One thing that got me hooked on this book (besides the adorable synopsis) right away was how much I could resonate with our main protagonist, Lucy. As someone very acquainted with the struggles of applying to college and trying to determine what exactly I want to do in my life, I could really identify myself within Lucy's everyday challenges. Lucy's a dancer, and so am I. Lucy has younger brothers, and (you guessed it) I do as well! Finding so much of myself in Lucy, I became really attached from the get-go. 

Dov, our male counterpart, was quite someone. In the beginning, his character kind of ticked me off because of how aloof and unresponsive he was. Of course, later, we get a reason for why that was, but it took a while for me to warm up to his character. As someone who knows very little about Jewish culture, everything was so eyeopening to me. Dov and Lucy's Hebrew banter, poetry, and talk was such a nice touch on their relationship, I feel. It made it unlike any other young adult contemporary novel I'd read, but also made it a bit confusing. Sometimes I felt like I couldn't understand the context in which things were being talked about, and I had to research different phrases and words to fully grasp what was happening (lmao). But Dov and Lucy truly shared some extremely cute moments--especially how happy Dov got (!!) whenever Lucy did something she loved or was passionate about. My heart truly melted. 

One thing I found myself really enjoying was Lucy's growth over the novel. Finding herself through these new experiences, but not letting herself be lost or over-dependent on any one person, like how she was before. I also thought it was SO adorable seeing her finding her passions, even though they were obvious to pretty much EVERYONE else except her. I especially loved all the college talk-- knowing and recognizing the colleges she was applying to was so exciting, having had similar conversations with my friends and family as Lucy was. By the end of the novel, I was so proud of her. At the beginning of the book, I would've never guessed at where she would end up, yet it was perfect. If you looked close enough you would've seen me yelling "YES LUCY" at the top of my lungs. she really came SO FAR,, and i can't even begin to tell you how proud i am :''''))) 

One particular thing I felt was kind of off with this book, though, was how intense and dramatic Lucy and Dov's relationship had escalated to in the end. The intensity that they were talking about being together felt so heated and dramatized for an 18 year old couple. I'm eighteen, and I don't think I've ever seen an in-school couple be so serious. Another thing (which isn't necessarily a good or bad thing) was this book turned out to be so much heavier than the light fluffy novel I thought I was getting myself into. It really did make me think a lot, though, about the things I wished to accomplish with my journey, the paths I want to take in life.

Though The Truth About Leaving is definitely not a perfect novel, it deserves a read! Make sure keep an eye out for Jan 22, 2019 ;) 

Rating: 3/5

The Truth About Leaving is a great story about a girl who meets an Israeli boy on the first day of school and how they come together to be friends.
I had a hard time with the the girls mother and how her parents put so much on this girl. I wanted to reach inside this story and slap her mom.
Having said that I did enjoy the story and would definitely read more by this author.

The premise of this book is adorable and I was sucked in by the engaging writing right away. There's a lot of promise here, but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. I didn't feel the connection between Lucy and Dov and I lost patience with their "chase" pretty quickly. I felt like I wanted more chemistry between the two of them, and a little less of the "extra" (namely, the poetry). In the end, I just wasn't invested enough to continue with it and it was a DNF at 30% for me.

About: Lucy just started her senior year and their school has a transfer senior for the first time in years- Dov who has come from Israel and plans to go back to join the army by the end of the year. When Lucy and Dov start to develop a relationship, it feels right. But they both know that Dov has to go back when the year ends. This book has the perfect title and story is just about that.

Characters: Lucy is a very relatable character. The way she has to manage her time in respect to others and cancel her plans to babysit her little brothers or fill in for her mom who took up a job miles away is what makes her a submissive character. Dov is a gentleman who is dealing with his own grief. Both characters are very lovable. I found Lucy's mom selfish in many ways. Plus point for having Jewish characters and the Hebrew language.

Feelings: I loved the author's The Distance from A to Z so I was extremely thrilled when I received an ARC of this book becoming my 100th read of the year. This book was based more on reality than romance. It was cute but also dealt with important subjects like grief. It was emotional and adorable at the same time.

Recommendation: Yes. It was a great read with understanding characters and a heartbreaking story.


Favourite Quote:
Sometimes we have to live in a world that is not always ideal.

The Truth about Leaving by Natalie Blitt is a heartwarming young adult novel. I fell in love with Lucy and Dov and I couldn't wait to find out how this one ended. Great read for anyone who loves a good romance.

This book was really good. I particularly enjoyed Dov's story. I knew that Israelis were required to join the army at the age of 18, but I didn't know that it was a 3-year commitment and I certainly didn't know that there were allowances made for families who have already lost a child.

I also really liked the way this book was kind of a role reversal in that the both Dov and Lucy were actually more responsible than their parents. Lucy, in particular, needed to continually remind her parents that she was still a teenager and should get to do fun things and that the reason she had responsibilities to her family was because they chose to put other obligations before the family.

Anyway, I liked the relationship between Lucy and Dov. I liked that they grew closer through their love of poetry. I'm glad she had her grandmother there as her voice of reason, since her parents were so selfish.

My only concern is that they are so young to be discussing a life together. I generally don't like YA books that do think. It's their first real relationship. They're only 18. He's the only guy she's been with and they haven't even gone to college. Slow down.