You, Me, & Letting Go

by Katie Kaleski

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

She was trying to forget about the past year and become "Tabby". He was trying to prove to his family, that he was able to independently navigate his life. After a rocky start, they find that their best chances of letting go may lie in each other.

The Characters

Both Van and Tabby were dealing with some major personal baggage. Van physically and mentally struggled with his Touretts, ADHD, and SPD. Though he was very aware of his tics, they were not always easy to manage. Part of his journey was coming to terms with his multiple disorders, and being more open about them.

Tabby also had some challenges to deal with. She was still in recovery following an inpatient stay for anorexia and self harm. She struggled with many of the triggers, and her inner pain and turmoil came across as quite authentic.

Van and Tabby had some great support systems. Kaleski gave each a stupendous best friend, and I especially liked the bromance between Van and Matt. Van suffered from some very major tics, but Matt was able to see past his disorder and see how wonderful Van was.

The Romance

Tabby may have been dealing with some major mental health issues, but most of her scars were on the inside. Van's disorders made themselves known in quite overt ways, but Tabby saw past all that, and was able to appreciate how sweet and funny Van was. I definitely smiled a lot as I read their interactions, but what really won my heart, was the time she took to get to understand him and his needs. I have been seeing this more in books featuring people with ASD, and it's an approach that can work with, and should be used more often, with all people, but especially people with special needs. The idea of someone putting extra time and effort into getting to understand what you need to be comfortable just touches me every time I see it in books and in real life.

All of this was accompanied by a fun day camp setting, a bunch of rom-com moments, interesting family dynamics, and a lot of self discovery, which left me feeling the feels and smiling from ear to ear.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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