I love the books Sourcebooks Fire releases, and this time wasn't so different. I fell in love with the story in the beginning and I suspect I won't forget it so easily. But there were some flaws that got in the way a bit too much. So 3.5 but rounding down to 3.
This is the self-discovery story of Rain, whose twin brother has autism. Thanks to that, her life has always been programmed around him, to make sure he was okay and not overload her mother even more. But things begin to change even before she notices. She finally gets closer to the boy of her dreams, and Ethan seems to have little secrets she had never imagined him capable of. All that, makes her notice her own shortcomings and even wishes she didn't think she had.
We had nice characters and, although Rain was as unique as her name, I did like her. And if you were to rate this story only based on her development, I'd give it 4.5 out of 5. The major problem Scheier had to deal with was working with a person on the spectrum. Especially with the increase of awareness nowadays, that is one challenging topic. While I'm not informed enough so I can only tell you my feelings, Scheier seemed to be quite knowledgeable. And then she lost it. Ethan was a character I loved but something was wrong there, he was acting too... normal?—neurotically, if you prefer—all of a sudden. In the space of a couple of months and mostly "off-stage", he changed so much it seemed more like he was acting having a worse condition than he really had. I won't even get into the discussion it seemed to mean his happy ending was to become more "normal". Even before we get there, I found his progression a little weird.
And that romance... oh my. Not spoiling you but Rain keeps making mistakes. Not that Liam didn't, he too was self-centered. Yes, both succeed in getting better. It's just that the solution Rain finds for their romance was still as black-and-white as everything she used to do. That's why I mentioned I'd rate it 4.5. I do see a teenager making that mistake, it's believable but it's still quite irritating. That ending could have been better. The whole romance kept having episodes that made me uncomfortable, actually.
The romance as a whole and Ethan's development were the flaws that made this book a bitter read for me. It's sad to state it like that because Scheier's writing is very uplifting. She manages to deal with difficult issues with making the story too crowded. I fell in love with her style, I'll certainly read her next works.
A detail but I loved how Rain runs a blog but it's not this huge success—in fact, most of the comments were made by herself. I don't understand how characters in YA's always need to go viral or never try blogging.
Her friends were also really nice, the side characters in this book were pure gold. And I've already mentioned, but the conflict Scheier found for Rain was very true for every teen, even if you don't have a brother to take care of. Last but not least, the book is a great source to discuss so much, I think it's a perfect choice for a book club. It's amazing how many topics there are now I think back.
Not a book I'd recommend anyone. It can be a little long, the romance—my favorite part of every YA—was a lackluster. At the same time, I did like it in the end. Even if I rounded it down to 3, it is a little more than your average 3.
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Edelweiss. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
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