Review Detail

The story:
After living in foster care since the death of her mother, Edie finally has a home-- though not one she's excited about. Taken in by her mother's estranged sister and thrown into a life of wealth where private schools were the expectation and summer jobs were considered beneath them, Edie has little to hold on to. Except the boy next door, the one she hasn't seen since she was a kid. Her first kiss.
And also the boy with a girlfriend. Navigated the minefield of loving someone who was unavailable, Edie finds herself taking solace in the arms of the resident bad boy, but is it enough when her heart belongs to someone else?

What I loved:
There's a feeling in this book. I'll call it nostalgia. It brings back memories from being a teenager unsure of the future where every decision, every relationship feels enormous. It's a beautifully written tale of first love with struggles the reader experiences right alongside the characters. The side characters grow on you until you fall in love with their quirks and issues. And through it all, you never lose faith that Edie will be okay no matter what happens.

What was just okay:
The main characters each had their own issues that made it hard to fall in love with them. Edie's desperation and illogical choices. Sebastian's indecision, stringing two women along. And Henry's serial cheating. It almost seems like we're supposed to root for them, but against Sebastian's girlfriend - who is shown to be mean, but is really the wronged character. Through all this, the book is still a one-sitting read which shows the true talent of the author.

Finally Verdict: A can't-put-it-down type of read where everything is a beautiful train wreck, but it's our train wreck as we root for the flawed characters and are drawn in by the wonderful prose. It's not a book that one will forget about.