Once again, starting another Brittainy Cherry book, I went in not knowing much of the story or plot. Maggie’s story started off hopeful with the new beginning she found with her stepmom and step siblings. At first, I was worried that her new family was going to be a “Cinderella” situation where they would be mean to her, but thankfully that wasn’t the case. Even through in the early pages of the book and still familiarizing myself with everything, I was happy for Maggie. Maggie May Riley and Brooks Tyler Griffin were neighbors ever since Maggie’s Dad got remarried and moved nearby Brooks’s home. Brooks was Calvin, (Maggie’s stepbrother) best friend. From a young age, Maggie had always moved from place to place with her Dad, and for once in her life she finally felt like she found the perfect home with the perfect family, everything fell into place.

The beginning of part one, set the scene for Maggie’s new life with her new family and as well as her meeting Brooks as they were kids. I liked reading the little notes they wrote to each other as kids, made me laugh considering they were at the age where Brooks was constantly annoyed with Maggie and Maggie was infatuated with Brooks. Even with all the cuteness that Maggie exuded and the family dynamics being illustrated, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread forming in my stomach since I knew the other shoe was going to drop eventually in the story. Cut to a few pages later and Maggie witnessed and experienced a terrifying thing. After reading that part that Maggie went through, I felt fear and anxiety for her, not to mention what she endured following the events. This story didn’t waste any time getting into the trauma that Maggie went through. 

In part two of the story, it showed more of Maggie’s life following the events of what she experienced and how her life had drastically changed since then. The family dynamics changed as well such as, Cheryl (Maggie’s stepsister) suddenly hating Maggie, Calvin becoming good friends with her, and of course becoming even closer with Brooks. One of my favorite things from this story was the relationship between Maggie and Brooks. Brooks always knew what Maggie was thinking, could interpret her thoughts without writing down a word. Even though Maggie no longer spoke, Brooks and her shared a special way of communicating that they both understood perfectly. Brooks admired Maggie and despite dating other girls in school, somehow he could never get his mind off of Maggie. The time spent together with Maggie was special for Brooks, as well as the highlight to Maggie’s days. Even from just the beginning half of the story, I swooned at some of the cute parts they had together such as, when they danced in Maggie’s bedroom on prom night. 

I also loved the fact that Maggie was an avid reader. I could relate to Maggie’s sense of escapism while reading and the way she described her love of books and reading was exactly how I feel whenever I transport myself into a different world depending on the book I’m reading. Maggie surrounded herself with her books and with the different characters, she felt like she was living different lives, experiencing new things, and it gave her inspiration to write her “to-do list” of all the thing she wanted to do based off of things she had read in her books. In a way, it made me feel inspired to create my own list based off of things I’ve read in books, it was an endearing idea. A big part of Maggie was her love of books, and in a way it helped with her coping throughout the years of her trauma. If Maggie was a real person, I would love to befriend her, and I would be content just reading together and swapping books with each other. I felt a kinship with Maggie. 

Despite the happiness that Maggie felt when being with Brooks, she was still struggling with her inner demons, and her trauma. To top it all of, with Maggie’s stepmom getting into her head that she wasn’t really going to have a normal life with Brooks, it inevitably caused Maggie to reconsider her decision to be with Brooks. Like in some ways I can understand that in Maggie’s perspective she was trying to help Brooks move on with his future and have a chance at achieving his dreams, but for Brooks being with Maggie was the ultimate dream for him *cue me tearing up and being a sensitive baby crying. 

Part three was another time jump, but it was ten years later when Maggie was twenty eight years old. For Maggie, life was still the same, living in the same house with her parents, but she made strides to get her degree through online school, which was great. Calvin, Brooks and the guys were famously known for their music and they seemed to living it up. Brooks still couldn’t stop thinking about Maggie not didn’t stop with sending her books that he read and tabbed for her, and that was such a cute gesture. Get yourself a guy who will send you books that he annotates and tabs for you. Anyways, I loved the reunion between Brooks and Maggie because, despite so many years apart, once they were together again, it was like falling back into perfect harmony. The connection between them was still strong and their love was passionate than ever. 

While there was still romance between Maggie and Brooks, this story didn’t hold back on the trauma. Brooks went through his own traumatic event that could have easily ended with his life, but thankfully he survived. After his near death, he experienced devastating news that resulted in a abrupt halt to his music career and most likely wouldn’t be able to play music ever again. Brooks had always been Maggie’s anchor, and for the first time Maggie stepped up to the plate and took the initiative of leaving the house for the very first time in years. I was so proud of Maggie, she not only did it to be there for Brooks, but also for herself. While Maggie was able to step out of the house and be there for Brooks, Brooks was then dealing with his own obstacles after the accident. Just when things were starting to line up with Maggie and Brooks, it always seemed like their timing was off. 

In the end, through a lot of standing her ground and being persistent in being there for Brooks, Maggie didn’t back down even when Brooks was going through his own hell. Some moments were tough to swallow in the sense that I wasn’t use to seeing the angry, hurtful side of Brooks, but again he was going through a lot and wasn’t coping in the best of ways. I was shocked when Maggie finally spoke and it was a great surprise honestly. From there on the story got better and once again Brooks and Maggie were reunited, stronger than ever. There was some trauma bonding, in which both spoke about their fears and trauma and for the first time not only did Maggie speak, but she finally talked about that horrible night many years ago.

The story got better and better with each page. Towards the end I was once again shocked at Maggie coming face to face with the man who was the source of her pain and trauma. Even earlier on in the book I had my suspicions on who the man from that night really was and I guess I was correct. Maggie felt like the weight she had been carrying around was finally gone. 

Overall, this story was full of emotional topics coupled with trauma both from Maggie and Brooks. Maggie went through a difficult experience, and with the help of her family and especially Brooks, she was able to find her back, and to finally finding her voice again. I loved the connection between Brooks and Maggie, their mutual love of music and books. Definitely more focused on the emotional aspect, but still I loved every bit of these characters and story. The ending of the book was sweet and hopeful. I felt myself tear up a little over reading Maggie and Brooks’s happy ending. Something about the way Brittainy has written the Elements series always leaves me feeling emotional and tearing up over these characters. With each book, I find myself connected to the stories. Maggie and Brooks’s story was beautiful, tragic, and hopeful. Of course, the epilogue was precious and had me smiling.