Wren
and my friends
know nothing
about me
and neither do I.
I should really read novels in verse more often. The combination of story and poetry hits in the feels so hard, when done right, and this book definitely does it right. I appreciated how the types of verse the author uses change now and then to draw extra attention to specific points in the character arcs, and how the lyricism is always there, always poignant, but never too flowery to distract from the actual story.
Speaking of the story, some parts of it definitely surprised me and made me double-check that this wasn’t YA, because I usually don’t expect drugs, alcohol, and the word “slut” to feature in MG books heavily. When I look back at my memories from when I was 13, I’m pretty convinced that for my classmates these were all things that happened on TV, or maybe possibly to way older, wilder kids who were like 15. I don’t know if it’s a generational or cultural thing, or maybe just a specific bubble I lived in. Regardless, I do hope that the kids whose reality is reflected in this book manage to get their hands on it and can see their experiences through this lens and feel seen and supported.
In a lot of other ways though, the way the thirteen-ness of the main characters was portrayed, this suspension between childhood and teenage years, resonated with me deeply. Like the way the Crash were partaking in fairly childish pranks and then sneaking out to parties, or the girls’ first kisses happening on a playground. I was really affected by the depictions of Olivia’s and Eden’s relationships (or lack thereof) with their respective parents, these different brands of distance and gloom. (Olivia’s mother is way easier to empathize with than Eden’s dad, by the way; I could see she was trying her best despite her own suffering. Poor Eden got the far shorter end of the stick.)
Overall, I feel like this is a beautiful snapshot of a complicated, liminal time, of strong feelings that are meant to become a memory and an inspiration, of steps toward discovering yourself. I will say it maybe added a little abruptly for me—I would have appreciated just a few more pages to pull all the stitches together, especially for Eden. But it was a beautiful experience regardless.
I should *definitely* read more novels in verse.
and my friends
know nothing
about me
and neither do I.
I should really read novels in verse more often. The combination of story and poetry hits in the feels so hard, when done right, and this book definitely does it right. I appreciated how the types of verse the author uses change now and then to draw extra attention to specific points in the character arcs, and how the lyricism is always there, always poignant, but never too flowery to distract from the actual story.
Speaking of the story, some parts of it definitely surprised me and made me double-check that this wasn’t YA, because I usually don’t expect drugs, alcohol, and the word “slut” to feature in MG books heavily. When I look back at my memories from when I was 13, I’m pretty convinced that for my classmates these were all things that happened on TV, or maybe possibly to way older, wilder kids who were like 15. I don’t know if it’s a generational or cultural thing, or maybe just a specific bubble I lived in. Regardless, I do hope that the kids whose reality is reflected in this book manage to get their hands on it and can see their experiences through this lens and feel seen and supported.
In a lot of other ways though, the way the thirteen-ness of the main characters was portrayed, this suspension between childhood and teenage years, resonated with me deeply. Like the way the Crash were partaking in fairly childish pranks and then sneaking out to parties, or the girls’ first kisses happening on a playground. I was really affected by the depictions of Olivia’s and Eden’s relationships (or lack thereof) with their respective parents, these different brands of distance and gloom. (Olivia’s mother is way easier to empathize with than Eden’s dad, by the way; I could see she was trying her best despite her own suffering. Poor Eden got the far shorter end of the stick.)
Overall, I feel like this is a beautiful snapshot of a complicated, liminal time, of strong feelings that are meant to become a memory and an inspiration, of steps toward discovering yourself. I will say it maybe added a little abruptly for me—I would have appreciated just a few more pages to pull all the stitches together, especially for Eden. But it was a beautiful experience regardless.
I should *definitely* read more novels in verse.