e-Audio, 09:15:18
Narrated by: Amina Koroma & Jonathan Andrew Hume
Release Date: January 3, 2023
Published by: Joy Revoultion
Read from: December 15-19, 2022
Stand-alone
Source: PRH (I received a copy of this book from the PRH in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Parental Abandonment, OCD Spirals, Medical Content
For Readers Interested In: Fat Main characters, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, Chronic Illness (Asthma), Mental health (OCD), Contemporary Romance, Realistic Fiction, YAFrom the New York Times bestselling author of the Brown Sisters trilogy, comes a laugh-out-loud story about a quirky content creator and a clean-cut athlete testing their abilities to survive the great outdoors–and each other.
Bradley Graeme is pretty much perfect. He’s a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes . . . except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine.
Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Social media followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption–yet, she’s still not cool enough for the popular kids’ table. Which is why Brad abandoned her for the in-crowd years ago. (At least, that’s how Celine sees it.)
These days, there’s nothing between them other than petty insults and academic rivalry. So when Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods, she’s surprised to find Brad right beside her.
Forced to work as a team for the chance to win a grand prize, these two teens must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. And as this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship?
*MY THOUGHTS*
When I saw that Talia Hibbert had another book coming out I was lit. And then when I heard it was a YA book, I was even more excited. Y’all know that YA is where my heart lies. So seeing this, I was even more excited. And rightfully so, because it’s so good!
The only thing I didn’t like about this was the setting lol I am NOT an outdoorsy person AT ALL. Like at all lol Not when it’s hot, not when it’s cold, not when it’s spring or whatever. It just isn’t my cup of tea. So, I wasn’t really into them being outside or the camping aspect at all. Thankfully it was but a small part of the plot. There was so much more to it, like the development of their relationship.
The two of them were so cute. Celine was so funny! She was weird in the same way that I’m weird. And then there was Bradley who I related to in a whole nother way. I’ve talked about this a few times here, but I also have OCD. I’m “Pure O” so not exactly the same as Brad, but I could relate closer than others. The two of them together felt like an unlikely pair, but the way they were so shy together and warmed up together. It was swoon inducing.
I think what I liked most about this tho was the characters individually. Celine is a conspiracy theorist and yea that sounds weird, but she was the cutest one you’d ever meet. And she had a real reason why she was the way she was. And once you figure out why, you’ll understand. It really hurt a little when I read it. And again, I related to Brad in a whole other way. I did feel like it was a bit like “I found this on the internet in the first link” but I know that me and Brad don’t even have the same thing, AND I know that everyone is different, so I don’t feel I can accurately say it was like that. It’s just what it felt like. But I’m almost positive the reason is because this is a YA book and she didn’t want to go too into an explanation. I don’t know. It’s really hard to explain. All the other characters were fully fleshed out and amazing as well. I loved meeting all of them. They made it seem like a huge party.
There’s also a parental abandonment side plot in this that I wasn’t expecting. At the beginning of the book I didn’t know how much of a big deal it was going to be until it was a big deal. If it makes sense. And it came up unexpectedly. She didn’t have any idea. And I think that was my favorite part about it? This was a huge revelation, and I know she wouldn’t have gotten there by herself. Just be prepared, if you have parental issues, please be advised you might cry or get upset.
I liked literally everything else about this book. The characters and the romance. This was super cute and I really hope there will be more YA in Hibbert’s future.
Overall, I give this
