What a wonderful book! The simplicity of the writing makes the adolescent perspective of Sam really palpable. I enjoyed getting to see her grow up—the transition from child to teen felt quite natural. By covering so many years, the novel created a very cohesive, well-rounded image of Sam and I found myself liking her quite a lot.

I wish the age gap between her and Justin was a little smaller because 6 years felt strange, especially since Sam was like 18. The relationship seemed alright and I didn’t feel like there was anything particularly off about them together, but him being 24 was unnecessary. He could’ve been like 21 and nothing would’ve changed.

Despite that I genuinely enjoyed this book much more than I expected! It was different than typical coming-of-age stories because of the explorations of class, addiction, parental influence, and unhealthy relationships. More mature, definitely geared more toward adults.