Begin Again is a wonderful coming of age YA story that follows Andie Rose, as she starts over at her dream school.  It’s great fun to watch her build new friendships and discover more about herself as she takes on new challenges. I also love the good-natured humor that runs throughout the story and the sweet romance.

Andie is a college freshman who transferred halfway through the year to Blue Ridge State, a prestigious college and her parent’s alma mater. She spent a semester at a local community college to bring her grades up so she could get accepted into Blue Ridge State, which has an excellent Psychology program plus her boyfriend Connor, who she grew up with, also attends there. She hasn’t told Connor that she is coming and is excited to surprise him. But when she arrives, she finds out he transferred back to their local community college! Talk about a lack of communication – I found this frustrating but went along with it.

She makes new friends with Shay, her roommate, Valeria, her tutor, and Milo, her grumpy dorm resident advisor. Andie is a good listener and often helps her friends find solutions to their problems. When she was in high school, she wrote an advice column for her school paper. At college she is active with the school’s underground radio station where she gives advice to students that call into the show.

Andie’s mother died young of cancer and Andie joins campus scavenger hunts and trivia nights where she collects ribbons which was something her mother did and it helps her feel a connection to her. Her two grandmothers raised her after her mother died and her father took a new job two hours away. Andie didn’t see much of him after that which hurt her terribly but lately, he has tried to reach out to make amends. He has a new family now and she feels like she doesn’t fit in.

Milo Flynn is a green-eyed, sleep-deprived coffee fanatic with a big heart. He is a broadcast major who works at the radio station and encourages Andie with her work there. He also helps her get a work study job at Bagelopolis, the local bagel shop that has incredible flavors like Chocolate Chip Sourdough, Peanut Toffee Crunch and a dozen different cream cheeses to go with them. I like how Andi and Milo connect with each other and realize how much they have in common – both have some healing to do and it’s gratifying to see how they support each other as their relationship grows.

Andie is trying to balance school, trivia nights, her job at the bagel shop and volunteer work at the radio station. She also begins to question whether she and Connor still have a future together. When her grades start to suffer, she is overwhelmed by it all and worries that all her plans have fallen apart.

I struggled with Connor and Andie’s lack of communication, especially in the beginning and I thought it took too long for them to resolve their relationship. There were also times when I thought Andie was a little too obsessed with collecting ribbons and it got to be too much. I loved the theme of friendship and forgiveness and how the book is sprinkled with references to Taylor Swift songs, including the title. It’s a pleasure to watch Andie’s group of friends come alongside each other and create what Shay calls “their weird little family” along with their giant snowball fight. Begin Again has a similar feel to her last book, Take a Chance on Me. I didn’t want to put the book down and I couldn’t wait to find out how it would all turn out, especially the romance.