Oh my god. So this book took me FOREVER to finish. Stupid school, getting in the way of a nice long book binge. But seriously, I loved every minute of reading this book. It was intricate and complicated and messy, but that's what makes it so beautiful. It told the story of two best friends over five years who loved each other and hated each other and were mad at each other but came back to each other. And it also told of their lives, how Spencer came to terms with his Tourette's syndrome and how Hope learned to live for herself. It told about their family dynamics and how families can grow apart and together but always be there for each other. It really is just a beautiful story about the complications of human relationships. I read the authors note or the prologue or something where she said that she's read many stories about adults and long term friendships and how there are ups and downs, but not about teens, so she wrote her own. It starts with Hope and Spencer in seventh grade and follows them through graduation. The one thing that was confusing in the ARC version was the timeline. For many chapters it would tell of their time in seventh grade, and then all of a sudden after a big event it would switch to them as freshman. That felt jerky, and confusing, but hopefully in the final copy there are years in front of the chapters so we know how old they are. Also I LOVED Spencer's little taxonomy notes at the beginning of each chapter, but formatting wise it didn't work on the ebook. They would get intermingled or the spaces wouldn't work out. But I think it's such a cute and clever idea and you really get to know Spencer more through it. And speaking of Spencer, I just love all these characters. They are real and messy and funny (this book is just so funny and well written!) and emotional and each of them feel like my friend or something. More to come in my real review on my blog (whenever I get back to that) but in all honesty this book has everything I love in a good contemporary and I recommend it to anyone who loves YA contemporary

*RECEIVED FROM NETGALLEY 

We. Need. More. Books. Like. This. 
I never knew someone who had Tourette's but this made me realize what it is actually like. The fact that the author not only talks about TS, but racism as well. You get to see both sides of the argument and how two-sided it is. I know several people who think it is great for the flag to be up/not good to have it up and I'm glad the author addresses that. Blog post to come.

This book had its high points and its low points. Although, overall, the low points won out on the high.

A lot of the reviews on Goodreads are overwhelmingly positive about this novel - mostly because it has a main character (Spencer) with Tourette's Syndrome and a cute romance as the central plot.

Unfortunately, I don't think that the author actually understood Tourette's. To put it plainly,  Spencer's Tourette's was used when it was useful for the author to use it as a plot point, or at least that's what it felt like to me, reading it. It felt like lazy writing to only just mention the effects of his disorder once or twice in a chapter.

The writing also ground my gears a lot - it just wasn't interesting. It was formulaic, repetitive and I didn't find any of the main characters especially likeable. Hope, the other protagonist, was someone I genuinely despised. She was shallow, self-centred, and she was so ignorant of other people's feelings that it spoilt the plot for me.

This book follows several years in the life of Spencer and Hope, and the timeline is impossible to keep track of. There was a point when two characters started a sexual relationship, and I thought they were both still eight and ten. 

Good points about this book: I will admit, the romance was very cute. It's a friendship to romantic relationship, and it doesn't rush into the romance too early on. It gives us a little substance to the fluff, as well.

Overall, I gave this book a halfhearted 2 stars. Just... This book could have been so much better if the characters had actually been nice?

A Taxonomy of Love had ALL the feels. It was cute, it was happy, it was sad (omg, was it sad!), it had me tearing up, it had me laughing, there were times I was annoyed, and times I was angry. Like I said, it had all the feels. I think all that makes for a good book, especially if you’re able to connect with the characters and experience all of the feelings and emotions they are going through. I felt that when I was reading this book and Rachael did a good job with writing it.

The book stars off with Spencer and Hope being in just seventh grade and it following them all through high school. It was really cool getting to see all the characters in this story grow and navigate life and high school. It wasn’t always easy for Spencer (especially in his younger years) since he has Tourette Syndrome. I felt so bad for him a lot of the time and I was rooting for him every page. It felt like he had to try 100 times harder than everyone. Hope had her own struggles through the years as well. It wasn’t always easy for her, but I think in ways both Spencer and Hope got through things because they had their friendship.

There were also times where Hope made me pretty angry as well. I felt so protective of Spencer, so anything that was against it made me mad or annoyed me though. So many other great characters in this story as well as the MC; like their families, although Dean (Spencer’s brother) was questionable at times. There were also times I did think things were a little weird or didn’t make sense to the story. It also jumped around quite a bit without warning. Like first they were in seventh grade and then all of a sudden it would be months or a year later without warning. So had to figure that out. I’m also not sure if that’s just the way that the e-ARC was setup, because there weren’t always breaks or headers other than “chapter numbers” or when Spencer created a taxonomy list.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. I am really happy that I was given the opportunity to read it. There were a lot of things to take away from this and it was interesting to learn a little about Tourette Syndrome. I haven’t read any books that had a character with TS, so that was also cool about reading this one. New experiences and learning things I don’t know a whole lot about. It was just released earlier this month, so definitely go check it out!

Recommended if you liked: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

TL;DR – I learned about Tourettes. The characters were moderately deep and had a good developmental arc, but I wasn’t a huge fan of how the author chose to pace the book.

First off, I’ve never read a book with a character who has Tourette Syndrome. To be honest, I knew very little about it before reading this book, but I feel like it does a really good job of treating it in a very frank and honest way while also being extremely respectful. I feel like I’m more prepared now if I were to ever interact with someone who has Tourettes.

I thought that the characters had a pretty good developmental arc throughout the book, but the pacing was a little weird sometimes. I was reading from a digital galley and I think some formatting things were lost in translation because all of the sudden the next chapter had skipped to the next summer and I felt like I had to catch up. I’m sure this is resolved in the final physical copy, but it made it hard for me to enjoy the book at first (I think my copy was just missing some headings or something). The book spans from when Spencer and Hope are around 13 to 19 so there are huge sections of these characters lives that are “left out”. At the same time, it gives a pretty good picture of how people change throughout high school and in response to life events, etc.

This book is less plot-centric than character driven so there isn’t too much to comment on in that area. I will say, it felt a little lazy to me that the author had Spencer and Hope’s friendship rebuilt “off-screen”. We leave them at a tentative truce and then in the next chapter it’s a year later and they’re friends again? I would have liked to have seen more of that develop than just having it be handed to me as a reader.

Overall, I thought this book was pretty good, but not necessarily mind-blowing. I did come out of it feeling more educated than I had been going in, but I had a really hard time adjusting to the pacing and time skips, etc. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to learn a little more about Tourettes in a casual setting or to anyone who wants a break from the YA female narrator.

Overall Rating: 3
Language: Modereate
Violence: Mild
Smoking/Drinking: Mild
Sexual Content: Moderate

Note: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful book.  Life is always mapped in in perfectly checked boxes.  This is a great addition to my classroom library.

I loved this book. The characters were well constructed, adorable and charming. I loved that it spanned over quite a few years and you saw how the characters developed and grew. A classic coming of age, will-they-won't-they type story. I enjoyed every minute.

Spencer is a bug lover and all around nerd who understands that one never grows too old to climb trees. He also has Tourette syndrome. When Hope moves next door the summer before seventh grade he understands right off that she's special but that because of that last label he may never get the girl. As they grow up together and experience the growing pains of life in high school (sibling feuds, family tragedies, new relationships and broken hearts) they are only one step away from each other, but it may as well be a mile.


The short review...

GAH!! Spencer and Hope as young teenagers totally captured my heart!! It was that perfect time before high school where feelings are raw and beautiful and not yet complicated by feelings of impending adulthood. I feel like I raced through the book and was engaged the entire story because of this STRONG start. Spencer is who I really bonded with... his Tourette syndrome was shown so spot on that I felt like I understood what he and others with it have to go through as teenagers.

It's not clear from the premise that there were large time jumps. At first I didn't like it but then about halfway it started to make sense. It became fascinating and I only wish that those jumps were more defined with dates or seasons to help me know how much time passed. I did feel that the passage of time was important for Hope. This book was really from Spencer's POV but we got this lovely time from Hope's POV early on so that we could understand her later in the story. This is totally a romance albeit crossed with a cute coming of age for a boy!


Cover & Title grade -> A-

GAH!! I totally love this cover!! It totally drew me in and captured my attention. If not for that unique slant on contemporary YA I probably wouldn't have even stopped to read the premise, and what a tragedy that would have been! For a male POV contemporary I thought this was a great title and focus. The ONLY thing that could make this better is that ALL the taxonomies throughout the book be drawn in this style (though b&w would work fine).


What saved the book from being a 3 star?!

The time jumps! Yeah I know at first I was put off but that was because they weren't clear. Because Hope was dealing with grief, true life altering grief, the only medicine is time. I LOVED that Allen didn't shove that healing into a year of HS and snap Hope was emotionally stable again. That isn't how it works. It's great that the target audience can see how long real grief can have you in its grip and that poor choices may be part of it.

The sex talk! You probably didn't expect that... as I don't really want to read about anyone having sex but the sex talk between Spencer and Hope about a girl's first time was a great way to show those reading who are of an age or coming on it, how they OUGHT to be treated. And BEST OF ALL it is never confirmed or denied that Spencer had that first time with his first girlfriend.

The talk of racism! I LOVED Jayla. I loved all the things Spencer loved about her, her love of gossip and how she shone in the spotlight. There is a powerful bit of dialogue about racism when his dad insensitively supports an issue in front of Jayla. And there is an issue Jayla feels is racism in action at school. Personally I know of others in her situation who felt EXACTLY like she did except they were NOT a POC. So was what Jayla experienced really racism? This kind of discussion is powerful and NEEDS to be explored!!

"Please tell me you have lattes because if you don't, I am going to lose all hope in the universe."

3.5/5 stars

When I was a small, little seventh-grader, I was fascinated with books and finding the existence of dragons. Nothing has changed there, except now that I am THE DRAGON; however, I have always been classified as a reader and a nerd.

[Insert gif of Snape saying "Always"]

See. Snape understands.

Anyway, getting away from my harry potter addiction, Spencer is a nerd as well and he likes Harry Potter(cause who doesn't) and loves to classify people into different groups. I found Spencer to be very likable as he is very intelligent, kind, and can sing "The Schuyler Sisters" at the top of his lungs like there is no tomorrow! He is also courageous, especially once he starts getting older and gains more confidence, and what really stood out was that he deals with Tourette Syndrome. I have never heard nor read of this disorder and it seems as if my computer does not recognize it as there is that red squiggle underneath Tourette. When I was reading about Spencer and how he deals with Tourette's, I was dancing at the thought of some more diversity in books and sympathizing with how he would express his nervous energy through tics.

However, just because I like Spencer and want him to be happy does not make him perfect. He is very impulsive and will say things, such as rude comments or funny come-backs, that get his butt whooped. Also, he is quick to judge others and not let other characters say what they need to say, such as when Hope is trying to tell something to him that could have made this book shorter if she had the opportunity to explain what she was going to explain. I would tell what Hope was trying to say; however, it has some spoilers within the conversation and I want to make sure that you are just as frustrated with this as I am. 

The other side to the main relationship is Hope Birdsong. Although she may not sing a bird's tune, she does sing along to the Hamilton soundtrack. I bet my mom and dad are shaking their heads in shame at how many times I have mentioned Hamilton, which I will tell you is so expensive for a seat in the worst section of the theater. When did life become so complicated?! Okay, so back to Hope. She is very much a dreamer as she wants to travel the world with her sister, Janie, and Spencer and is a nerd. I am so glad that there were so many smart and fandom-loving characters included in this story as I resonated with almost all the characters. As how Spencer deals with Tourette's, Hope also has to deal with a hard part of her life, which happens to be her sister's death. I thought that this would bring Spencer and Hope closer; however, it did not. Hope has to probably be on of my least love interests; however, she will never be close to Rowan from Throne of Glass series. Never will anyone be close to him. Anyway, I did not like her so much as she was so frustrating to read about since she liked Dean and Spencer, and she would always. Also, sometimes, when I would not be liking Hope so much in certain passages, I would hope for her to go away. Oh, Hope just got roasted! Though, in all seriousness, I just really found Hope to be extremely annoying and predictable in her actions when fighting with people and making decisions. However, even though I may not have enjoyed her the most, she seemed to be very fun and adventurous in the first few days of knowing her. Once she started growing up, though, is another story as she got too boy-crazy and way too troublesome.

Next, remember how I told you that Spencer and Hope are a bit geeky and nerdy? Well, if you like Hamilton: The Musical, Harry Potter, Laini Taylor, Pokémon, or fandoms in general, you will probably like this story. I cannot tell you how many times I laughed and/or snickered due to Hamilton being sung or someone is thought to be reading the latest book by Laini Taylor, which "ahem* is Strange the Dreamer if you did not already know. I felt as if Rachael Allen added her own twist on a cute contemporary romance/ friendship story by adding some of her personality and interests...unless, if she actually *gasp* hates Hamilton, *double gasp* Harry Potter, *triple gasp* Laini Taylor and *biggest gasp to allow myself to blow the biggest breath of fire I can* all the rest of the fandom discussed and mentioned. Then, I must breathe fire all over this book except I would never as I love books and this is not Fahrenheit 451.

Although I may have enjoyed the overall plot, the way it was told was very confusing and not executed very well; however, it may have just been my arc format. It definitely was an interesting format that I have never read of before in a book, jumping from present tense to letters and emails from Janie and Hope to some classifications made from Spencer; however, no matter how creative it is it was a bit confusing to follow as too much jumping around from different timelines as this story follows Spencer and Hope's lives from the ages of and between 13 to 19 and the different types of formats that tell this story.

Also, within the story, the cute contemporary romance was not the only part. There were also some deeper parts that I did not expect very much discussion of because the topics, which I will not write since they are semi-important to the story and require one's reflection, are mostly open to the public to discuss freely. I was surprised to learn a lesson or two or as many as a dozen; however, I was more happy than surprised in the end since I had gotten more coming out of the book, which only took a day to read if you will believe me! All of the moments that discuss these topics I will not name take part in little snippets so it may be hard to find, but they are very much important and stand out if one is looking.

This review, hopefully, sums up how I feel about Rachael Allen's A Taxonomy of Love, which comes out on January 9th. Also,today's January 9th so get your booties to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository(where free shipping is guaranteed for wherever you live), or any other book shopping center you visit to order this book. I may not have a good catchphrase to make a pitch; however, I hope my review entertained you or inspired you to pick up a copy.

Until next time, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

Love,

newbookcats

This is an anticipated read for 2018 and honestly, it was so cute. I also loved that the main character, Spencer, is completely diverse because he has Tourette’s syndrome. I’ve only ever seen anything about this disease on a documentary show, so it was definitely interesting to read about it in a character.

Spencer meets Hope before seventh grade and he immediately falls in love with her. Through the years, up until his high school graduation, he and Hope go through ups and downs and heartbreaks.

Details

This novel is in first person with Spencer’s thoughts, his taxonomies of different things in life and Hope’s correspondences with her sister Janie. It’s an interesting mix, but I think Rachael put it all together really well. I always think that first POV is tricky to handle because it shouldn’t be too casual or too idiotic or anything like that. Spencer’s thoughts are exactly perfect for first POV that I don’t think it would fit with third person. It was interesting to be inside his mind as he navigates his illness through middle school and high school while falling in love (albeit a few times). He learns to be his own kind of normal.

Spencer

Which brings me to the character himself! I absolutely adored this kid. He has a strange fascination of bugs and facts about different things that, with his illness, he can’t help but talk a lot about his knowledge for different things. It’s adorable and kind of crazy when he is young. However, he manages to hold back when he gets older. He gets to control his illness with medication and learn how to act around people in a public setting that may not handle his illness in an appropriate manner. He even becomes an athlete! I just absolutely loved that Rachael didn’t portray him as someone that has to be defined by their illness. He is simply defined as a character going through a normal high school experience while figuring out relationships, friendships and life in general. I loved it all.

Hope

She was definitely an interesting character. She’s kind of depicted, in her early years, as a tomboy with white hair. When she gets older and things get complicated between her and Spencer, she goes through a rebellious phase. However, due to certain events in her family and personal life, it’s all pretty self-explanatory. She definitely goes through quite a lot and it’s something that helps her connect with Spencer in the long run and it’s something that Spencer mainly needs to understand in order to reach that connection he wants. Above all though, I loved Hope’s character. She wants to travel the world like her sister and to make something of herself. She’s very fearless and that’s something we need more of in female characters.

The Bottom Line

This book was so beautiful, funny, heartbreaking, and heartwarming at the same time. It was so adorable and informative (thanks, Spencer!). I didn’t expect to love it so much, but I should have known by its immediate format and Spencer’s POV. It’s just perfect and if you haven’t read this yet, you need to right now. Or whenever you get free time. Don’t try to read in your sleep.

This is a sweet coming of age, romance story following the lives and shared moments from middle school through high school of Spencer and Hope. 
I really wanted to like this one, but I'm feeling rather indifferent about it. 

I enjoyed how Tourette syndrome brought up and dealt with, showing how one person's life with it is and the uses of drugs. I think it brought an additional quality to the book which may also help people understand it. I also liked how grief was handled -- it isn't always neat or overcome swiftly. The relationships between siblings is relateable and realistic. 
The characters were likeable and all were very different from each other, making it easy to tell them a part. 

I think what was difficult for me to like about this book is that it is very real life. There really isn't a climax or overall problem to the book, because life doesn't work that way. Unfortunately, much of the drama and development happens off screen, which I found to be weird. It would happen during time skips. This isn't to say nothing happens on page, but... I don't know, I just want something else from this book. 

I found the dual narrative to be... weird. The book is mostly told through Spencer's POV and there is more from Hope in the beginning of the book through letters and messages with her sister. The letters were okay, but not totally my thing. I think other people would really enjoy them. 

I can't comment on the Taxonomies, because with the ARC I was given they were all messed up and impossible to understand. I do want to see what they should look like, so I'll check out the physical copy when I can. 


I think if I had read this as an audiobook, I might have enjoyed it more. I tend to like contemporaries more with that format. This is a book I think many people will enjoy and I'll probably recommend it down the road.

I really enjoyed this book a lot, it was such a fun and cute read. The only thing I didn't really like was the structure to the plot but apart from that I did really enjoy this book. My full review is on my blog

It would be more of a 2.5-star rating but that's not an option, is it? I'm not much of a contemporary enthusiast. It's that kind of genre that just does not surprise. A Taxonomy of Love has it all - a protagonist with Tourette's Syndrome, a cool love interest, a golden-boy brother, a diverse main-ish character, a love triangle (or a love square?) *sigh*, family issues, tragedy, even a representation of an LGBTQ+ relationship is thrown into the mix *cheers*. So why only two stars? Well, that's simple - because it was just like every other contemporary YA book.

I did have a bit of an issue with the writing. I felt like the author couldn't decide what style she wanted to use, so she mashed up two incompatible ones and it just doesn't work out. One moment the narrator would use the teenage-boy speech, the next he would get into a poetic description of his deepest, most dramatic feelings which he would end with a phrase along the lines of "or something," as if the author suddenly realized that the main character was a 13-year-old boy not a middle-aged essayist. Talking about 13-year-old boys, I was immensely frustrated throughout the whole first half of the book. Spencer was almost unbearably annoying up until he turned 16. The second half turned out to be a huge improvement, though I still found myself rolling my eyes in exasperation here and there.

However mediocre it may have been, A Taxonomy of Love did deal with serious topics, which I do appreciate. First of them, and the one that was given the most attention, was Spencer's Tourette syndrome and how it caused him to be excluded, how it made him feel like he didn't belong. Albeism is a huge problem that is not given half the attention it should get. A Taxonomy of Love portrays this issue with respect and care. Racism, in my opinion, could have been handled better. Tragedy and coping, which were, once again, two of the main focuses of the book, were shown through Hope's characters and let's just say that it felt very raw and natural. The book also touched on the topic of bullying, but it wasn't really dealt with in any greater measures and kind of stopped once Spencer started wrestling.
In the end, the underdog wins the game and gets the girl, what more can you ask for?

Let’s just get it out there, I both love and hate A Taxonomy of Love! And it’s not really explainable. It’s the sort of feeling that’s just there.

It was introduced by the editor in the foreword as a When Harry Met Sally kinda plot. And it’s my favourite romantic comedy of all time. 

When I started A Taxonomy of Love, I really didn’t want to like it. In fact, there was a point in this book where I was like wtf is wrong with this dude. This dude I’m referring to is, of course, Spencer. He has Tourette’s syndrome and doesn’t really have many friends because he’s bullied for it. And then he meets Hope, who, like her name suggests provides Spencer with some modicum of, for lack of better word, hope in his miserable friendless life. 

Now, Hope appears to be a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She’s not like other girls. She has white gold hair (or something like that) and she climbs trees and is definitely not like Bella from across the street. Spencer, then, proceeds to lust after his best friend.

Not a promising start, I know. 

But the more I read, the more I fell in love with it. Spencer and Hope’s relationship is damaged, fucked up, beautiful and too dramatic to be real but also rather raw and true.

The plot is as you expect it to go. Spencer and Hope are best friends, they like each other, they have a falling out, and then they’re friends again and the rest is history.

We’ve all been in Spencer and Hope’s shoes. We’ve all fallen in love with our childhood best friend and ended up giving them to someone else, only to meet years later and find that a spark still lives. It really is kind of like When Harry Met Sally. Only, they’re teenagers and they’re a little more angst-ridden and sad and going through the phases of growing up: rebellion, fitting in etc. There are messy friendships, awful bullies, messy and confusing sex, not-so-awful bullies, and romantic partners. 

I’m very pleased that I did not hate any one in A Taxonomy of Love. I hated their decisions but both Spencer and Hope are as teenage-aged as they come. And it was incredibly awesome to watch them grow as people; from the little kids to seniors in high school, through the phases of their friendship from going their separate ways to becoming friends and eventually falling in love again. 

With Spencer, it’s more than just his friendship with Hope. It’s his relationship with his brother, Dean, and his father, as well as his stepmother, Pam, his grandmother, Mimi and his mother (who's not in the picture). I love that we also get to see Spencer grow out of his shell. He’s still someone who makes sense of the world through taxonomy but he’s also more confident, he takes part in school activities, even has a beautiful girlfriend. 

Hope on the other hand, we get to see her relationship with her sister, Janie. But also what happens when Hope’s feelings get out of control and her best friend is lusting after her and she has no one to turn to. 

A Taxonomy of Love shows us how two people can grow in two different ways but still find their way back to each other because their friendship is just that strong. 

I also really appreciated that A Taxonomy of Love dipped its hands into the political discussion surrounding the Confederates and Southern states. While I’m on the other side of the world and am not overly familiar with the history, it was still pretty great to see it. Because of spoilers, I won’t be mentioning more on this but A Taxonomy of Love also talks about grief and the process of grieving. 

Despite all it’s good points, A Taxonomy of Love is a little strange. One: we don’t see a lot of taxonomy going on. We only saw the snippets of Spencer’s classifications at the start of some of the chapters, possibly to show that he only does it sometimes.

Another thing is that the chapters jump from POV to POV and sometimes, there is a time skip between two chapters. Yet, no explanation is given for what happened during that skip. Like, you got me invested; don’t leave me hanging.

Also, I felt that A Taxonomy of Love was such a caricature of THE quintessential American experience of growing up. I need to know, people, are lives really this dramatic? It felt like I was watching a movie!

Conclusion:

To sum it up, A Taxonomy of Love is more than just your typical cheesy young adult contemporary about falling in love with your best friend. It’s When Harry Met Sally packaged into a myriad of other real world issues that young adults face, especially in their most formative years. But, it’s a tad bit dramatic. Yet, incredibly enjoyable!

The link to the review will be added once the review has been finalised.

This was such a cute and wonderful read, whilst also tackling issues that i've not seen in other YA books, it was just such a refreshing read

In the introduction by the editor, this book is cited as a YA When Harry Met Sally, and I have to say, that was a great reference for this story of friendship, family, love, and growing up.

I am a fan of male-female friendships, and this one was really special. When Hope and Spencer first met, I knew immediately that they would play a special part in each others lives. I loved that at 13 years old, Hope was able to see beyond Spencer's tics, and that Spencer was able to find a kindred spirit, who would listen to him talk about bugs and climb trees with him.

Watching Hope grow and change over the years was tough. She started out as a sort of Luna Lovegood (her own description), and she was very precious when we first met her. Her life had quite a few major ups and downs, and she didn't always deal with them in the best ways. I think I shed the most tears for her, but through it all, Spencer never gave up on her. *Crying*

From page 1, I was head over heels for Spencer. I knew when I started this book, that I would be spending several years with him, and the whole time I kept hoping that he would stay the sweet cupcake of a boy he was when I met him. I worried about him often, because things were not easy for Spencer. He experienced a lot of disappointments and was often targeted by bullies, but he was lucky enough to have some great people in his corner, who were looking out for him.

There were several things I loved about the format of this book. This book was broken up years, and each part highlights the major things that happened in Hope and Spencer's friendship. It's like a highlight reel, and I really got to see how their outlook on things changed as they matured. Most of the book is told in a narrative format from Spencer's point of view, which I loved, but we also got to be in Hope's head at times. Her POV was accomplished via emails and texts to her older sister, and they really added something special to the story.

Recently, I have been reading more and more books featuring neurodivergent characters, but this is the first one I have read spotlighting Tourette's syndrome. Like Spencer laments, I have only really seen swearing TS characters and some with tics, but I was never aware of all the different symptoms some people experience or how physically taxing they could be. Allen did such a good job conveying Spencer's feelings and his personal struggles, and I appreciated the bit of education Allen gave me on that and on the "social model of disability".  Sometimes, it's good to have someone call my attention to such things, and I will admit, I went on to read more about both things.

As previously mentioned, Spencer didn't have it easy, but eventually, he found his tribe. It was quite a wonderful and eclectic group Allen assembled for him, and I also loved that they embraced this idea of not changing in order to fit, but rather, finding people they fit with. It's a beautiful concept. I also got to see his relationship with his father and his brother improve, and his step mother and grandmother were always fabulous allies and supporters of his. In fact, I thought Mimi needed more page space, because she was one super-fabulous grandma. 

My heart went splat quite a few times as I read this book. I got snippets of Spencer and Hope's lives from age 13 to 19, and it wasn't all sunshine and unicorns. Their friendship had many dark days. It evolved and changed as they evolved and changed. My heart broke, ached, and soared for these two. It was quite an emotional journey, which Allen wrapped up quite well. I pretty much jumped for joy reading the epilogue, because I got answers, and that is all I am ever asking for in an ending.

Overall: A beautiful and honest look at how messy relationships can be, which took me through a full range of emotions, but in the end, left me elated.

If I had read this book at the age of 16 I would have probably liked it more, it was very cute and everything but I can’t get rid of the feeling it’s ‘yet another typical YA romance book’ which is why I only gave it 3 stars.

The only difference from others was the fact that the main character has Tourette syndrome, which made me want to finish this book. I’m glad this subject gets discussed in this book as not many youngsters know what Tourette syndrome actually is and I hope with reading this book people will get a better look on it.

The story in general is very cute and so are the characters. It’s nice to see how the characters develop throughout the story and how romance comes out of it all, but like I said it’s a typical cute YA story, perfect if you want to read something light.

A heartwarming story with complex, layered and very realistic characters and a rich storyline.  
I really liked the way the author handled time, fast forwarding at just the right places throughout the book so the story spans several years and the reader is kept on their toes.