e-Audio, 08:16:05
Narrated by: Tyla Collier
Release Date: July 26, 2022
Published by: Hachette Audio
Read from: August 9-10, 2022
Stand-Alone
Source: Library’s Libby
TW: Rape (not depicted on page), Mentions of abortion, Absent parent, Death of a grandparent (story told on page)
For Readers Interested In: Family Diversity, Romance, Sports, Emotional/Hard Reads, Tear Jerkers, Realistic Fiction, YAThe swoon of Nicola Yoon meets the emotional punch of Elizabeth Acevedo in this breakout debut novel that answers big questions about identity, family, and love.
High school junior Michie is struggling to define who she is for her scholarship essays, her big shot at making it into Brown as a first-generation college student. The prompts would be hard for anyone, but Michie’s been estranged from her mother since she was seven and her concept of family has long felt murky.
Enter new kid and basketball superstar Derek de la Rosa. He is very cute, very talented, and very much has his eye on Michie, no matter how invisible she believes herself to be.
When Michie’s mother unexpectedly reaches out to make amends, and with her scholarship deadlines looming, Michie must choose whether to reopen old wounds or close the door on her past. And as she spends more time with Derek, she’ll have to decide how much of her heart she is willing to share. Because while Michie may not know who she is, she’s starting to realize who she wants to become, if only she can take a chance on Derek, on herself, and on her future.
*MY THOUGHTS*
This is another one of those times where I berate myself for not reading the synopsis of the book before I add it to my TBR and then read it. This book snatched my feels and pulverized them. From looking at this story I was not expecting to be crying real tears by the time I hit the end. So much so I need to warn you here now….. Check your Trigger or Content Warnings.
As I mentioned, I really loved the cover of this book. And because of that, I was unprepared for what I read. I was expecting a contemporary romance. And because of that, I was really shocked when this punched me in the feels. There IS a very cute romance that grows organically between them. For the cute moments, I loved watching him bring her out of her shell. But what I loved the most was how Clarke made sure not to make it feel like he was saving her from her mental illness struggles and made sure to show that she was growing on her own. As someone who also once suffered from those mental struggles, I was happy that she showed her growth with her therapist and by herself. She allowed him to also show that he had gone through some things and he was still growing and learning. I loved how she showed them growing and learning together.
As for the individual characters, I felt so bad for Michie and what had happened before she was even alive. Just re-thinking about it now has made me misty eyed again. Especially now in today’s political climate, this situation just hit different. I really just wanted to give her a hug. Everyone has always talked about how a mother should feel when she does the unthinkable, but no one ever thinks about how she should feel on the other side of this. I can definitely say I never did. This book made me think and opened my mind. I have to say, I really hope people can get their hands on this and read it before the evil book banners finally catch up. This is such an important book and I hope to keep it on my library’s shelves.
What I didn’t like about this tho was the ending. It was like this whole book built up to this but then the ending was so fast. Idk I wanted a big deal. It was just like there was this whole big ordeal, but then the ending got there way too quickly. I don’t know how to explain it. I just wanted more. The conversations were so short. And while I get it, like I said with this whole book being about it, I just wanted more. (And no I don’t think it would have been not as believable. These teens skipped school and then got tickets to a plane without a second thought. Anything goes at that point.)
Everyone else in this story was perfection. (Besides…… Well you know) Her grandma was an absolute delight. She’s going to kill me if she ever reads this, but she reminded me a lot of my mom. She took no ish but she also was so sweet and loving. I was very happy to see that Michie had her in her corner. And her therapist also was really great. I loved seeing the actual things she was working on and getting the responses that she gave her.
This book was a surprise but I couldn’t have enjoyed it more. Yes it was a lot and I wasn’t expecting it, but in a good way. Trust me, you won’t want to miss this one. It’s eye-opening and I promise you you’ll think twice about the things you say tho.
Overall, I give this
