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vicwaltz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
**thanks to St. Martin’s for sending an advanced copy of this in exchange for an honest review!**
I should start by saying I’m an Erin Hahn stan and think she’s criminally underrated and under-marketed. I was tossed an ARC of her debut years ago and I’ve been on this train ever since. That said, when I received the galley for this one, I put off reading it. Not because I thought it would be bad (impossible) but because I read the description and the title and if there’s one thing Hahn can do better than most, it’s break your heart. If you are not emotionally ready for teens dealing with things way way above what’s fair, this might not be the book for you. BUT if you’re still in after reading the description, this is a treasure. It’s sweet and harsh all at once. You feel what the characters feel, whether that’s abject loss or the thrill of riding in the rodeo. It’s real life but in a book with a happy and hopeful ending.
Hahn has a knack for writing teenagers as people. They’re not always right (most of the time, they are wrong) but they’re also not just thinking like adults we’re supposed to believe are 18. Winnie Sutton is flawed. Case Michaels is very flawed. They grow together in a way that’s really wonderful. This is a story of survivors and realizing you can have the life you want, not just the one you were dealt, if you find the right team. More than that it’s about living life on your own terms, in a healthy way with whatever dream you currently have. And, it’s done in a way that hurts and heals and makes you yell at your kindle because life isn’t fair and they’re just trying their best.
I read EIBYH in one sitting on my couch which is debatably an unhealthy way to read it but I needed to get to the happy ending and man, this burn is slow. Deserved and earned slowness, but slow. Overall, this might not be my favorite of Hahn’s books just because so much of it hurts to read, but I think it might be one of (if not) her best. There’s something in the way she tells this story that makes your heart ache, makes you angry at both characters and the world and then three pages later makes you swoon. It’s so very real in the best way.
I’ve heard thatHahn is taking a break from YA after this one but I hope she gets to come back to it at some point. Not that I don’t love her adult romcoms (I do), but these are books I want teens to have.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Child death
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Medical trauma, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Vomit
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