Things Jolie Needs to Do Before She Bites It by Kerry Winfrey

Jolie's a lot of things, but she knows that pretty isn't one of them. She has mandibular prognathism, which is the medical term for underbite. Chewing is a pain, headaches are a common occurrence, and she’s never been kissed. She’s months out from having a procedure to correct her underbite, and she cannot wait to be fixed. 

While her family watches worst-case scenario TV shows, Jolie becomes paralyzed with the fear that she could die under the knife. She and her best friends Evelyn and Derek decide to make a Things Jolie Needs To Do Before She Bites It (Which Is Super Unlikely But Still, It Could Happen) list. Things like: eat every appetizer on the Applebee’s menu and kiss her crush, Noah Reed. Their plan helps Jolie discover what beauty truly means to her.

Published July 10, 2018 by Feiwel & Friends 
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My Thoughts
Jolie is terrified of dying during her upcoming surgery for her underbite, so she creates a list of Things Jolie Needs To Do Before She Bites It. There are stupid things on it, but there are also 

Jolie and I are extremely similar. While she has an underbite, I have an overbite. Growing up, I needed the same surgery that Jolie gets in the novel, except I chickened out too much and never got the surgery. This meant that we both hid behind our jaws and lacked confidence growing up. I'd never seen a character like this before, so it was amazing to see a character with something that I had experienced. It was never a disability, but it was something that caused both Jolie and I to shy away from the spotlight and believe that we weren't pretty enough for someone's attention. 

This is a very character driven story, and Jolie is the star. It was fun to see Jolie grow as a character and realize that the things she wanted to do before her surgery weren't really her life's wishes. She just wanted to be seen, and that was something she was able to do. 

The romance of this book was so gradual, that it was always in the back of your head, but never barking down your throat. Jolie has a crush on a boy, but you can tell there are underlying feelings between her and her best friend, Derek. It was a sweet, slow romance that comes weaving together in the perfect ways. Not everything was fairytale happy, but it had a good ending. Plus, Derek has a podcast called Deep Dive where he talks about animals, and it made me so incredibly happy because of its quirkiness. 

Really happy with this book, as it brought a bunch of things to light. There's teen pregnancy, LGBTQ characters, and teen self-esteem, so it made it relatable without trying to throw in every crazy situation under the sun into the plot. Highly suggest picking this up if you want a light, readable book!

Stars: 4 out of 5 stars
What I Liked: Jolie's character, Deep Dive
What I Disliked: nothing - just not an absolute favorite! 

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