I actually almost teared up at one point, which is surprising because it wasn't at a particularly sad scene; it just made me feel things.

I'll be honest and say that this book was weird for me, not because of the topics it handles, but because of how explicitly it talks about sex. I can't entirely say I was comfortable with that, but I do accept that it was both positive and informative, which is how these talks should be in young adult literature.

But the topic—HIV and AIDs—was something I wasn't weird about. I am extremely passionate about the AIDs crisis, so much so that I've been reading whatever comes my way about that period. While this book doesn't take place in the 80s or the 90s, it addresses the stigma that AIDs and HIV still carry, and how it affects people in the contemporary.

I do wish the novel had addressed the association between sexuality and the stigma around AIDs/HIV more (it did, just not a whole lot), but the discussion about HIV and AIDs was still incredibly important as is.

I'm very grateful I was allowed to read an ARC of this. Even though some parts of it didn't jive with me (and there were so many writing inconsistencies that I kept hyper-focusing on—probably because it's an ARC, I hope), I really enjoyed my time in Simone's world. Also can I have Miles, please? He's such a sweetheart, the world doesn't deserve him.

-Book Hugger

Thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review

check out my blog at bookhuggerreviews.com