e-ARC, 352 pages
Release Date: February 20, 2024
Published by: Forever
Read from: February 5-18, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Netgalley (I received a copy of this e-book from the Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Biphobia, Bullying, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, Medical content, Ableism
For Readers Interested In: Literary or Contemporary, Romance, Chronic Illness Representation, YAFor fans of Talia Hibbert and Lynn Painter comes a funny and unflinchingly honest story about a teen who must come to terms with her disability and what it means for her identity, her love life, and her future.
Brynn Kwan is desperate for her high school persona to be real. That Brynn is head of the yearbook committee, the favorite for prom queen, and definitely not crumbling from a secret disability that’s rapidly wearing her down. If no one knows the truth about her condition, Brynn doesn’t have to worry about the pitying looks or accusations of being a faker that already destroyed her childhood friendships. She’s even willing to let go of her four-year relationship with her first love, Oliver, rather than reveal that a necessary surgery was the reason she ignored his existence for the entire summer.
But after Brynn tries to break up a fight at a pep rally and winds up barred from all her clubs and senior prom, she has nothing left to prop up her illusion of being just like everyone else. During a week-long suspension from school, she realizes that she doesn’t quite recognize the face in the mirror—and it’s not because of her black eye from the fight. With a healthy sister who simply doesn’t understand and a confused ex-boyfriend who won’t just take a hint and go away like a normal human being , Brynn begins to wonder if it’s possible to reinvent her world by being the person she thought no one herself.
*MY THOUGHTS*
The publisher was so thoughtful to send me this! They were definitely watching and saw that I have been trying to make sure that I read more chronic illnesses because they asked me if I’d like to read and review this and I almost screamed YES! I was given a finished copy and it went promptly on my shelf!
Ok so the trouble I had with this one was the main character. I didn’t understand her attitude. I mean I knew she was having trouble learning to love her body the way it was, but like she didn’t want help when she clearly needed it most times. There were times when I had to stop reading because she said she was hurting but she just let everything keep going because she couldn’t do it herself or something, and like what? Then when it got to the end it was like “Girl, what?” because she did like a complete 180 degree turn and acted like she was never mean to these people. I firmly believe in finally learning to be herself, but I also feel that it shouldn’t have been so easy to switch up like she did since she was originally so adamant.
As you can see I had a lot of feels when I read this. And I have no idea how I’m going to get this review to convey the big feelings I had. It was a whirlwind to be honest. I was frustrated with her, I was agreeing with her, I was yelling at the family, I was yelling at her, I was talking to everyone in this book and I really felt like I was in it. And that wasn’t always a good thing. But that’s how I know when I really like a book. Because if I’m feeling that many things, then I’m really into it.
This was a really emotional and raw look at the chronic illnesses she had tho. I had never heard of EDS, so I went on a Google search on what it happened to be. And man, I know she wouldn’t be happy with me, but I felt bad for Brynn. Because she kept saying she wanted a normal body, and I felt so sad for her. Not in the sense that I pitied her, but moreso that I knew she wasn’t happy and I would have done whatever I could to make her happy.
The romance in this was so on point! I was a little annoyed that as much as she kept saying she didn’t want to tell him certain things but she still really liked him and kept like flirting with him. But then she still broke up with him. It gave true meaning to the fact that you shouldn’t be with anyone until you can love herself, because old girl was going through it. But I wish she hadn’t taken him through this rigamaroll tho. Like she was teasing him for liking her and I didn’t like that.
This was an interesting book that I learned a lot from. I didn’t always enjoy it, but i knew why. Long story short, but I feel like this is author is now going to be one to watch from me. I hope y’all pick this up and let me know what you all think!
Overall, i give this
