Hopes were held high as a new coming-of-age story hit the theaters this past week. The Edge of Seventeen was released on Nov. 18th, and the excitement surrounding it reached extreme after being compared to John Hughes movies by big publishers such as Rolling Stone magazine .

As it was competing with the highly anticipated Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, it wasn’t as successful in the box office as it deserved. Making only $4 million on the first weekend, this movie seemed to be extremely underestimated by most. After seeing The Edge of Seventeen, I wished for more of a triumphant turnout in the box office for this movie.

The Edge of Seventeen tells the story of high school junior Nadine, played by Hailee Steinfield, jumping through the difficult hoops of teenage awkwardness. All in all, the plot was extremely relatable for most.

Previews advertised a hilarious movie with constant laughter. Walking into the theater, expectations were set to leave with a giant grin on my face. Within a few minutes of the movie starting, however, it took a completely different turn than what was expected.

The movie dove into many emotional topics that caused heavy hearts. As said before, this movie was very relatable to the average teen. The embarrassing, awkward, and terrifying moments of being a teenager leave most viewers very empathetic of Nadine.

The Edge of Seventeen follows Nadine through struggles with her best friend, brother, and mother, all while she is aided by the help of her very sarcastic and harsh history teacher, Mr. Bruner, played by Emmy award winner Woody Harrelson.

Harrelson provided comic relief when emotions were high during the movie, and successfully pulled off the character viewers hate to love.

While trying to find her way through high school years, Nadine comes across Erwin, played by Hayden Szeto. He aides the harsh reality of being a teenager that Nadine is met with, exemplifying the true meaning of friendship she had never really known before.

Having to deal with the typical issues of boys, dramatic friends, and school, The Edge of Seventeen leaves viewers realizing they are not alone with the troubles of being young, or some viewers looking back on their high school days.

Even though it took a more emotional route than expected, The Edge of Seventeen was a nice surprise of a movie. It delivered a message that as an awkward teenager, you are never alone.