e-Audio, 10:45:03
Narrated by: Parmida Vand
Release Date: June 6, 2023
Published by: Tundra Book Group
Read from: October 22-29, 2023
Stand-alone
Source: Audible
TW: Toxic Relationship, Ableism, Toxic Friendship, Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Racism, Drug Use, Adult/Teen Relationship
For Readers Interested In: Romance, Own Voices, Neurodiverse (Autistic MC), Racial/Ethnic Diversity (Palestinian MC), YA, Coming of Age, Realistic FictionA contemporary teen romance novel featuring a Palestinian-Canadian girl trying to hide her autism diagnosis while navigating her first year of high school, for fans of Jenny Han and Samira Ahmed.
Fifteen-year-old Jessie, a quirky loner obsessed with the nineties, is diagnosed as autistic just weeks before starting high school. Determined to make a fresh start and keep her diagnosis a secret, Jessie creates a list of goals that range from acquiring two distinct eyebrows to getting a magical first kiss and landing a spot in the school play. Within the halls of Holy Trinity High, she finds a world where things are no longer black and white and quickly learns that living in color is much more fun. But Jessie gets more than she bargained for when two very different boys steal her heart, forcing her to go off-script.
*MY THOUGHTS*
This was on my TBR way before the genocide in Gaza came to light. But upon finding it out and that there wasn’t a real way for anyone to help with donations because groups were stopping them, I thought it was the perfect chance for me to buy this book (twice) and show my support that way. And in doing so, I’ve found a new author that I really loved and can’t wait to read more by her.
The only issue I had with this was it was pitched to me as a romance, but this is most definitely a coming of age book. And I’m so glad it was because Lordt knows I was so scared that she was going to end up with that one idiot. But on top of that, the entire book was about them and their romance developing. I wanted more of the actual person and I wanted her to choose earlier. Only because I wanted to see that she was treated the right way. Because that one person was not doing it. I hated seeing her treated that way. And because we only saw them in one real scene at the very, very end, I was left feeling unsatisfied by their relationship. I think had she made her choice earlier or if there was more book after it lol , I would have felt better about it.
The amount of emotion this book had me in tho was so crazy. I read this as a buddy read on Storygraph, and let me tell you we were all basically like yelling at everybody in this damn book lol I know I wanted to take ALL her friends and tell them “LEAVE KAT ASS ALONE!” She was terrible. And I wanted to give her a hug every time she realized she wasn’t #1. I’m not a teen anymore, but I know that feeling from the past and I really felt like her mom. I wanted to hug her after that. I went through happiness, I got mad, I laughed, everything. I really felt like I was like an extra in this book.
I know a lot of people had a lot to say about the way I’ve been reading only YA books to learn about what’s happening to the Palestinian people, but as a YA librarian, this is what I know how to do. And even still, there is a spot in this book where Jackie gives the history of Palestine. So yes, you CAN learn things from YA books. And sometimes they explain it in a much better way. And now, teens can also learn about it as well as maybe go back and learn more on their own. Stop saying YA books don’t matter in these conversations.
Lastly, I’m not autistic, but I have read many Own Voices reviews that have said the rep is A+. And I love that. I know it’s an own voices book, so I love that Jackie put so much of herself into these pages. I will be keeping this book in mind whenever I get recommendation requests from work.
This was a fun read and I really am looking forward to other things that Jackie writes. I hope she includes more characters like her, and I really really hope she writes a spin-off of the cousin that was an activist that was mentioned in the story. I really want her story to be told as well. (I’ll take even a novella at this point Jackie!!! lol)
Overall, I give this
