I cried. I laughed. I felt. I related.
I don't have a lot of words to articulate this book.
So, I'm just going to share my favourite quotes.

How does a girl like me figure out the weight
of what it means to love a boy?

I've learned not to be angry
Sometimes the best way to love someone
is to let them go."

To make myself feel this way
is a dirty thing, right?
Then why does it feel so good?

"Big body joint," they say,
"we know what girls like you want."

And I'm disgusted at myself
for the slight excitement
that shivers up my back

at the same time that I wish
my body could fold into the tiniest corner
for me to hide in.

You can't dream about touching a boy
and then look at him in real life
and not think he's going to see
that dream like a full face of makeup
blushing up your cheeks.

He is not elegant enough for a sonnet.
too well-thought-out for a free write,
taking too much space in my thoughts
to ever be a haiku

(I'm not sure if your eyes
can roll so hard in your head
that a stranger could use them
as a pair of dice, but if they can
someone just bad lucked on snake eyes)-
I finally know that all of those
"I'll never, ever, ever"
stemmed from being afraid but not even they
can stop me. Not anymore.


This book is stunningly powerful. One of the best of this year.