[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Bloomsbury YA in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Paige and Max are back together again after a summer spent apart (The Start of Me and You – ♥♥♥♥). She went to New York for a screenwriting program, and when she returned, he had left for a study abroad program in Italy. They had become a couple and had their first kiss and then had gone their separate ways. But now they are together again in their Indianapolis suburb, ready to start senior year.
Senior year brings so many emotions, decisions and pressures. And those things start to weigh heavily on Paige. Is she doing enough with her extra curricular activities? Is her college portfolio strong enough? What should she write in her essays? And where does her relationship with Max fit into her decision making process?
As Paige tries to deal with these huge questions about her future, her anxiety starts to build. An accident triggers an even stronger response, and soon all of her relationships start to suffer. What if everything she thought was a strong foundation crumbled under her feet?
Review
As the mom of a high school student, Paige’s struggles with the weight of college decisions felt very real and absolutely accurate. I love that young people have access to this terrific story that could help them put into words the pressures they are feeling.
There are many moments I loved in this – the discussion of Max’s Hogwarts House, the way’s Paige’s friends see her and understand her and help her understand herself better, the love shown to The Phantom Tollbooth, and the ways that Paige fights for her friendships through hard things. (It reminded me of the book Love Lettering, which I’ll review next week – learning to have healthy conflict and stick with working through it.)
This is a quiet story – introspective and deep. And it took some work for me. There’s a lot happening for Paige emotionally. And she’s pressing through to discern what she thinks and feels. It doesn’t come easily to her. And the reader gets to wrestle through it with her. I loved it, but it’s not surface-y or breezy. It’s deep and rich. I didn’t click with this one to the degree I did with the author’s earlier book, The Names They Gave Us, which was one of my top books for 2017. But I feel like the author does an exceptional job of describing teen struggles so readers have a chance to identify with and feel seen with her characters.
Readers looking for a mental health angle in their books should be sure to check this one out. There are some good pieces here about anxiety (Language, drinking)