Forced to leave her mother, who has early-onset Alzheimer's, in a nursing home in England and move to Australia to live with the father she has never met, seventeen-year-old Hazel Clarke struggles to build a new life for herself until she is befriended by Red and his quiet, grieving twin brother Luca, who help her learn to love her new home and realize the importance of honesty and family.
Reviews with the most likes.
Victoria Stevens may be my new favourite YA author. I can't wait for this gorgeous book to be on my shelves next to Jandy Nelson and Nicola Yoon... February can't come soon enough!!
The thing I was most surprised by in this book was how great the minor characters were. Hazel is the main character, but she's not the only POV character, and even the characters who don't have POVs are well rounded and likeable. It really seems like an ensemble cast.
I also loved how insightful the characters are without being unbelievable as teenagers. For example, the kindness Hazel shows Luca and the way she feels about her friends. Also, the letters from Hazel to her mum are especially moving and may be my favourite part of the book. I haven't personally experienced anything close to what Hazel has experienced with her mum, but I felt that tension and that emotion so acutely while reading the story. Even her emotional and sometimes irrational behaviour relating to the subject made sense for her character and what she was going through.
Also, I'm obsessed with the JS Starling poem used at the beginning... it is wonderful. I've been doodling it everywhere. It's so perfect for this book, too.
I can't wait for the next Victoria Stevens book, whatever it may be! Really hoping we get to see more from Red, as well as Hazel's other friends :)
