I give the book 5 out of 5 stars. It was such a good read! The book made me feel both happy and sad. There were plenty of times when I was reading I just did NOT want to put the book down. The author sucked you into the story and the character’s lives. I felt all the characters introduced were developed enough where you felt like you actually got to know them personally. I also appreciated how the author also wrote about real life/difficult issues and made it seem authentic, rather than just automatically giving all the characters a happy ending you had hoped for throughout the book. If you plan to read this book, please be warned, it may contain possible triggers that may be upsetting to you (trigger warnings: domestic violence, abuse, gun violence, neglect, attempted rape, mentions of depression/suicide).

THIS PART CONTAINS SPOILERS:
The author really drew you in with each of her characters and wanting to know what would happen next to each of them. I honestly loved reading about each one and why they were the way they ended up, and learning more about each of their personalities as the book went on. I felt like each character was relatable and realistic in their own way. I loved reading about the relationship between Lily and Atlas. It was a relationship I had hoped worked out from the beginning, but it’s realistic that it didn’t, like a typical high school relationship. I loved the character of Ryle at first and his quote of “There is no such thing as bad people. We are all just people who do bad things.” stuck with me from when he first said it. The author making me love Ryle’s character in the beginning totally made me understand the hurt and heartbreak Lily experienced when he ended up treating her so poorly on more than one occasion later on in the book. The author did an excellent job of being able to convey what Lily was experiencing and the confusing nature of her emotions with what to do in her relationship with Ryle, especially because of her past childhood traumas seeing what her mother experienced with her father growing up. I love that the author also didn’t just make Lily and Ryle have a happily ever after ending, as in reality, this type of situation would definitely be confusing, overwhelming, and just generally messy. I also loved the character of Allysa and how evident it was that she really cared about Lily and was a great friend to her despite her being Ryle’s sister. I’m excited to see what happens in the next book between Lily and Atlas and what the future will hold for each character in the next book.