Who knows you well? Your best friend? Your boyfriend or girlfriend? A stranger you meet on a crazy night? No one, really Mark and Kate have sat next to each other for an entire year, but have never spoken. For whatever reason, their paths outside of class have never crossed. That is until Kate spots Mark miles away from home, out in the city for a wild, unexpected night. Kate is lost, having just run away from a chance to finally meet the girl she has been in love with from afar. Mark, meanwhile, is in love with his best friend Ryan, who may or may not feel the same way. When Kate and Mark meet up, little do they know how important they will become to each other -- and how, in a very short time, they will know each other better than any of the people who are supposed to know them more.
The story bounces between the POV of Mark and the POV of Kate. I will talk about Mark first because I loved his story more. Mark has been in love with his best friend Ryan for YEARS. They have fooled around a bit, but Ryan has not come out yet and he always insists that him and Mark are just friends. That doesn't stop Mark from hoping though. Mark was a very relatable character with his yearning for someone he couldn't have and I even felt bad for Ryan because Ryan genuinely thought of Mark as one of his best friends.
I was not a huge fan of Kate or Violet. Kate falls in love with her best friend's cousin, Violet, despite the fact that they have never spoken or met each other. When they do meet each other, they are instantly smitten. They don't really use the term "love" yet, so I guess that's a blessing but they still moved way too fast. And Kate irked me the way she was ALWAYS running away. I completely understand the low self esteem thing and the fact that she never felt good enough. I can relate to that. But I thought Kate was ridiculous when she kept running and hiding from stuff. Her best friend, Lehna, was a bit annoying but I got why Lehna was annoyed with Kate too. It's hard not to be mad at someone who keeps flaking out.
The best part of the story, in my opinion, was the friendship between Mark and Kate. They were so cute together and I love that she just asked him to be her friend when she met him. It was adorable. They were both going through tough, but similar situations, and I love how supportive they were of each other. What I really loved was that for the most part, there were gay kids with normal problems that NOTHING to do with coming out, mainly because they are normal. No one had issues with the sexuality of Kate, Violet, Mark or Lehna. Kate and Violet even had a kiss in the middle of the street and I thought that it was awesome to have them do that and NOT experience any harassment or bullying. That was so refreshing.
The only other quibble I had was that it was sometimes hard to tell who was speaking. The story was written in first person and the POV's were not broken up in any way. So there were times when it took a paragraph or two to figure out who was speaking. Other than that, this was a very moving novel that is worth the read.
Buy/Borrow/Skip: Buy this one!
I really want to read this one. I have been hearing great things and the story sounds wonderful. The POVs not being broken up does sound confusing though. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks Grace! I do think that you will enjoy it. It was a great story.
DeleteIt could go either way, I suppose: they've such a good writing chemistry that you can't tell which one wrote which. And on the other hand, the characters lose their distinctive voices because the writers had such a seamless rapport.
ReplyDeleteSo true, Joy. Maybe it was a little bit of both. I guess I wish they would have said the name at the beginning of the chapter or something so we could know. You know what I mean?
DeleteGreat review. I reviewed this book yesterday. I also really loved it, but I actually liked Kate's chapters better. She was annoying, but I think I understood her fear. I know what you're saying about the POV changes. It was every other chapter, but the stories were so integrated. A name as the chapter title would have been helpful. The friendship was the best part of the book for me, and it was so refreshing to see gay kids portrayed as normal.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kate! I did understand Kate's fear and anxieties too, but I guess they just got to be a bit much after a while, you know? I still liked her chapters, just not as much as Mark. I absolutely loved the great friendship and I loved how romance wasn't the ONLY focus. That was so refreshing.
DeleteSounds pretty good, though not as good as Two Boys Kissing... Nevertheless, I'm adding it to my list :) Brilliant review, Cynthia!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ramona! There are probably very few books that are as good as Two Boys Kissing. That one was pretty phenomenal.
DeleteI agree that the lack of homophobia in this book was totally refreshing, though I couldn't manage to like it as much as you did, because Kate and Mark's sudden proximity didn't convince me. Great review!! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Lola! I think I saw your review on Goodreads and I saw your comments about that. I do understand. It was a little insta-friendshippy, so I get where you are coming from. Sorry you didn't like it as much. :)
DeleteGreat review! I liked the dual POV but I know what you mean about sometimes it taking a minute to figure out who was speaking. I did LOVE the friendship between Kate and Mark so much, so happy they found each other!!
ReplyDeletemy review
Me too Eva! The friendship was so sweet. I loved it.
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