The Law of Tall Girls by Joanne Macgregor | Spoiler-Free ARC Review

Title: The Law of Tall Girls
Author: Joanne Macgregor
Publication Date: September 2, 2017
Genre(s): YA, Contemporary
Source: Sent by author for review/Audible (audiobook)
Pages: 307
Add to Goodreads | Amazon (free on Kindle Unlimited)

Synopsis

When you really stand out, can you ever fit in?

Seventeen-year-old Peyton Lane is a tall girl. So tall, it’s the only thing most people notice about her.

On impulse, she accepts a bet to prove she can be as attractive and desirable as other girls. Now she just needs to go on four dates (including the prom) with one of the guys on her very short list of very tall boys.

Number one on the list is Jay Young – the new guy that Peyton already likes way more than she should. Because not only is Jay already taken, he’s also breaking her Law of Tall Girls, and he’s determined to discover the awful secret she’s been hiding for most of her life.

Funny and romantic, The Law of Tall Girls is a feel-good, heart-warming read for anyone who’s ever felt different, or like they just don’t belong.

This young adult contemporary romance will appeal to fans of Kasie West, Stephanie Perkins, Jenny Han, Julie Buxbaum and Morgan Matson.

Review

I’ve had this e-ARC since August or September and it’s been on my TBR since October. I seriously feel awful that’s it’s taken me so long to get to this book, but I’m thrilled I did! Now, I did try to read this book back in the fall and got about 30% of the way through the e-ARC, but I really did not like it. I thought our MC was whiney and was not enjoying the plot.

I put it down in favor of other books, but in February revisited this book as a possible read for Contemporaryathon. When looking at the Goodreads then, I saw there were several positive reviews and was curious to revisit this one to see if maybe the book got better. Also, the audiobook was available so I figured that would be a better format.

I am SO happy I gave this book a second chance. I still felt the same way about the first 30% of the book and was kind of annoyed with the MC and plot for the first 40-50%. Though I stuck with it and this book did get WORLDS better by the end.

Overall, the plot of this one was good. There are a few different story lines, but the main one follows Payton, who makes a bet that she can get a tall guy to like her enough to go on three dates with her and prom. This is because she’s tall and believes that only tall guys should date tall girls, a concept she refers to as “The Law of Tall Girls.” However, her friends argue that guys don’t like tall girls. She makes a list of the available boys and starts working through them one by one.

As she’s trying to win the bet, she finds herself falling for a particular tall boy. She also finds herself auditioning for the school play, learning how to sew her own clothes, and hiding a secret she’s not ready for anyone to know.

This last bit is really what sold me on the book. Before this big reveal, I honestly thought Payton was just being an ass to her mom. There were several scenes of her trying to be a good parent, show interest in her work, or things of that nature and Payton just being rude and aloof. However, after we learn what was actually going on, things made a lot more sense. I resonated a lot with her situation, though it’s not one I’ve ever been it, I have had some similar experiences with my home life.

Now, while there were some cute and fun things in this book, and some decent mental health rep (that’s the bit about her mom), there were a couple things I didn’t love. First, the who Law of Tall Girls thing I wasn’t a fan of. I did like how that whole bit ended, but reading about it for a majority of the book made me a bit annoyed. Also, there was a bit about her bet that had the ending many of you probably predicted. Again, not really a fan of that whole bit either. It just is something that has been so overdone, I was really annoyed that it continued to feel super tropey.

Despite all of that, I still found myself pleasantly surprised with this book.

Final Thoughts

I really think contemporary fans will love this book. It’s a sweet and simple story, but it really packs a punch. When I finished it I was genuinely pleased, though there were moments I could have done without. I also liked that some of the things that I personally didn’t like were resolved in a pretty decent way. Stick with this book, it’s full of some pleasant surprises.