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cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
This was amazing portrayal of grief in silence. Everything in this book felt real, bisexual and asexual representation, imperfect characters.
I even liked non-linear storytelling and usually don't,
pressure of coming out was hard to read because you can she is struggling with that, and that is what ultimately makes her relationship with Maggie more heartbreaking.
This book is definitely worth a read and I will read more books by Nita Tyndall in future.
I even liked non-linear storytelling and usually don't,
pressure of coming out was hard to read because you can she is struggling with that, and that is what ultimately makes her relationship with Maggie more heartbreaking.
This book is definitely worth a read and I will read more books by Nita Tyndall in future.
thepetitepunk's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Corinne Parker, a runner hoping to earn a scholarship for college so that she can escape her small town, has some secrets. Specifically--she's bisexual, and she is in love with Maggie Bailey, another runner from a rival high school. Except Maggie is dead now and Corinne must grieve alone while her secrets still sleep deep inside of her. With her girlfriend gone and senior year coming to an end, Corinne has quite a bit to sort out, including her split-up parents, college, Maggie's ex-girlfriend, and the emotions that come with both sexuality and grief.
Who I Was With Her is a quiet story with many delicate layers wrapped around its core theme of grief. Nita Tyndall does a beautifully heart-wrenching job of depicting the experience of grieving a loved one and of having to hide one's true self out of fear. At some points Corinne is careful and contained and other times she's inconsiderate and messy; the unpredictable range of emotional responses that grief brings was thoughtfully done. There's such a careful blend of confusion and pain regarding both Maggie's death and Corrine's sexuality. Your heart will be aching right along with Corrine's.
I also appreciated Tyndall's interpretation of Corrine being bisexual in a small, traditional town. There's just enough bitter homophobic reality mixed with hope, which is such an important part of reality that is just not represented enough in LGBT+ fiction. Furthermore, I thought the asexual side character was also well-written. Both bisexuality and asexuality were directly discussed multiple times (with those exact labels being used), which I thought was extremely important.
If you don't like relatively sad or slow stories, perhaps this one is not for you. But if you enjoy character-based stories that focus on emotions and self-acceptance, you're bound to fall in love with Nita Tyndall's writing.
Content warnings: grieving the death of a loved one, external biphobia, internal biphobia, slut shaming, alcoholism, underage drinking
Corinne Parker, a runner hoping to earn a scholarship for college so that she can escape her small town, has some secrets. Specifically--she's bisexual, and she is in love with Maggie Bailey, another runner from a rival high school. Except Maggie is dead now and Corinne must grieve alone while her secrets still sleep deep inside of her. With her girlfriend gone and senior year coming to an end, Corinne has quite a bit to sort out, including her split-up parents, college, Maggie's ex-girlfriend, and the emotions that come with both sexuality and grief.
Who I Was With Her is a quiet story with many delicate layers wrapped around its core theme of grief. Nita Tyndall does a beautifully heart-wrenching job of depicting the experience of grieving a loved one and of having to hide one's true self out of fear. At some points Corinne is careful and contained and other times she's inconsiderate and messy; the unpredictable range of emotional responses that grief brings was thoughtfully done. There's such a careful blend of confusion and pain regarding both Maggie's death and Corrine's sexuality. Your heart will be aching right along with Corrine's.
I also appreciated Tyndall's interpretation of Corrine being bisexual in a small, traditional town. There's just enough bitter homophobic reality mixed with hope, which is such an important part of reality that is just not represented enough in LGBT+ fiction. Furthermore, I thought the asexual side character was also well-written. Both bisexuality and asexuality were directly discussed multiple times (with those exact labels being used), which I thought was extremely important.
If you don't like relatively sad or slow stories, perhaps this one is not for you. But if you enjoy character-based stories that focus on emotions and self-acceptance, you're bound to fall in love with Nita Tyndall's writing.
Content warnings: grieving the death of a loved one, external biphobia, internal biphobia, slut shaming, alcoholism, underage drinking
galacticallz's review against another edition
4.0
Rating: 8/10
Another book I had to put down to not get tear stains on the pages. The first half was slow and it took me a while to read but then I got attached to Corinne and couldn’t stop reading. Her struggles with coming out felt so real, between the pressures from those around her and the overall fear of it all. I didn’t really like that the description of the book made it sound like a romance between Elissa and Corinne when that wasn’t really it. They were cute but not at the right time.
Another book I had to put down to not get tear stains on the pages. The first half was slow and it took me a while to read but then I got attached to Corinne and couldn’t stop reading. Her struggles with coming out felt so real, between the pressures from those around her and the overall fear of it all. I didn’t really like that the description of the book made it sound like a romance between Elissa and Corinne when that wasn’t really it. They were cute but not at the right time.
dobrusia13's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
eggbois_gf's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
adrianavc32's review against another edition
5.0
Cada vez que pienso en este libro me gusta más, a pesar de que tengo mis problemas con él. Empezando con la protagonista que me parece que en ocasiones puede ser bastante egoísta con los sentimientos de los demás, pero creo que es parte del punto del libro y al mismo tiempo me agrada, no te tiene que caer bien, solo es una persona de 17 años que está pasando por muchísimas cosas, incluyendo el duelo de alguien a quien amaba pero no puede externarlo de ninguna manera. Eso más aparte el resto de cosas que ocurren en su vida que tampoco son sencillas como el divorcio de sus papás, el alcoholismo de su mamá, escoger universidad, etc, etc, etc.
Por esta parte creo que es muy entendible como actúa y los errores que comete, y me agrada que no se busca romantizar esos errores y al final las cosas terminan como deben de serlo. No es una historia de amor, de superación o cualquier cosa que se te pueda ocurrir. Creo que es un libro que define muy bien el duelo que lleva una persona cuando alguien fallece, desde lo más puro de su corazón. No digo que sea una guía o algo para superar estos procesos, pero es la historia personal de alguien más y creo que está narrada muy muy bien
Por esta parte creo que es muy entendible como actúa y los errores que comete, y me agrada que no se busca romantizar esos errores y al final las cosas terminan como deben de serlo. No es una historia de amor, de superación o cualquier cosa que se te pueda ocurrir. Creo que es un libro que define muy bien el duelo que lleva una persona cuando alguien fallece, desde lo más puro de su corazón. No digo que sea una guía o algo para superar estos procesos, pero es la historia personal de alguien más y creo que está narrada muy muy bien
maiiiphobic's review against another edition
3.0
3,5
I listened to the audiobook version and the voice actress was so good, she made me feel all the emotions Cori was going through and honestly even made me cry at some points. As for the plot I just think that the whole Cori - Elissa thing was a bit pointless and unnecessary, like the story would have been perfectly fine without it, in my personal opinion I even found Elissa to be a very toxic character and even manipulative at some points. Other than that the story was really good, grief is portrayed in a very realistic and respectful way, showing that grief comes and goes, that is not just one linear thing. Overall my only problem was the romance plot line and maybe some of the characters including Cori (the protagonist) being really annoying at times
I listened to the audiobook version and the voice actress was so good, she made me feel all the emotions Cori was going through and honestly even made me cry at some points. As for the plot I just think that the whole Cori - Elissa thing was a bit pointless and unnecessary, like the story would have been perfectly fine without it, in my personal opinion I even found Elissa to be a very toxic character and even manipulative at some points. Other than that the story was really good, grief is portrayed in a very realistic and respectful way, showing that grief comes and goes, that is not just one linear thing. Overall my only problem was the romance plot line and maybe some of the characters including Cori (the protagonist) being really annoying at times
kadijaaa's review against another edition
4.0
if you’re looking for a quiet and sad bisexual rep book that is an emotional roller coster from page one, look no further... this is it!!
troetschel's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Such a beautiful contemporary novel about grief and identity - and fear, and coming out, and expectations, and making choices. I loved pretty much everything about it.