This was such an emotional read but in a good way. I loved how it took an awful incident that Zoe had went through and showed the readers that we may never truly know what another person is going through so we always need to be respectful of each other. I also liked how it touched on the subject that because someone has endured a traumatic event we as humans sometimes do not truly know how to handle these situations; we may overlook, brush off, or try too hard to force a person out of their shell before they are ready and sometimes all they need is space, just being present without speaking, and kind words of encouragement where needed. Zoe's story was incredible, she may just be living day to day as a shell of herself but she is at least trying. I found her to be incredibly brave to try to go out of her comforts zone by making friends and eventually talking to Tripp. Tripp was an incredible human being, he was more than understanding and had the patience of a Saint. I think if Zoe hadn't found the courage to make friends and let Tripp into her life she would still be struggling because through finding her tribe she found strength in them that helped her. The authors took a sensitive subject but wrote such a beautiful story to show us readers how others may cope, deal with things, and how we can help them. ( )

4.5 stars

Heartbreaking and poignant are the first two words that come to mind after reading this book. This author duo tackled a scenario, that unfortunately is too often real, and made the reader see it in a new light. The perspective of how this affects Taylor/Zoe made my heart physically hurt. The first chapter and her words nearly broke me.

Seeing, and almost literally feeling, the ramifications of how debilitating this act was YEARS later is a testament to not only what happened but the ACT in general. The authors need to be commended on how they portrayed this and still made me feel hope. Powerful stuff. Tripp was so perfect for her. I loved that he saw that she was strong. He said some swoon worthy stuff. I didn't see the twist but glad it worked out.

I wanted something more at the end. The secondary characters were so pivotal that I wanted more interaction with them rather than just a glossing over of where they were now. Still, I recommend this book.

( )