This book was a real page-turner. Both of the characters were really developed in a way that you felt all of their pain and anxiousness. I know that I was rooting for both to figure out that the other was actually their anonymous chess partner online, but until they did, it was very interested to see just how much they'd share. Reading the descriptions of Zoe's paper galaxy made me want to actually see pictures of it. I did my best to picture them in my head, but I'm sure I had nothing anywhere close to what it actually should have been. Jackson's life was a hard one. It was very sad to read about him living in his car. But I guess even sadder is that there are actually kids probably doing that all the time. I was glad to see what happened with his dad went the way it did. Once in a while it is nice for there to be happy endings all around if possible. I loved Zoe's mother, she was such a fun character. Her sister Mae, definitely made me mad at times, but that was because she was so realistic, just like a real sister probably would be. I feel like this book did a great job with showcasing so many different types of issues that teens today might deal with, and it kept me reading and wishing and hoping for the HEA. This is one I will definitely put on my list of books to order for my library with budget money in the future.

This review was first published on Lisa Loves Literature.