* I got this book for the review from the publisher*

I really adored this read. I thought this book was a prefect emotional read that dealt with issues that plague teens like romance, sister realtionships, love and grief and forgiveness. I really adored the lead character in this book. I also enjoyed how lizzy crafted some complex characters even though this book focused on Harley POV. I also was super impressed with the structure of this novel and the the use of the flashbacks to flesh out this novel. I really adored this novel and hope to read by this author in the future. If you are looking for books like Katie McGary then check out this emotional read that really gripped me from page one.
( )

* I got this book for the review from the publisher*

I really adored this read. I thought this book was a prefect emotional read that dealt with issues that plague teens like romance, sister realtionships, love and grief and forgiveness. I really adored the lead character in this book. I also enjoyed how lizzy crafted some complex characters even though this book focused on Harley POV. I also was super impressed with the structure of this novel and the the use of the flashbacks to flesh out this novel. I really adored this novel and hope to read by this author in the future. If you are looking for books like Katie McGary then check out this emotional read that really gripped me from page one.
( )

CW: Boyfriend is driving drunk and has an accident that seriously injures MC's sister. ( )

I was totally absorbed in this from cover to cover. I really like a lot of the choices the author made, although I couldn't figure out if the flashbacks were superfluous or not. The mom was an annoying hypocrite to Harley ("get a job! Oh, you are working too much and not being with your sister!") and I didn't like how she interacted with the main nurse. I do get that her world is shattered, but the nurse is doing her job. The dad made me smile. I'm not sure what I'd do in Harley's situation with repeated cheating. Break up and stick to it, and probably seriously resent them both, but visit Audrey and--I don't know. I had a lot of emotions around the first half of the book. The second half had me rolling my eyes at the ode to twelve-step, especially the walls of text that are the literature that is read out loud in meetings. Not fun to read on the page. I get what she was going for, though. The portrayals were honest, detailed, and accurate, and tackled myths, especially about teens in rehab. It just felt like a huge infodump, and walking character introductions a lot. I haaated Mike and liked Raf.

The plot twist with Neema in the last fifty pages of the book genuinely made my jaw drop, but not in a good way. It didn't change my views. Instead, I was mad. If it had never been included, the book wouldn't have been affected at all. It was pointless and actually just felt like it was there for shock value, which I cannot describe accurately how much I despise. Uggghhh grrr. And it's not sufficiently built up or concluded! Pointless words to try and get what's ultimately a cheap reaction from readers because it was poorly done. Onward. I learned a lot from this book about medical stuff, but Audrey's rapid progress was really unrealistic and she adjusted astonishingly quickly. The ending felt overly fluffy, and the cheating flashback at the end needed to be placed elsewhere or even not included. I'm cranky over here. I'm still mildly curious about other works of the author, and really glad about the foreward she included. Despite its flaws, this book is solid and I'm glad I read it.. ( )