I went into this book prepared to be disappointed. I'm not usually a long book fan, but I found myself unable to put this down. I wanted to find out what happened to Johnny and Shannon, but also everyone else in their friend group and family. 

I went into this blind, knowing nothing about the story, but you are immediately pulled into Shannon's story and life. I felt so much for her. Shannon is not only bullied but a victim of child abuse. She is protected at her new school by Johnny, without knowing. He cares for her so much and recognizes the pain she is feeling. Johnny is managing his pain, with his love of rugby causing so much pain. 

I like that though Shannon is presented as meek, she is strong. She takes her chances and challenges Johnny's belief and seems to be one of the few people who love and care for him, for him, not his rugby career. These two are truly from different worlds, but they find their way together time and again. This book is a slow burn, and I mean slow. You can tell these two care for each other so deeply and are connected on such a deep level. 

There is lots of drama here, and though outside forces are working against their lives, they are the cause of a lot of it. That is to be expected though. These are two teens (16 and 18) working through everything in their lives while discovering young love. 

The book is long (over 600 pages) and I felt that some scenes could have been pared down or cut out, but these kids went through it. I cannot wait to read the next book, as we are met with a bit of a cliffhanger at the end. Rooting for everyone though!