst of high school when her dad drops a huge bomb shell on her. They're moving to Greece for six months so he can work on a story. Both characters are journalists (one accomplished and one aspiring to be just as successful as the other) and I really enjoyed the way journalism came into play in the book. It was refreshing to have a main character know exactly what she wanted to do with her life and I enjoyed the numerous articles interspersed throughout the novel written by Zona humorously recounting some of the events she was experiencing in Greece. It added a fun little extra to the storyline and I started looking forward to reading more of them as the chapters progressed.

On another note... I found the beginning to be quite slow and the pacing in a few of the chapters to wean a little and, as a result, my attention would drift during these times. I also felt like some events and situations in the storyline weren't particularly there for a purpose - so they sometimes felt a little out of place. I did, however, love the issue that was brought in to the novel by one of the friends Zona makes in Greece - as it's something I don't feel makes an appearance in a lot of books when people really should be made more aware of it.

To conclude, Sophomore Year is Greek to Me ended up being a light, easy read to pass a rainy Sunday but not quite a chart-topper. I adored certain aspects of the novel - like the focus on journalism - but the pacing and some parts of the storyline just felt pretty lacklustre.

TWO AND THREE QUARTER TOADSTOOLS TO SOPHOMORE YEAR IS GREEK TO ME!

Huge thank you to the author's PR for providing me with the opportunity to read this book! :)

 

Happy Reading,

Rachel xoxo