Claude meets Jeremiah on a remote island where she has been forced to move due to her parents divorce. Although she is only there for a little over a month, her and Miah strike up a bond that they are bound to remember for life.

When I started this I was expecting a cute romance over a summer break and instead I got a haughtingly beautiful tale of first love. Ever since I've finished it, my mind has wandered back to this love story many times. The thing that makes this book so good, is that you know that there can't be a traditional happy ending since it's made clear from the beginning that living on the island is only temporary. But as the story builds and builds you can't help but hope that somehow Claude and Miah can stay together - which is exactly how I imagine the character's felt themselves.

Moving to other aspects of the plot, the romance is a quick burn in terms of how fast Claude and Miah get to know each other. However, I think it's done in a way that exemplifies true love and I truly felt swept off my feet. The discussions about virginity, divorce and race were also done really well; with the virginity chats being quite feminist and empowering for women. The writing style was poetic. I really noticed myself picking up on the use of hyperbole and simile (perhaps because this is what I'm teaching at the moment haha) to enhance the world building - which for me is a big tick. There's also a gay best friend and lot's of racial representation , another big yay!

Honestly, I could rave about this book for a long time. I recommend it if you like quite intense emotional contemporary books, summer love stories, and being along for the ride of an 18 year olds first love whilst she goes on island adventures.

Triggers: divorce, depression/intense sadness, self harm