The Year I Stopped Trying

Written by Katie Heaney

A perfect student questions her path after a missed assignment changes everything.

3.6 Goodreads · 1,769 ratings

256 pages· 820L· AR ~5.3

$18.99Save 7%

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Bookroo's summary

Mary, a model student, faces an existential crisis when a forgotten history assignment doesn't lead to disaster. As she questions her relentless pursuit of perfection, she wonders if there's more to life than grades. What happens when she stops trying so hard? With wit and dark humor, this novel explores the big questions of growing up and finding one's true self.

From the publisher

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

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