I love that this is the third f/f book I've read in a row, 2020 is the year for these books!

I honestly would've liked this more had I not read it for book club, both because then I would've listened to it in one sitting (and that probably would've been better) and I wouldn't have taken too close a look at some of the more... meh... actions and decisions of the characters, especially Codi, but I still really liked this!

My biggest frustration was probably just how mean/cruel Codi could get with her old best friends, but then again, it also felt super realistic the entire time. Codi doesn't know who she wants to be and she feels stuck, and she focuses in large part on her friendship with Maritza and Jakory as the source for these feelings. It doesn't help that they continually try to put her back into the box she's working to get out of, but at the same time they're not the worst friends because they don't even know Codi wants to leave the box. It's overall just a lot of... not being fully honest with your friends and it leading to so many confrontations and misunderstandings, and it was a lot sometimes.

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It was also nice but also frustrating that Maritza literally does the same exact thing Codi does but with her family in Panama. So if Codi had just been honest then... half the plot just, wouldn't be a thing

I did really like Ricky and his friend group though, they were the more 'popular' kids yet they were still great, amazing people. Codi, in wanting to try new things, didn't have to try to be someone she wasn't around them, and they accepted her with open arms. It honestly made the moral of the story much better imo, that she

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ended up staying with both groups

because then it wasn't about "don't try to become someone you're not" but instead "you can be more than just one thing and that's ok." In the end the book kind of showed that you can have different friends for different things and as long as you're not shitty about it, that's a totally ok way to be.

I also just really liked Codi's and Lydia's relationship, from the

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awkward not-kiss to the wholesome moments where they supported each other through hardships

. They were honestly just so adorable and cute and it was a constant bright spot in the book, even when there was a lot of tension going on in the friend side of things. I also like where the book ended for them, their story wasn't entirely figured out yet and that meant there was no feelings of insta-love or anything. The relationship is new, it's going well, but there's no huge plan for the future or anything.

Overall, I did really enjoy (and can recommend the audiobook!), and I'll definitely pick up whatever Quindlen writes next.