Paula Stokes

Really liked the thought put into the portrayal of Maguire’s mental health. Maybe there could have been a few more sessions at length with the doctor, but really it was a great thing to see any sessions included and to see it normalized for the teens in this story rather than treated as some shame to be hidden.

I also enjoyed the chemistry between Maguire and Jordy, I liked his patience and that he’s more insecure than the usual jock stereotype. I also loved that even though Jordy is a support and a help in Maguire’s journey this isn’t one of those books that makes it seem like if you just find romantic love that’ll heal everything in you, getting a boyfriend is not presented as a cure-all here, instead we see Maguire doing the work in trying to reach a healthier mindset and being able to forge a connection with Jordy is shown as a side-benefit of that work she’s doing.

I was really pleased with the tennis aspects of this one since that’s one of my favorite sports to watch, I thought the author captured the sport really well, however, if you aren’t a fan, don’t worry, this doesn’t go too overboard with the amount of tennis in the story.

If I could have changed anything here it would have been to add more family moments. Those interractions were really good and I would have welcomed more, in particular there’s some time with the stepdad and time with the mom later in the book that I was a little disappointed to just told about afterwards (and not told very much) rather than experiencing those moments alongside Maguire.

Overall, this is a solid choice if you’re craving a sweet young adult romance seamlessly woven into a girl’s courageous mission to get her life back on track.… (altro)