You Know Me Well by David Levithan, Nina LaCour

You Know Me Well

by David Levithan and Nina LaCour

Who knows you well? Your best friend? Your boyfriend or girlfriend? A stranger you meet on a crazy night? No one, really?

Mark and Kate have sat next to each other for an entire year, but have never spoken. For whatever reason, their paths outside of class have never crossed.

That is until Kate spots Mark miles away from home, out in the city for a wild, unexpected night. Kate is lost, having just run away from a chance to finally meet the girl she has been in love with from afar. Mark, meanwhile, is in love with his best friend Ryan, who may or may not feel the same way.

When Kate and Mark meet up, little do they know how important they will become to each other – and how, in a very short time, they will know each other better than any of the people who are supposed to know them more.

Told in alternating points of view by Nina LaCour and David Levithan, the bestselling author of Every Day and co-author of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (with Rachel Cohn) and Will Grayson, Will Grayson (with John Green), You Know Me Well is a deeply honest story about navigating the joys and heartaches of first love, one truth at a time.

Reviewed by Joséphine on

4 of 5 stars

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Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Initial thoughts: I liked You Know Me Well but wasn't swept away by it. Listening to it, it had co-authored David Levithan written all over it. That's not a bad thing since he writes well and pairing up with Nina LaCour resulted in a solid book. However, It felt like a permutation of books he has already written, specifically Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (which I love), only with additional people and more than one romantic plot line. There weren't any surprising plot twists for me or all too exiting highs. On the other hand, David Levithan and Nina LaCour coming together practically guaranteed an enjoyable LGBTQ-themed book. It was fun, while navigating the confusion of being in love with the best friend or the idea of a person one has yet to meet.

On a side note, I've seen a couple of reviews that mentioned how unrealistic things were due to the unlikely friendships formed as well as the romantic developments. I will say that in both high school and uni I made friends with people because one or both of us were heartbroken. There's a mutual understanding that in those moments transcended everything else. In less than a day we established understanding & trust because of the secrets that were shared. Some friendships lasted a couple of months, others are still going strong today. Based on personal experiences, I wouldn't knock relationships that develop "unrealistically" quickly.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 16 August, 2016: Finished reading
  • 16 August, 2016: Reviewed