3 stars
A powerful coming-of-age story. This novel-in-verse takes a young poet, a forbidden love interest, a strict, religious mother, an apathetic father, a secretive brother, a supportive best friend, and an encouraging teacher, mixes them together, and presents a story of hardship, hope, and healing.
This book tackles so many issues such as mother/daughter relationships, questioning religion, body shaming, friendship, new love, family expectations, sexuality, tensions between siblings, and the power of poetry. Perhaps it was because it takes on so much that I felt at times pieces were left but the wayside. However, it picked up in the second half and concludes with a powerful ending.
Wonderfully told. Though I disengaged from the writing at times, I really enjoyed the focus on moving forward and healing at the end.