Literally, as soon as I saw a synopsis for this book on BookishFirst I knew that I had to read this one either early or when it comes out (Jan 2020). I fell head over heels in love with the setting (my lovely home state of Kentucky!), the overarching storyline, and the apparent sweet romance that blooms between enemies/unlikely friends. Not to mention, the cover art for this book is gorgeous and just kept pulling me in.
This book is set in a small town in Kentucky somewhere near Lexington and Louisville. It tells the story of Veronica, an enigmatic 17-year old who suffers from horrific migraines as a result of a small malignant brain tumor. She isn't too phased when the high school golden boy Sawyer, and his family move into the downstairs apartment of their rambling old house in the historic district, even though his friends regularly make fun of and gossip about Veroicnia for being weird. Veronica finds herself in a predicament when she is left without a group to complete her senior thesis project and through a series of events convinces Sawyer into being the rest of her group in order to complete her dream project on proving that ghosts exist. Over time, the two grow closer. When things begin to take a turn for the worse in regards to Veronica's health, the story deepens.
I cannot say enough how much I loved this story and how enveloped in it I was, and still am now that it's over! There was so much for me to love and I honestly have few to no complaints. While the story itself seems a bit simple upfront, there are actually a lot of different topics folded into this story. I love how complex it and the characters are. In this story, you encounter teen romance, young love, alcohol addiction, addiction in general, medical drug use, child abandonment, dyslexia, divorce, environmental pollution, blended families, rural setting, outcast characters, terminal illness, truck driving, the swim team, high school drama, folklore and legends of Kentucky, suicide, ghost hunting, historic tuberculosis sanatoriums, historic documents as primary research, psychics, off the grid living, and college life. But seriously, I am probably missing some other subjects from this list.
First, I love the enemies of lover story and just how sweet the romance between the two is. I love that Sawyer is a really soft guy who loves his sister and takes care of her while trying to keep his life straight, make money at a side job, attend AA meetings for his addiction to dangerous high jumping. and keep his grades just high enough to keep swimming. I also loved that Veronica is a beaming and strong personality that is set on living her life for herself because she seems to understand that you never know when it will end. Watching the connection between these two grow and bloom into something even larger was so special and I really enjoyed that part of the story. They make me want to read more romance.
I enjoyed how well-written all the characters in this story are, and there are plenty of them. Because there are so many that play huge parts in this story, I expected some of them to not be as fleshed out but that is the opposite! While you don't get to spend much time with Veronica's friends Scarlett, Jesse, Leo, and Nazareth, each of these characters are so well developed that you actually can get a sense of who they are especially in regards to Veronica. The same is the case for other secondary characters like Veronica's Dad, Sawyer's Mom, Glory, and Nazareth's Mom.
While the love story is very sweet and the ending is satisfactory, I also got a kick out of the storyline related to ghosts and hauntings. That entire plotline felt so well developed; obviously, McGarry did her research and wanted to make these parts as sound as possible. I love the attention to detail and how these things were taken as scary or creepy but just as natural parts of life here. The revelation about ghosts and hauntings at the end of this book really got me and struck something in me. McGarry's take on these sorts of phenomena, and the idea that perhaps all the negative gets left behind once someone dies and that we can have haunted lives without physical ghosts and eerie presences really struck something at my core. I love those deeper ideas and how they meshed so well into this story. It's not every day that you read a YA contemporary romance and can take away some larger concepts about life and death that stick with you.
And as a small note, I LOVED McGarry's hidden or veiled comments on environmental pollution and the effects of dangerous environments created by large companies. Both Veronica's and her mother's brain tumors were the results of environmental degradation by a large company in a city they lived in previously. I am glad that McGarry added this element into this story; it gives a starting place for young readers (and adult readers!) to think about pollution and its effects on our bodies, and perhaps a story that readers can connect something this disastrous with. Thank you McGarry for adding this in and creating a space for contemplation and discussion.
The last little thing I want to mention is McGarry's use of a historic diary from a Tuberculosis patient back in the early 1900s. It is so AMAZING that she figured out a way to work a primary source into this story but then directly used it for the beginning of Sawyer's chapters. I love this; it is brilliant! Thank you, McGarry, for creating a space where historical research and using primary sources is beneficial, beautiful, and fun. Great job on this and hopefully it will make others interested in history!
Overall, a fantastic book. I basically read it in a day, even though I marked it as two on Goodreads. I really don't have any huge complaints; there were a few places where the language read strange, but nothing huge jumped out. McGarry obviously knows how to write a good story and keep the reader hooked with what is going to happen. I applaud her use of a strong female character (who is a little weird) because she is someone who many others could relate to in some aspect or characteristic. I truly loved this book and can't wait for it to come out in January 2020 because I think it will end up on some big lists! Thank you BookishFirst for the ARC copy; I am so grateful!
This book is set in a small town in Kentucky somewhere near Lexington and Louisville. It tells the story of Veronica, an enigmatic 17-year old who suffers from horrific migraines as a result of a small malignant brain tumor. She isn't too phased when the high school golden boy Sawyer, and his family move into the downstairs apartment of their rambling old house in the historic district, even though his friends regularly make fun of and gossip about Veroicnia for being weird. Veronica finds herself in a predicament when she is left without a group to complete her senior thesis project and through a series of events convinces Sawyer into being the rest of her group in order to complete her dream project on proving that ghosts exist. Over time, the two grow closer. When things begin to take a turn for the worse in regards to Veronica's health, the story deepens.
I cannot say enough how much I loved this story and how enveloped in it I was, and still am now that it's over! There was so much for me to love and I honestly have few to no complaints. While the story itself seems a bit simple upfront, there are actually a lot of different topics folded into this story. I love how complex it and the characters are. In this story, you encounter teen romance, young love, alcohol addiction, addiction in general, medical drug use, child abandonment, dyslexia, divorce, environmental pollution, blended families, rural setting, outcast characters, terminal illness, truck driving, the swim team, high school drama, folklore and legends of Kentucky, suicide, ghost hunting, historic tuberculosis sanatoriums, historic documents as primary research, psychics, off the grid living, and college life. But seriously, I am probably missing some other subjects from this list.
First, I love the enemies of lover story and just how sweet the romance between the two is. I love that Sawyer is a really soft guy who loves his sister and takes care of her while trying to keep his life straight, make money at a side job, attend AA meetings for his addiction to dangerous high jumping. and keep his grades just high enough to keep swimming. I also loved that Veronica is a beaming and strong personality that is set on living her life for herself because she seems to understand that you never know when it will end. Watching the connection between these two grow and bloom into something even larger was so special and I really enjoyed that part of the story. They make me want to read more romance.
I enjoyed how well-written all the characters in this story are, and there are plenty of them. Because there are so many that play huge parts in this story, I expected some of them to not be as fleshed out but that is the opposite! While you don't get to spend much time with Veronica's friends Scarlett, Jesse, Leo, and Nazareth, each of these characters are so well developed that you actually can get a sense of who they are especially in regards to Veronica. The same is the case for other secondary characters like Veronica's Dad, Sawyer's Mom, Glory, and Nazareth's Mom.
While the love story is very sweet and the ending is satisfactory, I also got a kick out of the storyline related to ghosts and hauntings. That entire plotline felt so well developed; obviously, McGarry did her research and wanted to make these parts as sound as possible. I love the attention to detail and how these things were taken as scary or creepy but just as natural parts of life here. The revelation about ghosts and hauntings at the end of this book really got me and struck something in me. McGarry's take on these sorts of phenomena, and the idea that perhaps all the negative gets left behind once someone dies and that we can have haunted lives without physical ghosts and eerie presences really struck something at my core. I love those deeper ideas and how they meshed so well into this story. It's not every day that you read a YA contemporary romance and can take away some larger concepts about life and death that stick with you.
And as a small note, I LOVED McGarry's hidden or veiled comments on environmental pollution and the effects of dangerous environments created by large companies. Both Veronica's and her mother's brain tumors were the results of environmental degradation by a large company in a city they lived in previously. I am glad that McGarry added this element into this story; it gives a starting place for young readers (and adult readers!) to think about pollution and its effects on our bodies, and perhaps a story that readers can connect something this disastrous with. Thank you McGarry for adding this in and creating a space for contemplation and discussion.
The last little thing I want to mention is McGarry's use of a historic diary from a Tuberculosis patient back in the early 1900s. It is so AMAZING that she figured out a way to work a primary source into this story but then directly used it for the beginning of Sawyer's chapters. I love this; it is brilliant! Thank you, McGarry, for creating a space where historical research and using primary sources is beneficial, beautiful, and fun. Great job on this and hopefully it will make others interested in history!
Overall, a fantastic book. I basically read it in a day, even though I marked it as two on Goodreads. I really don't have any huge complaints; there were a few places where the language read strange, but nothing huge jumped out. McGarry obviously knows how to write a good story and keep the reader hooked with what is going to happen. I applaud her use of a strong female character (who is a little weird) because she is someone who many others could relate to in some aspect or characteristic. I truly loved this book and can't wait for it to come out in January 2020 because I think it will end up on some big lists! Thank you BookishFirst for the ARC copy; I am so grateful!