Review: The Only Thing Worse Than Me is You by Lily Anderson

The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You

by Lily Anderson

May 17, 2016

352 pages

Goodreads  Indigo

Goodreads Summary:

Trixie Watson has two very important goals for senior year: to finally save enough to buy the set of Doctor Who figurines at the local comic books store, and to place third in her class and knock Ben West--and his horrendous new mustache that he spent all summer growing--down to number four.

Trixie will do anything to get her name ranked over Ben's, including give up sleep and comic books--well, maybe not comic books--but definitely sleep. After all, the war of Watson v. West is as vicious as the Doctor v. Daleks and Browncoats v. Alliance combined, and it goes all the way back to the infamous monkey bars incident in the first grade. Over a decade later, it's time to declare a champion once and for all.

The war is Trixie's for the winning, until her best friend starts dating Ben's best friend and the two are unceremoniously dumped together and told to play nice. Finding common ground is odious and tooth-pullingly-painful, but Trixie and Ben's cautious truce slowly transforms into a fandom-based tentative friendship. When Trixie's best friend gets expelled for cheating and Trixie cries foul play, however, they have to choose who to believe and which side they're on--and they might not pick the same side.
 

 

Review

It's always the books you don't mean to read that end up surprising you. This was the case for me with The Only Thing Worse Than Me is You. I only intended to take a peek but ended up flying through the book. It was a quick, fun and smart read.

 

There's something to be said about a great first chapter that just pulls you in. The Only Thing Worse Than Me is You held a very casual tone that kept me flipping the pages. In the beginning I wasn't quite sure about the writing as it felt a bit stiff but the characters and dialogues eventually won me over.
 

The story features a catalogue of high IQ kids that go to a special school for the gifted. They're a bunch of geniuses and geeks who manage to sound smart even while cracking humorous jokes. All the quoting and referencing of classics and pop culture added an extra fun edge to the story. While some confused me, others had me holding my laughter in because I was reading in public.

 

Trixie and Ben have been mortal enemies since forever. I've never come across characters that are as venomous as these two. The efficiency of their back and forth insults and their ability to swiftly spit out retorts made them quite the problematic pair. I was going 'ohhh' and 'ahhh' watching them and I seriously loved it. As the story progressed, their relationship also took on a whole new meaning. Due to an unexpected (happy) happenstance, their rivalry fades, their animosity dissolves and the tension between them sizzles into something else. They're both still full of sass and sarcasm but this time with a loving side~

There's a mystery that kept me on my toes but it's the sweet circle of friends that made the story for me. There's undying loyalty between the girls and secret-sharing between the boys. Each boy and girl added their own quirkiness to the book. Some strange, some unique but I love the mischief and sneakiness they all shared. These characters make you unsure if you're suppose to be exasperated, angry or happy. They make you cry in indignation at the trick they played but most of all, they make you fold over with laughter.

It was impossible not to eat up everything that was The Only Thing Worse Than Me is You. This book was so much fun I can see it succeeding as a sitcom. I would love to be able to watch the story play out on tv! All the smiles!

*I received an eARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinion are my own and not affected in any way.