Jennifer

This would have been an awful book, if it wasn‘t for the last chapter.
It‘s the story of the aftermath of a break up. Totally out of the blue, Andy feels, and he is stuck in sadness and disbelief and anger and more sadness and wallows in self pity. Barely bearing his constant selfloathing and the (for a lesbian ace reader especially) weird behaviours and desires and longings just to be replaced by even weirder relationships for a short while, this was a hard one to get through. Until we get to read the whole thing from Jen‘s perspective, much clearer and calmer, less aggressive and very much understandable in her actions and thoughtprocess that lead to the break up.
It was just a tiny bit too corny towards the end.

Ultimately it is a nice book about relationships and the different ways some modern men and women live in and experience them.

It filled my heart with heavy emotions and made it break so many times during reading it, but it was worth it.

!! I just want to add a trigger warning for people sensitive to self harm, suicide and abuse. !!

My favourite book of this series so far. I adore Penelope and also this one didn‘t have too many cringe-y parts in it

What I love about this book:
- people being flawed and being allowed to be flawed
- space and gays
- not too forced love story without the drama of labeling
- loveable characters
- portrayal of mental illnesses as illnesses and not as character flaws or weaknesses


What I didn‘t love:
- DUDE, CALL DEB BACK!!
- people my age being called old
- my youth becoming something retro and hipster for the youth of today
- kind of a ‚been there, done that‘ feeling


In the end it is, what it wants to be - a contemporary YA story with queer characters and space.
And I like it.
Not every book has to be innovative.
Nevertheless it /is/ nice to have a gay couple just being themselves and not „oh-no-i-am-gay“ or „they-won‘t-accept-me-for-who-i-am“ and also to not have yet another comig out story (even though they are important and I live them every once in a while).

So far my favourite book of those written by Jane Austen :) It‘s not as funny as Pride and Prejudice or Emma and not as light, too. Instead it is a great story about a young woman and her family, a portrait of very different characters and some of the social differences of that time.