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Cover of The Year I Stopped Trying

The Year I Stopped Trying

Contemporary

Published: Print · 2021 | eBook · 2021

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Booksmart meets The Perks of Being a Wallflower in this novel of overachieving, existential crises, growing up, and coming out, from the author of Girl Crushed and Never Have I Ever. Mary is having an existential crisis. She's a good student, she never gets in trouble, and she is searching for the meaning of life. She always thought she'd find it in a perfect score on the SATs. But by junior year, Mary isn't so sure anymore. The first time, it's an accident. She forgets to do a history assignment. She even crosses "history essay" off in her pristine planner. And then: Nothing happens. She doesn't burst into flames, the world doesn't end, the teacher doesn't even pull her aside after class. So she asks herself: Why am I trying so hard? What if I stop? With her signature wit and heaps of dark humor, Katie Heaney delivers a stunning…

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YA novel the sprints full-force into the big questions our teen years beg--and adeptly unravels their web.

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Appeared on YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults list.
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults
FormatPublisherYearLanguageTerritory
Print—2021English—
eBookKnopf Books for Young Readers2021English—