e-Audio, 13:35:46
Narrated by: Tashi Thomas
Release Date: June 7, 2022
Published by: Books on Tape
Read from: June 7-12, 2022
Stand-alone
Source: Library’s Libby
TW: Parent Death (not on page), Anxiety, Seasonal Depression, Panic Attack,
For Readers Interested In: Romance, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary, YAA fresh new YA romance novel by Kristina Forest, Zyla & Kai is an epic star-crossed love story about first love and not just the will they, won’t they— but why can’t they?
While on a school trip to the Poconos Mountains (in the middle of a storm) high school seniors, Zyla Matthews and Kai Johnson, run away together leaving their friends and family confused. As far as everyone knows, Zyla and Kai have been broken up for months. And honestly? Their break up hadn’t surprised anyone. Zyla and Kai met while working together at an amusement park the previous summer, and they couldn’t have been more different.
Zyla was a cynic about love. She’d witnessed the dissolution of her parents’ marriage early in life, and it left an indelible impression. Her only aim was graduating and going to fashion school abroad. Until she met Kai.
Kai was a serial monogamist and a hopeless romantic. He’d put a temporary pause on his dating life before senior year to focus on school and getting into his dream HBCU. Until he met Zyla.
Alternating between the past and present, we see the love story unfold from Zyla and Kai’s perspectives: how they first became the unlikeliest of friends over the summer, how they fell in love during the school year, and why they ultimately broke up… Or did they?
Romantic, heart-stirring and a little mysterious, Zyla & Kai will keep readers guessing until the last chapter.
*MY THOUGHTS*
Y’all know when I read Kristina Forest’s first book, I fell in love with it. I have since read everything else she’s put out. So when I heard about this one, I was hella excited. Did I know what it was about? Did I know anything besides the fact that it was probably a Black YA romance? No. But that didn’t matter at all. It was perfect and I want to re-read it again already.
Zyla and Kai might have been teens, but the love they shared was well beyond their years. So when they broke up, the people closest to them were surprised, but knew they must have done it for a reason. So when they go missing together from the field trip their schools are on, their friends and family are left wondering why and what on Earth could have happened with them.
One of my favorite parts of this book was the non-linear timeline and the way it was told from different people’s POV. Every time I read a story like this I always think the author is super talented at what they do. Because man, the way she was able to go back and forth and how she had to have thought about getting the story from other people’s POV, even while those people were fictional. Idk why it impresses me so much, but it does. I think these are my favorite types of stories now.
The next best thing about this was the characters. I remember crying when I read her first book because I was looking for Black Romance in YA. She was the first one I’d read and I remember crying because I could finally read a book that I needed as a teen. And it was beautiful. This one was much of the same. Zyla was smart and a fashion nerd. Kai was so sweet and smart and extra as hell for someone his age lol (If you read it you’ll get it lol) I related a lot to Zyla because although she is beautiful, she is also a nerd and she has some real insecurities. Like why does Kai like her when he could have anyone, and more. I have to admit, those are some of the things that I also have thought about. And Kai was hella cool as well. He did all that he did because of how he loved everyone so hard. He was holding on to so much. I wanted to hug him. Sweet kid, that I felt needed some mom hugs.
The romance was what pulled all of this together for me. Yes it was a YA romance, but man it felt like more than that. Kai felt like an old playa lol He was hella romantic for a teen. Like the Valentine’s Day date. One character said he was extra, but I prefer to think of it like Zyla did, that he wears his heart on his sleeve. It was so cute. One of my favorite romance tropes is when the guy is smitten over the girl and he doesn’t hide it. And this is exactly what’s in this book. (And also another book that I recently read, Love Radio by Ebony LaDelle, another Black YA romance.) The way they were together was cute as well. The things he did for her (buying her ONE SCRAP of fabric just to protect her hair?!) and the way she changed for only him. (She was herself, but the weirdest things started making her re-think the things she wanted…. I’m talking Halloween night…)
I also wanted to talk about the mental health representation. I have had anxiety as long as I can remember. So when I saw it in this book, I was happy. Not only was there a Black teen in love, but there is also one who has a mental health diagnoses. If you’re Black, you know that that’s not usually a “thing” in Black households. I’m glad Forest decided to show it and make his experience with therapy a positive thing. Along with this, I thought the way they were both able to call out each other on their BS was a way to positively show their growth from where they started. When they finally came to terms that the other might be right, I was super proud of them.
The setting was pretty cool too. I remember thinking Sailor Joe’s was a lot like the Pleasure Pier in Galveston, Texas. Yes, I know this was mostly set in NJ, but that’s just what I do. I always picture settings as places that I’ve been so that I can get the “full experience” of it. Sailor Joe’s to me was an amusement park on a Boardwalk. I saw it as the Pleasure Pier because they have some of the same things Forest talked about, like the balloon game lol Even though this was but a small part of the book, I still felt like I was in it. For the rest of the settings, I relied on Forest’s writing style to do that for me. And listen, it completely worked. I was at the water park, the park, at the different parties, in Philly at the fabric store, etc. I didn’t want to stop reading it. It was so good.
Since I listened to the audio I think it’s worth it to talk about the narrator. I was immersed in this book from all ways. The writing style was amazing and the narrator was just as good. I have always been one to put myself in the story, not as a character, but as someone who’s there watching what’s going on. Like as an extra in a movie. And normally this is just when I’m reading myself. But this narrator basically sucked me in and I couldn’t get away from it. This book was amazing and so were they.
As you can see I loved this one. This book was about Black Joy and I am so glad I experienced it. There’s not many Black YA romances out there, so I’m all about making sure they get the recognition they deserve. Especially if they’re as well written and well thought out as this one.
Overall, I give this
