For the first time in my life, I want the real thing and not the imagined version in my head.
I related to Caroline on so many levels. My family moved from Brooklyn to a very small town (seriously, 1 square mile) in NJ, where kids in my school had actually shared space in the hospital nursery after they were born (true story). Therefore, I totally sympathized with how difficult it was for Caroline, when she had to move from NY to Arizona. To a place where all the friend groups were already established, and they really weren't looking for any new members. I shared her loneliness, and also, her need to alleviate her mother's fears about the move.
I want someone who loves me because of who I am, not in spite of it. Is that so much to ask?
Just like Caroline, I saw college as a "clean slate", a place where I could be a "new version" of me. This was a part of the story I really liked, because this was where Caroline started her journey of self-discovery. She made many rookie mistakes, but after some missteps, she began to trust her own instincts, and started to find her tribe, and things began to look up.
Here there's only one empty spot, and it's for me. It makes me want to pinch myself to see if this is reality.
I have to commend Kade on the fine cast of characters she assembled. I really enjoyed getting to know them all, but I especially loved Lexi and Del. I wasn't sure about Lexi at first. I actually thought Caroline had lost the roommate lottery there, but the more I got to know Lexi, the more I understood her, and eventually, I sort of loved her. Del won me over from his first scene on page. I wasn't sure if he would pop up again in the story, but I was really happy he did, because he was all sorts of adorable and wonderful.
It's the start of the life I was searching for, even though it's nothing like what I expected.
You DO NOT need to be a fan of the the show to enjoy this book, but as a Felicity fan, I liked looking for the parallels to and mentions of the show. I got all giddy when I saw the show's characters names mentioned here and there, and found it quite amusing when Caroline would ask herself, "What would Felicity do?" Like Felicity, Caroline made an impulsive decision to follow a boy, who she wanted to know better to college. Crazy? Yes. But it also ended up being the place where Caroline finally found herself. She grew, learned from her mistakes, and began to find her place in the world.
Overall: A enjoyable and heartfelt journey of self-discovery, which spoke to this introverted-Felicity-lover.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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