I was a little torn between three and four stars on this book because while I did thoroughly enjoy it, I didn't love it. But ultimately I decided this deserved a solid four stars. It was just such a good book all around. Yvonne spends most of the book struggling with not knowing who she is or what she's meant to do with her life, and she's such a well developed character. I didn't always like her or agree with her, but I loved reading from her perspective.

I absolutely adored the portrayal of cheating in this book. Or, I guess "cheating" would be a better way of putting it. Yvonne dates two different guys simultaneously and isn't exclusive with either of them, but goes out of her way to hide the fact that she's seeing someone else. Kind of cheating-light. But I loved the portrayal of it and the discussions it brought up. She's a confused kid at the end of the day who isn't sure what path her life is taking. She's trying new things and trying to find herself as a person, and she's not always treating everyone the best but she also isn't vindictive or trying to hurt people. It straddled the line between not justifying the cheating but understanding it so well. Someone can do something bad without being villainized by the narrative.

One thing that did make me a little uncomfortable was the relationship between Yvonne and Warren. Yvonne is 17 at the start of the book and it's implied that her relationship with Warren had been going on for a little while already (at least several months, but she's known him for two years). Warren is 21. There was discussion on the age gap and what it meant for them, as well as the characters feeling uncomfortable with it to varying degrees, but I still wasn't a big fan. It affected my experience of the story more than I think Colbert meant it to.

This book is so very small in many ways, which I love. It's what I always harp on with Sara Zarr's books as well. Yvonne feels like a real person in all those tiny details. It's not huge or dramatic or life altering, it's just her life. And I loved that.

This is one I'd highly recommend, especially if you like low key contemporary YA. Brandy Colbert is definitely an author I'll be picking up again.