i'm not usually a fan of the amnesia trope because, in all honesty, it stresses me out, but it was beautifully handled in this book. i really felt for the main two girls - stevie, losing the past two years of her life and forgetting about her happiest relationship and nora, for having to face stevie all the while knowing she doesn't remember the love between them. 

i also tend to avoid coming out stories because i feel like i've outgrown that part of life. what i enjoyed about this story was that while being closeted was an integral part of the story, it wasn't the focus because truly the story was focused on stevie finding her way back to nora: not coming out to her parents, not discovering that she likes girls. also,

even though stevie doesn't get her memories back in the end, it's beautiful that she falls BACK in love with nora and they keep their dream of moving to California. and i actually think that the story would've felt cheaper - or the ending more of a cop-out - if stevie DID recover her memories. it was a stronger ending because she didn't, while we, the readers, are left with the possibility that she eventually could.