She has a secret: she has the same genetic eye disease as her father and is slowly going blind, just like he did. Nobody knows. Not her friends. Not her family. As if that weren’t hard enough, Hattie’s good friend Mason drowns unexpectedly, leaving their friend group shattered.
After Mason’s death, Hattie isn’t ready to let go. There are too many things left unsaid between them. But while it’s hard for her to find her seat in the dim light of the church at Mason’s funeral, Hattie finds that she can see something no one else can: Mason’s ghost. And when he speaks, teasing her the way he always did, it’s clear their chemistry hasn’t changed. Sometimes, when Mason visits her, Hattie can pretend that everything is how it used to be.
But the longer Hattie keeps her secrets, the harder it is to deny the truth. Her eyesight is getting worse, and she’s mourning not just Mason, but the life she thought she’d have. Hattie’s sick of being told that the only way to heal is to move on . . . because how can she move on if it means losing Mason forever? (Pub Date: Nov 11 2025)3.5 rounded up.
This book tries to sell itself as a romance and it leads us to believe it will be something like You’ve Reached Sam (not only because of the bubble, the cover, the title, the feeling in the promotion makes you compare both). And while I can't say it's different from that book or even that it's not a romance, I think the power in this book is different. I'd call this more of a coming of age, even if the genre is almost pleonastic with YAs.
Hattie suspect she's got the same condition as her dad, which means she will gradually lose her eyesight and there's no treatment in foresight to stop it from happening. And right as she suspects that, one of her best friends dies unexpectedly, his body never to be found. But in spite of those tragedies past and future, Hattie just wants to live her life, love and have fun.
I was afraid this would be lethargic/draggy like You’ve Reached Sam was for me, but it's just as I said, a different book with another touch. Hattie wasn't an easy character to like, nonetheless. It's not that I hated her, but maybe age gives you a certainty things will go wrong that it hurts to watch them take that path nevertheless. That's probably the major complaint I had: I knew it! And to be honest, everything in the book tries to signal for Hattie not to do it, and yet she chooses to ignore it. But even so, it was a good read, it wasn't the type of certain doom that makes you want to throw the book to the wall, don't worry. Moreover, the development is quick-paced, so we're soon somewhere else, and that hurdle is long overcome. I really liked this, it's the ideal manner to deal with it, if you must.
Don't miss this if you like reads with a good morale and above anything, with the insights of someone who has had to live through what they're narrating, that makes you feel what they wrote isn't to make use of their pain but to come in terms with it.
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
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