e-Audio, 10:39:54
Narrated by: Michael Crouch
Release Date: August 10, 2021
Published by: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Read from: August 30-31, 2021
Stand-alone
Source: Overdrive Audio
TW: Parent loss, Parental (figure) loss, Drug Abuse (only mentioned on page)
For Readers Interested In: Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Grief, Family, YAFrom the award-winning author of The Serpent King comes a beautiful examination of grief, found family, and young love.
Life in a small Appalachian town is not easy. Cash lost his mother to an opioid addiction and his Papaw is dying slowly from emphysema. Dodging drug dealers and watching out for his best friend, Delaney, is second nature. He’s been spending his summer mowing lawns while she works at Dairy Queen.
But when Delaney manages to secure both of them full rides to an elite prep school in Connecticut, Cash will have to grapple with his need to protect and love Delaney, and his love for the grandparents who saved him and the town he would have to leave behind.
*MY THOUGHTS*
When Zentner’s debut was released, I was late to the party. I remember being a library circ person and deciding that I would read it because so many people were checking it out. I got the audio and read it on my way to work. Needless to say, I will now add anything that Zentner writes to my TBR. With no hesitation. And that was definitely the case for this one too.
Small town Appalachian is full of mostly downs. Cash has lost his mother, he’s losing his Papaw, and drug dealers are still everywhere. He’s spent his whole summer mowing lawns while his best friend stays out of trouble. But then Delany manages to get them scholarships to an elite prep school away from home. Cash now has to wrestle with leaving his family and only town that he ever knew.
At this point, I know not to go into Zentner’s work with my heart on my sleeve. I was surprised ONE TIME (TSK while I was driving to work with mascara on) and I vowed to NEVER AGAIN let him catch me slippin lol But with this one, you really know what’s coming and it doesn’t make a difference anyway. When it came to it, I wasn’t boo-hoo crying, but I did get teary. I think I made myself try not to get too attached.
But try as I might, I couldn’t completely do that. The family dynamic in this is really close to perfect. And this includes the bonus family that Cash gets in Delany and his friends from school. The way they all fit together and the things they do for each other was unmatched. The family dynamic in this book is quite literally what makes it.
I also liked the Easter eggs from his previous books. He always puts them in his books, so I wasn’t surprised to find them in here too. It’s always fun to go on a hunt to see if I found them all. It makes us readers able to interact with the book and I love that. To me, actively looking for these makes the book more fun because I feel like I’m doing more than just reading. If that makes sense.
I do think the romance was cute, but I loved how it didn’t over power the story. Because I didn’t feel that it was hella important. I liked “them” being friends more. But it was obvious where the love interest was going. That made me laugh because he completely missed it, but everyone else saw it. Even PaPaw lol
Lastly, since I read the audio, I wanted to talk about the narrator. Michael Crouch is one of my FAVORITE narrators. I have read so many books that he did and each one he nails the character. At this point, even if I wasn’t enjoying the book, if he is narrating, it still would be good.
This book was so good! If you have read a Zentner book, you’ll be happy to know this is just as good as the others. Don’t sleep on this one, make sure you pick it up today!
Overall, I give this
