3.5*
There were some things I really enjoyed about this one, a couple of things I didn't, and one thing that just kind of needs a mention, though it's neither good nor bad.
The Good:
- Billie and her friends were wonderful. They were so very real, and I enjoyed their interactions enormously. They felt like such authentic characters, flawed, yet caring. They fought like normal people, they ended up feeling more than just friendship like normal people... it was kind of great. I loved watching them grow and evolve throughout the book.
- The focus on Billie questioning her sexual and gender identities is so fabulous. Now, I can't speak from personal experience, but from what I can gather, it seems to be handled quite well. Her thoughts were so well written; the author made it quite easy to relate to Billie whether you've shared her experiences or not.
- There's a huge focus on family and faith. Another relatable trait of this book was Billie having to come to terms with being authentic to herself even when who she was conflicted with her church's beliefs and even the beliefs of her father. I'll delve more into that in the next section, but as much as her father was often a conflicting presence in her life, Billie's mom was gloriously supportive. I like that parents weren't vilified, but they were very, very humanized. While I am not personally religious, I know others who have struggled with what Billie has gone through, and I absolutely love that the author decided to make Billie religious, and does so in a way that doesn't preach nor condemn church and faith. The author paints it as such a personal journey, and I think this will be incredibly helpful to young people of any faith who are trying to figure out how to navigate the path between who they are and who their faith wants them to be.
The Thing I Want to Mention:
- As I said above, Billie has a very tumultuous relationship with her preacher father. He often puts the needs of his church ahead of the needs of his daughter. He is conservative (read: watches Fox News), and often says things that are quite hurtful to Billie. He wants her to change who she is, or at the very least, hide it from his conservative congregation. Here's the thing: I know this is incredibly realistic. But it is also very hard to read. The way he treats his child is so wrong that it will infuriate you, but it also works within the story. Even though I wanted to stab him, and stab him often.
The Not-as-Good:
- I feel like not much happened, outside of character and relationship developments. I don't mind a character-driven book, in fact I quite like them. But the plot was just a big on the tedious side for me, and sometimes I felt like nothing was going on and things were dragging.
Bottom Line: While I absolutely adored the characters and relationships in this book, at times I felt underwhelmed by the plot. Still, absolutely a valuable and beautifully written story I'm very glad to have read.
*Copy provided for review