Reviewer: AStridGSmile12

Review: About Sixteen

Client: afroblooms

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I love how the title to this, About Sixteen is very versatile. My brain thinks about two things; first, it makes me think someone is starting a conversation with, "So let me tell you about being sixteen..." or two, "Hello, I'm Quinn, and I'm only sixteen...."  I love titles that make me think about their true meaning. It's all around very fitting because the work is centered around high school and teen drama.

The cover is on point too, and the young woman represents the character, so thumbs up. She looks to be saying with her eyes,  "I am so tired of your precious little attitude, I swear." I would say that the white backdrop is a bit plain, but that's not really a problem. The art of the font is excellent, and actually, it triggers a thought I had about making the whole thing pop a little more. Maybe adding dialogue bubbles with little quips around the edges would add a bit of teenage spirit, but like stamped to go over the edge while leaving the portrait clear. It is a total throwaway idea because- again- the cover is on point.

One little thing about the blurb, in paragraph two, sentence three, there is this,

[But what happens when the line blurs and the snarky replies runs out?]

I believe it should read, [But what happens when the line blurs and the snarky replies run out?]

[Runs] is used for a singular subject, [My water runs out.] While [run] sounds better for plurals like [replies] *see underline*.

Overall the grammar is silky smooth, but watch out for sentence structure like in chapter 1, paragraph nineteen, where the author wrote-

[It was Maggie who heard me sniffling in the toilet (also I get [toilet] is a general term for a bathroom, but in this context, it seems like she's literally in the toilet) that suggested I threw the tooth on the roof, claiming that angels of God would pick it up and send me a new one, as against down the toilet which would send it to hell.]

I understand it, but it was a wonky reception because, to begin with, it's a run-on sentence, and also, a segment or two doesn't follow an order.

[It was Maggie who heard me sniffling next to the toilet (this gives me a picture of a bathroom and the little girl leaning over the bowl, uncertain about what to do) and suggested that I throw it onto the roof instead. She claimed angels of God would pick it up and send me a new one, and that was better than sending it down the toilet to hell.]

The author takes grammar seriously, and it's great she does because when she enters competitions in which others have decided to skip or dilute the importance of good grammar, she will surely come out ahead. It's daunting to dot every "i" and cross every "t" but writing is a profession. It's like a surgeon scrubbing down before surgery, it has to be taken seriously, and it has to be done no matter what. I feel like this author knows this very well, so again besides some combing of sentence structures (very few, like microscopic changes), everything is pretty smooth.

It is written in first-person and not lacking in character. Quinn shines through, and you immediately take her side on everything. The descriptions she uses to describe the expressions and reactions of the people around her are uniquely written by the author, and I find them useful as much as light-hearted and funny. It's too soon into the story, so I don't know if there will be a change in POV, but I'm sure I'll be just enticed as I am with Quinn.

So, I went over the title, cover, blurb, grammar, and writing style. I should report a bit on the plot. It's a theme many play with, the whole teen in a tough high school environment with a tough-love parent figure at home who doesn't spare much time to get to know her own child. It sounds like there's going to be a dash of cinnamon later on, though, but I'll have to keep reading to see how uniquely this plays out from other teen-fiction works I've read.

Did I enjoy reading About Sixteen? Well, let me ask, is the sky blue? Yes! I enjoyed reading this lovely work of fiction. So far, Quinn is a girl I would sit next to and encourage to speak her mind and be herself because she's such a bright soul. It seems she's still discovering that for herself, and I can't wait to see her blossom into an individual who knows how to stand and how to fight for the right to be who she is. She's being written beautifully and skilfully. 

If the author would like to add a review to the blurb or an author note they can copy and paste,

"About Sixteen is a promising read. It will have you laugh, relate, and swoon immediately. Not to mention the author seems to be weaving a surprising turn of events for our leads. What will become of them? The only way to find out is to read it all." - Sunflower Com. Reviewer Astrid]