Thank you to NetGalley and Sleeping Dragon Books for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.
I went back and forth between giving this 4 and 5 stars, but when it came down to it my heart told me this is a 5 star book, because of three main factors: 1) I didn’t want to put it down; 2) I finished it in less than 24 hours; and 3) it brought back so many emotions and memories from my own high school experience – both good and bad – in a way that I hadn’t experienced before.
Norah and Wade’s story resonated with me because of how many events paralleled my own life, maybe not in exact detail but in emotion and emotional reaction. Their love story & path to finding each other isn’t clean but it happens in the way that is necessary for them, which is something that I think is lacking in many YA books at times. Relationships aren’t always pretty & perfect, it takes breaking up with situations to find the way to be together, and this book resonated with me on those counts. Plus, it is always fun to read books about other parts of the real world – in this case Australia – when 99% of the books I read are either based in the United States of America or in fantasy worlds. This book also touches on some mental health issues, but it does so in a way that I found really respectful. Overall, as long as you go into this book keeping in mind location (i.e. if you are from the U.S. you aren’t upset that they are drinking at 18 because that is legal in Australia) and context (these are high schoolers trying to find their way in life) this is truly a great book.
This book comes out in early June of 2021 and I highly recommend that you pick it up.