e-ARC, 400 pagesRelease Date: November 12, 2019Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Read from: December 11-15, 2019Stand-aloneSource: Edelweiss (I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)TW: Suicide attempt, Suicide ideation, Depression, RacismFor fans of: Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction, YA
Eighteen-year-old Devon longs for two things.
The stars.
And the boy she fell in love with last summer.
When Ashton breaks Devon’s heart at the end of the most romantic and magical summer ever, she thinks her heart will never heal again. But over the course of the following year, Devon finds herself slowly putting the broken pieces back together.
Now it’s senior year, and she’s determined to enjoy every moment of it as she prepares for a future studying the galaxies. That is, until Ashton shows up on the first day of school. Can she forgive him and open her heart again? Or are they doomed to repeat history?
From debut author, Ronni Davis, comes a stunning novel about passion, loss, and the power of first love.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I chose to read this based on the synopsis alone. I'm not one who reads reviews so I was thinking this was a contemporary romance that was fluffy and would be a cute swoony read. It was so, so much more than that. It was raw, unflinching, and oh so real with these super strong characters. So much more than I was expecting.
"You'd think someone who wanted to study the stars would know better than to wish on them."2%
One summer Devon met the boy she would give her heart to. At the end of that same summer Ashton broke her heart. Then one day she runs into him again. At school of all places. Does she forgive him or does she ignore him?
"One thing I do know, though, is that if you don't apply, the answer is already no."19%
This book caught me off guard. As soon as I finished it I tweeted if Goodreads had ever thought about adding a specific spot for TW/CWs because I was blindsided by this. I don't have a problem with reading depression, suicide attempts, suicide ideation, but I also would have liked to have known it was there before I read the book. Giving them their own place would be helpful to those of us who try not to read reviews due to spoilers. But this is just my own personal preference.
"You have so much going on, do you really need to add Ashton's stuff to the mix?' 'I love him. And you don't give up on someone you love.' 'But at what cost?' 'There's no price.'"26%
With that being said, this is an #OwnVoices book and I could most definitely tell. I connected very much with Devon. Although the person I knew with depression wasn't my significant other (it was a friend who was a bit older than me who I considered a mom figure) I knew first hand what she was going through. The being scared, the constant worrying, the not wanting to think about anything but them. It resonated hardcore with me.
"Phony people truly amaze me."69%
As for Ashton, I was glad Davis gave every raw, real, and unflinching detail about the illness and all the things he was feeling and how he still was so loved by Devon. I also liked how Devon wasn't used to "fix" him and how things were still rocky. It felt more realistic.
"But I've learned there are things more important than how blue your bloof is or how much wealth your ancestors have accumulated. Love. That's what's important. And if you have one person you truly love and who truly loves you, then that's all the wealth you need."72%
The writing style for this one is the only thing I wasn't 100% in love with. Although I LOVED that Davis showed sex with protection usage in YA, I wished she had given us something else. I felt like I was reading about them doing it or thinking about doing every page. I loved the scenes of them at Christmas and the party, when they were doing other things as well. I'm not saying it shouldn't have been there, but I just wish that had been there and maybe more.
"I love that you still react like this.' 'It'll never not be special, [...]'"76%
I was not expecting this going into this book, but I loved it so much. It tackled so much, from loving someone with a mental illness, racism, safe sex in YA, and so muc more. It definitely wasn't I went into this thinking I was going to read, but I am most definitely better for having read it. My hope is that many more teens read, love, and learn some things as I did.
Overall, I give this
