4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. I would've given it 5 stars, except I wasn't truly invested in the story and I thought Hattie depended on Ramona a bit too much. Now, I don't know much of anything about being pregnant, and I'm aware that most of the time family is likely to pitch in. But Ramona was ready to essentially give up her life before she lived it to help her older sister with her baby, and I just don't think that's right.

My favorite thing about this book is that Ramona was questioning her sexuality. I don't know if I've ever seen a character in YA that doesn't know what they identify as. I appreciate Julie for writing Ramona this way, because sexuality is fluid and yet books don't show that. I know I'm ace, but I don't know my romantic identity; bi, pan, or maybe aro. Reading this made me feel like I was reading about myself, at least a little bit. ❤️

I also liked that throughout the story, heavier, important topics were included without weighing it down. This book talks about growing up poor, being poor, a mother-to-be with a questionable boyfriend, living through natural disasters, and like I said, questioning sexuality.

The biggest and arguably most important part of this story is the family aspect. Ramona has a different relationship with her father, mother, and sister. Freddie has his grandmother. Their friends have varying families and relationships with them as well. It's also explored and built on as the story progresses. ❤️

Other things I liked include the increased significance of swimming, making your own path, experiencing and moving on from a breakup, Ramona and Freddie's romance, the fact that Ramona was actually tall, and Ramona's blue hair. More protagonists need to be tall and/or have wild, dyed hair. Just saying.

I know this book has a decent amount of negative reviews, but I was surprised by it and would definitely say it's worth the read. Despite the flaws, I really enjoyed this story and these characters. I highly recommend it.