Title: Top TenAuthor: Katie Cotugno
My rating: 4/5 stars
Date Read: 6/25/19
Top Ten is a book that I have heard a lot of mixed things about and was hesitant to read it. Many people really enjoyed it but I also heard a ton of negative reviews and I am so happy to find myself being one of those who actually enjoyed it and I think it was because I was in the mood for a fun quick contemporary read.
Top Ten follows Gabby and Ryan who are best friends since freshman year in high school. Now graduated. One of the things they do is make top ten lists of random things so they decide to recall the top ten moments of their friendship.
One thing I really enjoyed about this book is that their friendship is not perfect. It is evident that both characters truly care about each other, but they argue and get mad at each other which are things that happen in real life and I enjoyed how their relationship was not always cookie cutter perfect.
One of the main characters, Gabby also has anxiety and it is mentioned throughout the book and does play a role in the story. I really appreciated how her anxiety was not just mentioned once and never touched upon again. It was part of who she was and I appreciated how we could see how it affected the choices that she made and some of her everyday struggles and I did relate to some of the choices that she makes. Gabby is also bisexual and I had no idea about that going into the book. I do not know if the representation was good as I am not an own voices reviewer but I did not see any problematic issues when reading.
The one thing I wished this book did was instead of having the top ten moments as a countdown from 10-1 it was mixed up and told in chronological order. I feel like if it was told that way, the story would of been more enjoyable and easier for some people to follow.
Overall I do recommend this book hesitantly mainly because I know that it is not for everyone. But if you are craving a contemporary and this book does appeal to you, definitely give it a chance. I will hopefully be able to read another Katie Cotugno book before summer ends as this was the perfect summer read.
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This was a favorite of mine, even if I was not that happy with the ending. The friendship was wonderful in this book, and all the family focus was great too. It was an emotional roller coaster I was happy to ride.
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