**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**The Birds, The Bees, and You and Me is a young adult contemporary novel by Olivia Hinebaugh. There were a few things I didn't love about this novel, but overall I thought it was still a good read. The good certainly outweighed my few gripes. So let's start with the good. The Birds, The Bees, and You and Me is a novel that is both very educational and was a cute coming of age story. I really enjoyed our main character, Lacey( most of the time). And I loved her friendship with Theo and Evita. Her friend group was my favorite part of the story.

And now for the few things I didn't love. Lacey sometimes came off as a little whiny, which could be aggravating, but then again, one could also say it was pretty age appropriate. She did irk me sometimes, but I appreciated her overall message and journey. Speaking of the message of the novel, I loved that The Birds, The Bees, and You and Me was so informative and had such an educational message worked into the story. However; at times the book came off as a bit too clinical, and not so fictional. But I do love that there were good adult role models in the story, and that The Birds, The Bees, and You and Me encouraged such an open dialogue. That was simply fantastic. 

The story itself was funky and fun. I loved how much Olviia Hinebaugh worked music into the story, since it was such a big part of Lacey and her friend's lives. It helped lighten the tone of the story significantly, which really helped to balance out some of the heavier topics explored. Overall, this novel was a good balance of serious and fun. I enjoyed how different it was than so many high school contemporary novels out there. 
This review was originally posted on Book Briefs