Didi. A girl from the other side of the tracks.
Caleb. A rich boy in desperate need of a fake girlfriend.
They meet after he saves her from jumping off a cliff.
The proposal: Accompany him to all the parties he must attend for the summer. He is willing to pay her for her time.
The condition: She must not, under any circumstances, fall in love with him or their relationship ends.
She accepts, but with a stern warning for him: “You might fall in love with me.”
My Thoughts:
At first I was hesitant to read this book because of the summary. Based on the warning I was thinking this was similar to Nicholas Sparks book "A Walk to Remember." While the premise of two teenagers having a relationship is obviously in common between the two books that is where the rest of it deviates.
Kate Evangelista does a great job of building these characters and showcasing the issues that both are facing. She does this while also showing the depth of the other secondary characters and what they are experiencing. Even after reading this book I have questions about what was the twin sister really in rehab for, why was ___back in town, what is going on between ____ and ____, etc. I enjoyed the details in the outfits, events, feelings and conflicts. I loved the gentle slide into the relationship and I adored the ending.
The ending...oh I wasn't sure I was going to like it, but I did. At first I was in shock because while the issue of mental illness was lingering throughout the story, but towards the end of the book the illness was more prominent in the storyline and it through me for a loop. I had heard about some of these issues, but the writing of the symptoms, details, what the character was dealing with AND how that actually tied into other character dilemmas was raw, open and quite moving. The way the book ended was quite cute and a fantastic tie in to previous parts of the book. The descriptive way that Kate E. writes allowed me to truly see the characters, places and events in full color.
I have never read a book, until this one, where I felt I could see and really realize what living with or loving someone who has a mental illness might entail. I highly recommend this book and look forward to starting the next book that involves one of my favorite characters from this book...Nathan!
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Where you can purchase the book:
Book is available at SwoonReads for free! Quite a steal:)
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