“And if the person you feel like you have to be in this town doesn’t feel right to you, you’re allowed to leave. You’re allowed to exist. Even if it means existing somewhere else.”

this story was a welcome quick read with its tone of coming of age, teens realizing their true selves at the end of their high school careers and its obvious plot format similarities to paper towns. the main characters at the forefront, chloe green and shara wheeler were fine just a bit unbearable to me with how dramatic and entitled both were but i can definitely see how they both work together as a couple. i did have empathy for them with what they had to go through and the person they felt they had to be especially in their small conservative town particularly with shara and her family's image. but characters i absolutely adored were rory and smith both were so endearing in their own ways with casey really knowing how to write particular moments of realizations of sexuality and gender. i enjoyed this story but wasn't truly invested the entire way, though i honestly loved the last few chapters with some of the twists and coming of age feel to it as the seniors all bond together in their last few days and make a stand.

“... It shapes how we see the world when we enter it. We carry the hurt with us, the confirmed fears, the insecurities people used against us. But we also carry the moment when someone gave us a chance, even though they didn't have to. The moment we watched a friend make a choice we didn't understand at first because they're brave in a different way. The moment a teacher told us they believed in us. The moment we told someone who we are and they accepted us without question. The moment we felt in love. Most of the things we are feeling right now are things we're feeling for the first time. We're learning what it means to feel them. What we mean to one another. Of course that matters.”