Elliot has such a strong voice throughout this narrative (including in footnotes that make for hilarious reading moments) that at times, I could anticipate how she would react to situations and I don’t know if that’s something that floats your boat, but I love that-when you know a character so well that you feel like you’re really in their head, that’s when you know it’s great writing.

Have you ever heard someone say “I couldn’t quite pin down the voice of the character”? Yeah, reading Fresh was the exact opposite of that experience. In this book, we follow Elliot McHugh, a spunky, provocative, bisexual, and messy AF protagonist during her freshman year at college.

Some stories get you hooked by the end of the first paragraph and Fresh certainly is one of them.

You know those epic battle scenes in fantasy movies when hundreds of dudes are fighting and it’s total chaos and the young, inexperienced main dude is in the middle of it all, looking like he’s about to shit his pants because he’s just trying to figure out what the hell is going on while also, you know, not getting killed? That’s a lot like what the first day of college feels like. MY NAME IS ELLIOT MCHUGH, I’m eighteen years old and hail from Cincinnati I’m a Leo, a (mostly) chaotic-good extrovert, a freshman at Emerson College in Boston, and I have no idea what the hell I am doing right now. And maybe even fall in love in the process. Elliot may make epic mistakes, but if she's honest with herself (and with you, dear reader), she may just find the person she wants to be. Or when her roommate's boyfriend turns out to be the biggest a-hole. When finals creep up and smack her right in the face. When the sex she's having isn't that great. But she may not be ready for the fallout when reality hits. But picking a major is the last thing on Elliot's mind when she's too busy experiencing all that college has to offer-from dancing all night at off-campus parties, to testing her RA Rose's patience, to making new friends, to having the best sex one can have on a twin-sized dorm room bed. Elliot McHugh is not one of those people. Some students enter their freshman year of college knowing exactly what they want to do with their lives. A hilarious and vulnerable coming-of-age story about the thrilling new experience-and missteps-of a girl's freshman year of college

Fresh by margot wood