"Because I was in love with him— the kind of love that made my throat ache with all the things I couldn’t say."
This is probably going to be one of "those" reviews that just amounts to incoherent gushing, and I am not sorry. When I heard there was a new Rachel Lynn Solomon book coming out, I had no doubt I'd like it. I loved You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone, but more than that I could just kind of tell that the author had a certain... specialness to her writing.
"The only regrets I have when it comes to Peter are things I don’t do. Things I don’t say."
And right I was. This book was absolutely everything I had hoped and expected, but then somehow, it was even more. In YMMWIG, while I related to the characters quite deeply on a human level, I never went through many of the things they had gone through. This one... well, it was different. Because it spoke to me. Told me things I needed to hear. And honestly, it's pretty damn powerful when a book has that ability.
"It takes a lot of energy to love someone this much without being loved back the way you want. It drains you."
And sure, I will tell you about all its positives from a more objective angle! The characters are incredibly relatable, whether you have been through any of the junk they have or none at all. Just like YMMWIG, it has the uncanny ability to make you love and care for these characters. They are flawed, and messy, and at their cores just good, decent people trying to navigate the world. The world with all its unwanted feelings and harshness and ups and downs.
You need more? Sure! It has funny moments, charming moments, heartwarming moments, and yeah, heartbreaking moments. The stories-within-stories make the pages fly by. You'll learn so much about all the relationships, beyond just their friendship-turned-mess. You'll see them coming of age, and dealing with all the highs and lows it encompasses.
"Sometimes you hurt, and sometimes you ache, but the worst pain is one you can’t put a name to and can’t swallow a pill to fix."
And yes, maybe you'll learn something about yourself, or about relationships of all sorts. Maybe this book will help you process some of your own bullshitty life stuff. Maybe it'll tell you stuff you had to hear, had to hear in the way Rachel Lynn Solomon tells it. Maybe, if you're really lucky, it'll be exactly what you need.
Bottom Line: This book is beautiful and honest and relatable, and quite frankly, flawless.