At the book’s start, we are introduced to Grae, the main character, and Marcus, her only friend. Grae and Marcus are day laborers at a construction site, but quickly lose their jobs after a homophobic confrontation. We then jump into these character’s already full lives, where we find out Marcus was kicked out by his parents at 14 and Grae is the black sheep of her family. There is a bit of an exposition dump at the start of the novel, but not unforgivably. Grae and Marcus’s friendship feels a little forced at times, especially when they banter back and forth, and Grae’s rocky relationship with her mother also felt a bit cliched. However, these complex relationships evolve to become more natural and compelling throughout the novel. As we follow Grae’s journey to heal and overcome events in her past, she becomes a character to root for. I enjoyed the book’s focus on family and mental health and fell in love with it’s characters. However, I did feel like the ending wrapped things up a little too nicely, and would have preferred if the novel ended after one of the emotional climaxes late in the book. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and read it in one sitting. Definitely worth a read.
