Oh the angst in this one really sucked me in as I devoured every bit of it. In this one we see Zane and his struggles with abandonment, an ailing grandmother who raised him, and the struggles of living in Darling Row. He has issues with those that seem to have it all because as he fights to survive and help his grandmother as much as he can, he sees others on the rich side of town and thinks there is no way they would ever know what it is like to live like they do on his side. The resentment he has towards those people bleed into his feelings for Celeste and he tends to be harsh towards her and tells her how much she doesn’t belong. As I could see Zane’s point of view and struggles, I still felt like he was off because money doesn’t provide everything, sure they don’t know what it’s like to go without basics, but they don’t have street smarts or the bonds created between friends like the Row kids do, but they come with their own set of standards and issues that makes their lives difficult. Celeste is this sweet genius character who you can’t help but love because she is there for those she cares for, and she is always there for them. Celeste’s life looks like one of luxury to the outside and while she doesn’t struggle financially, she does when it comes to affection and being able to create her own path in life. Her whole life from what she will do, who she will marry, down to classes to take and clothes to wear to decided for her and she has this need to make her own decisions or at least enjoy her life, but her parents dictate it all for the sake of their name and toss money everything. She has a kind soul and deep-down Zane knows this but his hatred for that life is too deep. With Zane’s mother abandoning him and Celeste’s parents’ emotional abandonment you would think they have a lot in common, but Zane can’t seem to let things go and that aggravated me because he was willing to accept Harleigh and Nate. The ups and downs of this story kept me enthralled and my heart ached for them, but a few times I didn’t like Harleigh in this one which was disturbing to me because in her story I loved her character, yet in this one she was so rude and standoffish to Celeste it was awful. I get that she still has her issues with that family, but Celeste became more to her, a friend, a shoulder to cry on, someone who covered for her many times, yet she acted like she was a pariah and couldn’t be dealt with it made me mad. Overall, this story had me in my feelings and I loved the journey these characters took me through. ( )