You Don't Know Me but I Know You

by Rebecca Barrow

Rebecca Barrow's bright, honest debut novel about chance, choice, and unconditional love is a heartfelt testament to creating the future you truly want, one puzzle piece at a time. There's a box in the back of Audrey's closet that she rarely thinks about. Inside is a letter, seventeen years old, from a mother she's never met, handed to her by the woman she's called Mom her whole life. Being adopted, though, is just one piece in the puzzle of Audrey's life-the picture painstakingly put together by Audrey herself, full of all the people and pursuits that make her who she is. But when Audrey realizes that she's pregnant, she feels something-a tightly sealed box in the closet corners of her heart-crack open, spilling her dormant fears and unanswered questions all over the life she loves. Almost two decades ago, a girl in Audrey's situation made a choice, one that started Audrey's entire story. Now Audrey is paralyzed by her own what-ifs and terrified by the distance she feels growing between her and her best friend Rose.
Down every possible path is a different unfamiliar version of her life, and as she weighs the options in her mind, she starts to wonder-what does it even mean to be Audrey Spencer?

• ISBN10: 0062494198
• ISBN13: 9780062494191
• Publish Date: 5 October 2017 (first published 29 August 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 22 August 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperTeen
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

At 17, Audrey finds herself in the same place that her birth mother was. She young and unexpectedly pregnant, and must decide between the three available options: termination, adoption, or keeping the baby.

When I was 22, I was faced with the same decision as Audrey. I was a little older, but I still had all the same fears and doubts, and I thought Barrow did an excellent job portraying that. It was clear, that this was very difficult for Audrey. It was taking a physical and mental toll on her, as well as affecting her relationships with her family and friends, and she was overwhelmed by what was happening and the choice she had to make.

Barrow worked in Audrey's adoption quite beautifully, and thoughtfully leveraged that part of Audrey in her decision making. In fact, I liked that she has Audrey fully consider each option, pros and cons. The author never made one option seem like the wrong option, because someone's choice isn't wrong, and I really appreciated the way she handled that.

There were a lot of really great characters in this book, who showed unconditional love and support for Audrey. Things were not always cupcakes and roses with these people, because Audrey lashed out and pushed many people away at some point in this book, but they never stopped loving her. They were not going to stop loving her even if her decision is not the one they would make for themselves.

I commend Barrow for some of the decisions she made in this story. Audrey and Julian were open and honest, and they did not keep it all a secret. They knew when they were in over their heads and sought additional help.

(By the way, my daughter is 22, amazing, and I couldn't imagine my world without her.)

Overall: A thoughtful and honest story of a young adult struggling with a difficult and life changing decision, which was quite emotional and fairly presented all sides.