Thank you to Balzar + Bray/Harper Collins (via NetGalley) for the ARC!

Just FYI: There are a lot of Harry Potter references in this book

3.5 stars

Sigh. I had high hopes for this book, but it let me down a little. I'm having a hard time articulating what exactly I didn't like about it, but it just left me feeling slightly disappointed overall.

Spoiler

One thing that bugged me is that I feel like everything was wrapped up too quickly. Tessa spent the whole book doubting herself, trash talking herself (that in and of itself bothered me--she was SO negative all the time!) and then within two chapters entirely changed her outlook on herself.

I was also disappointed by the ending. I don't mind an open-ended book, but I feel like this was TOO open-ended. I wanted a little more resolution at the end of Tessa and Sam's story.

I just wanted more from it, overall. I wanted Tessa to be more open about her issues with her parents. I wanted more from Tessa and Sam's relationship. I wanted more examination about why Tessa had writer's block (the phrase itself never came up in the whole book, which I thought was weird). I wanted more development of her writing teacher instead of a one-off halfhearted offer to help her. I was just left unfulfilled by the end of this book.

I know many people have enjoyed this book, and I don't want to deter people from reading it because of my review, but I was left feeling disappointed overall. I do wish the author success with her debut, and I hope that it finds its intended audience. I will most likely be buying this for my school library, though, because I definitely see it as something that my students will enjoy!