wholesome

I loved the relationship between Sadie and Sam and the inevitability of their connection and how they're constantly drawn together.

The fluidity of the timeline was incredible and I loved the narrative and the style of writing. A beautiful story!

This book took a very different turn about 150 pages in and I really enjoyed it, didn't see it coming at all but it really made the book. (If you didn't go into the book blind this turn was probably less unexpected)

a book that had me in tears from the first few pages. incredibly moving as you watch three friends move through their grief and (re)discover the joys in life.

What a book. I read it because it's the Blackwell's Book of the Month and I felt I needed to do some research, and I'm so glad I did.

An absolutely gorgeous story of two brothers learning how best to help and care for each other - and themselves too. Rueben's light shines through the pages of the book as you read about walking the Camino Trail to performing his Friday Night Musicals, and I found my heart really breaking for him as he struggled to leave the mindset that isolation and the pandemic had left him in.

I admire Manni's honesty too - it's never easy to admit being in the wrong, or acting rashly in the moment, a harsh tone that you will later regret, despite how inevitable it is (we're all human). But he owns these moments, acknowledges that they happen, and moves on. His story is one of amazing resilience, and the purest form of love there is, no matter how hard this sometimes is.

I'm sure this book will be picking up countless awards over the next year (and rightly so!) and I implore everyone to read this book and to learn to see the world through the eyes of Reuben and his loved ones.