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Review

This is one of those books that reminds me of why I love to read YA. It’s sweet and funny, with lots of hilarious teenage insights as our characters navigate their way through new feelings and experiences. It also has a great sense of nostalgia and a beautiful story of first love that had me grinning like a fool the whole time I was reading.

It’s 1990, and 17 year old Layla is entering her senior year in high school. Part of the popular crowd, she is a good student, has a close group of friends, a BFF that lives three houses down from her, and despite the fact her mother took off some years ago, she is living a happy life. And then Terrance C. Wilmington III walks into her English class and turns her life upside down.

Trip, as he likes to be known as, is the most gorgeous guy she has ever known, but he is also kind, funny, and all of those things that make him teenage heart-throb perfection! Quickly becoming a part of her ‘group’, Layla’s crush on Trip deepens as the two of them develop a friendship that is full of teasing, joking, and the odd bit of flirting. There’s a bit of angst as Layla isn’t sure about how Trip feels, and she’s not sure how to handle her feelings, but that sort of behaviour is all part of her growing up. And they do manage to sort themselves out in time to have one glorious summer before life pulls Layla and her friends in all different directions.

The story is told entirely from the POV of Layla, and I love her narrative! She is witty and intelligent, but she’s also a 16/17 year old girl with all of the naivety, inexperience and hormones that go along with that. She is struggling with growing up – of letting go of life as she knows it and heading off into the world, but at the same time she’s excited to spread her wings. And her storytelling cleverly captures that spirit of what are (at the age of 17, at least) lifelong friendships, as well as the anguish and excitement of first love, and the trauma of everything changing. She’s such a genuine character, and it gives the whole story a sense of realism.

Oh, the drama! Is there anything so powerful as the love of two teenagers being ripped apart?

I loved this book! Firstly, being set in 1990, there are tons of references which had me flashing back to my own high school days and secondly, it’s just fun! I smiled so much while reading, completely caught up in Layla’s life and the beautifully blossoming love story between her and Trip.

“Don’t ever ask me to stop loving you, because I can’t. Don’t ever think I’ll be able to forget you, because I won’t.”

It does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, and those last few pages made my heart hurt (that letter!!! *clutches heart*), but I thought the ending was really well done. It’s sad but hopeful, and the book as a whole does a great job of setting up the rest of the series, and what is sure to be an epic love story. From the Prologue, and from comments dropped throughout the book, we know that Trip goes on to become the hottest thing in Hollywood, and I can’t wait to see how their story plays out over the next two books.

4 stars.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.