This was a terrific book about family and all the different forms that can take. Ellis and Easton become inseparable as children and, over time, they become as close as two people can be. When they make an impulsive choice in their junior year of high school, their lives are irrevocably changed -- Ellis is forced to move across the country and, in what once seemed unimaginable, she stops speaking to Easton.

A full year passes, and Ellis is invited by Easton's mom to return home. When Ellis reluctantly decides to go, she must face the past she has been trying to leave behind, including the boy who, for most of her life, owned her heart.

This debut was terrific. Highly recommended!

It's been days since I read this book and it's still on my mind.

This debate book by Kristin Dwyer left me speechless. Her writing grabs you right from the beginning.She does not write like this is her first book by any means. You can feel the emotions of the characters and you wont want to put this one down.

Ellis and Easton have this chemistry that you can't ignore. I loved their story and journey they take. We get flash backs to their past lives together and how the distance in their life has changed them in the present. There's unresolved history and second chances. You'll also fall in love with Ben (that's all I'm gonna say).

I found myself relating to how Ellis reacts to things and reflect on my past. I heard from a bookstagramer that there are books that are like windows to who we are and this one is that. This was a window I didn't even know I needed and now that it's here I can't stop thinking about it.

Thank you Kristian for taking the leap and writing this book!! I can't wait to read more of your writing!!

3.75 Stars since portions aren't an option!

I’ve been starting to pick up more contemporary books lately, and I’m super happy that I added Some Mistakes Were Made to the list. It’s been a while since I've read a book where I genuinely wanted to cry almost the entire time I read it.

A lot of things Ellis went through, and the complicated things she felt for her family really hit close to home. There were a lot of themes around incarceration, poverty, found-family vs birth-family, status quo, etc. that really tear at you if you’ve ever experienced these things as a child. Sometimes I found myself sitting in her shoes looking at her parents and silently pleading with her. While this wasn’t the main plot of the book, I think it’s one that many readers look over and it needs to be mentioned. Dwyer really nailed the thoughts and emotions of the kind of traumatic childhood Ellis had and did a wonderful job illustrating the issues and torment without using overtly bashing language.

Heading back to our Ellis and Easton story -- it really was heart/gut-wrenching. There was no telling if the story would end happy or sad, it could have gone either way, which is an amazing talent with a story about romance. Easton could be honestly annoying at some times, and I really couldn’t help but continuously agree with Ellis about a lot of the decisions that were made in the book. I wanted to empathize with Easton as much as possible… but at the same time, I didn’t. Ellis definitely had the short end of the stick and I couldn’t quite get my aggravation at Easton off the ground. Because of this, I disliked his character development and wasn’t as sold in the conclusion as I should have been. It felt rushed and disjointed, and a little uncomfortable.

All of the brothers were expertly written, but Tucker absolutely took the cake with his absolute chaotic-good, Loki energy. I want an entire novel written just about Tucker.

Overall, the writing is fantastic and Dwyer did an awesome job with set-up and pacing, by taking us back and forth between the present day and flashbacks of their childhood. For a coming-of-age, first-love romance novel, it really was impressive and worth doing a reread of. It definitely wasn’t perfect and at times really frustrated me, but the book was emotive and captivating the entire way through. Definitely recommend this read!

I LOVED THIS BOOK!
I finished SMWM in one day, I couldn't go to sleep until I knew the whole story!
If you loved Me Before You or the type of book that has you seeing the world different as you read, this book is it!
I cannot say enough great things about it... The writing, three characters, everything was just brilliant!!!
If you read one recommendation this year, let it be Sone Mistakes Where Made!
I SWEAR, NETFLIX, AMAZON, or HULU BETTER BY THE RIGHTS TO THIS BOOK!!!

I finished Some Mistakes Were Made in two days. OMG this book was amazing from start to finish. Kristin Dwyer writing is out of this world and I can't wait to get my hands on her next book. Once in a while, you'll come by a book that has it all. Great character a wonderfully written story and I just loved every second of this one. Elle and Easton were some of the best-written characters I've read in a long time, I think I just found my new favorite author!!!!!

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC!

So, I don’t normally read contemporary YA. It’s just usually not my jam… but I couldn’t put this one down! Kristin Dwyer does an incredible job immediately pulling you into the emotions of Ellis, and doesn’t let you go for the entire book.

Ellis and Easton were best of friends from early adolescence- to the point of Ellis being quasi adopted by Easton’s family. Feelings evolve, as they do… and then before they have a chance to really unpack said feelings *spoiler alert*, Ellis makes a choice that jeopardizes both of their futures in order to protect her ex-con father. This results in her being sent to live with her aunt in California, and she cuts off contact from Easton. When she returns to Indiana and has to see Easton again, things are… complicated.

I laughed. I cried.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even if (as Kristin herself said) I also wanted to smash their faces together for 350 pages.

Holy cannoli do I love this book.

It's everything you love about Red-era Taylor Swift in a swoony, angsty YA romance with oodles of steam and heart.

The Albrey family quickly became my favorite fictional family I've ever read. I want this family to adopt me. I mean I have my real-life family of siblings and drama, but I want these dumb Albrey brothers involved now too.

We'll start with the oldest: Dixon. You dummy. You heart-of-gold, big, dumb, Bernese Mountain Dog of a man who can give a birthday speech that brings tears to ones eyes.

Tucker. You chaotic bisexual, Shiba Inu. Stirring the pot, being a messy bench who lives for drama, but also just wants everyone to be happy.

And Easton. Oh Easton. You stupid, loyal, golden retriever. Why do you wake each morning and choose violence... against yourself! In the immortal words of Rupaul Charles: If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?" He will only let himself be happy once Ellis is happy. Golden Retrievers man, amirite?

Anyway, there's too many dog metaphors in this review so I'll now focus on something more tangible. I really loved the structure of this story. Every chapter or so is a flashback that shows where the Albrey's and Ellis used to be emotionally and the slightly awkward and angsty present they find themselves in now. It works perfectly and really balances the "mystery" of what went wrong in this relationship without dragging it out or being cagey and annoying. It's extremely well done.

Along with that, Kristin Dwyer also has such a great ear for natural dialogue. Each character had their own unique voice. One of the most interesting aspects is how the voices mature between the past chapter when they were children and present chapters when they're eighteen and up.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this heartfelt romance and I can't wait to read what Kristin Dwyer writes next!.

I normally do not pick up contemporary fiction as sometimes the voice of the novel doesn't speak to me.
However, this one absolutely spoke to me on so many levels. This book is a wonderful example of what being human is. Even more specifically...being a teenager. It is filled with angst, passion, joy, happiness, love, anger and all of those many emotions we all experience. Kristin Dwyer does a wonderful job translating all of those emotions into an authentic and honest story. It explores how there is beauty in making mistakes and how we can always create our own path as long as we allow ourselves to find that joy.

What an absolutely stunning debut novel. Cheers, Kristin!

I am in love with this book. I couldn't stop reading it through my tears. It's my new favorite YA contemporary novel. It reminds me a lot of Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren, except this is better. The found family, angst, and heart are wonderful but what really makes this book is the dialogue - it is full of drama, banter, hilarity, and so much beauty. I'm recommending this to everyone I know.

I have a soft spot for lonely girls who find hearts to call home in between terrible jokes only a group of brothers could make. This is a heart-wrenching, lip-biting-inducing, deep-sigh filled, and raw and true debut novel.

I'm honored to hold an Advanced Reader's Edition in my hands. I would pause, and read, and pause, and read to be able to take all of the feelings in. There was no sense of "there will be a happy ever after." It can go either way. You will read and be as unsure, much like the people that live and breathe on these pages. This book will shatter your heart and shine a light on your deepest, darkest feelings, and then show you the way out. I can't wait for more people to read this book in 2022!

I leave you with this quote, which spoils nothing and gets you ready for everything.

"One day you will understand that home isn't walls and a roof, it's a feeling you get. And you get to pick who lives there."

My rating is a solid 4.5, minus half a point solely because I longed for more insight into what happiness looks like for Ellis in the long term. I'm proud of her, albeit a little worried about how her heart would heal as time goes on. What her space would be now with the Albreys after getting together with Easton for real this time. I was swept away by all the emotions, but I will admit the teen angst got to be too much at points. Could Ellis ever see anything in a positive light? Did all things have to be bitterness and torture?

But the truth is we have all felt the not-so-pretty feelings Ellis did at one point in our lives. One way or the other, and Dwyer was brave enough to write about it. It was refreshing to take a deep dive into the dark night of the soul that is not knowing if you will ever belong anywhere, to anyone.

I don't think I have enough words to describe everything I felt reading Some Mistakes Were Made. I perhaps need to begin with the fact that this book shuld be titled MANY Mistakes Were Made, because I bit my fingers each time I caught I glimpse of the much needed happiness these characters deserved, only to have it slip through their fingers.
You have to be patient, this book is all about the angst, and it feels proper, you will learns things as you need to know them. I loved Ellis so much, I kept rooting for her and I was PROUD by the end of the book, The Albrey boys, MY GOD, they were delightful. This book is about found family--which resonated a lot with me--and it is about figuring things out.
I'm fully convinced that if this book is adapted, it must be into a tv-series or a telenovela.
The end is worth it, and I'm pretty sure it will leave its readers with a profound love for the characters and so much hope.

Kristin Dwyer’s novel Some Mistakes Were Made is an intricate look at first love, found families, and the struggle of finding your place in the world.

Ellis Truman has lived her life bouncing between two separate worlds: the world of her family, and the world of her best friend Easton’s family. Easton’s brothers are like brothers to her; his house is her home away from the home life she feels guilty for trying to escape. When Ellis moves to San Diego for her last year of high school, she leaves Easton, and his betrayal, behind. After returning home after a year of not speaking to him, Ellis finds herself face to face with all of the problems she’s been avoiding. She must confront her past and her relationship with her families– the one she was born into and the one she chose to spend her time with– before she can move into the future.


This tender coming of age novel follows Ellis and Easton in well-orchestrated dual timelines.We meet Ellis in the present, as she graduates high school in a place that feels foreign to her. As she debates returning home for an event, the narration flashes back to when she was eleven and first befriended Easton. As the present timeline moves forward, so does the flashback timeline. Each chapter brings the reader new information on how Ellis and Easton’s relationship evolved and what betrayal caused Ellis to stop speaking to Easton altogether.

The plot is engaging and highly emotive. As a reader, my heart continually went out to Ellis as she struggled with not knowing where she belongs. Her journey of feeling like an outsider is vividly described, inspiring empathy and immediate kinship between the reader and Ellis, who also serves as a first person narrator. Ellis’s unstable home life and search for a sense of stability is heart wrenching. Some Mistakes broaches tough topics in an understandable and accessible way; these issues are handled carefully and realistically.

The characters are incredibly well developed. Easton’s idyllic home life is seen through Ellis’s eyes, allowing the reader to see the rose-tinted glasses view that Ellis perceives. From the stern but loving mother to the wild stable of brothers and all the physical altercations that occur to the supportive father, the entire family is uniquely cast such that each characters is easily distinguishable and relatable.

Part of what binds Ellis and Easton is their love of words and travel. They each love what the other loves, creating a beautiful bridge to one another out of the beloved things they share with each other. The voice of this novel, despite Ellis’s angsty worldview, is poetic and lyrical. Poetry is a part of how her brain works, because Easton is a poet who shared that love with her. Ellis’s understanding of love, both familial and romantic, changes and grows throughout both timelines. Although her romantic relationship is a lynchpin of the book, it’s her own path to self-love and self-acceptance that is my favorite part of the book. Her journey to see how others express love is beautiful in and of itself.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. It’s well-written, with a plot that makes you think about it when you can’t be reading it, and characters that stay in your mind. Although first love is a complicated affair and is handled tenderly, I did struggle with Ellis’s romantic relationship. It felt a little codependent to me, and seeing that type of relationship romanticized can be problematic. At the same time, it is a deeply emotional story; I love when books for younger readers show this amount of emotional depth, as I feel young relationships are often downplayed or treated as less important than adult relationships. It’s powerful to read a relationship being treated as a real relationship and not as practice for a real relationship. It’s entirely possible I have overanalyzed this romantic relationship and saddled it with unnecessary labels, but I couldn’t provide an honest review without sharing this component.

Some Mistakes Were Made by Kristin Dwyer will be available April 26, 2022, from HarperCollins Children’s Books, HarperTeen. Thank you to Ms. Dwyer, Net Galley, and HarperCollins for an advanced copy such that I could write this review.

Some Mistakes Were Made was a really good book. I was looking for something less fantasy, and this was perfect. The book is a contemporary novel, set in our world. The romance was so real, so pure and raw and deep. As you read there are two timelines, the present and the past. The present takes place over a week or so, and the past grows through the years, showing you Ellis and Easton's story from when they were young until the events that took place just before the other plot line.

I loved seeing this story fold out as I read. The romance between Ellis and Easton was something that felt very real, through all their fights and arguments, it didn't feel fake like some romances I have read. I read this book in one sitting, just a few hours, and that is the first time that has happened in a while so I am very very grateful for that.

Tucker was absolutely my favorite character. He was always there for Ellis and he was such a good brother figure to her. His sarcasm and humor never failed to make me laugh and I just loved him from the very beginning. I was also a fan of Dixon, I just loved how he was with Ellis and how he always called her Elvis.

This whole family literally killed me. They were so cute. I really liked seeing Ellis, who had come from an awful family with a lousy mom and a dad who was always in jail, with them, she was always much much happier when with them. They felt like a real, true family, and there were occasions where I almost cried from how cute it was.

Now, the main reason this book doesn't have five stars is Easton. I did not really like him that much. Sure, he had some cute moments with Ellis, but for the most part I feel like he was just being a jerk, and if one of the main characters doesn't appeal to me at all, I probably won't like the book as much. I have a feeling a lot of people will like him, he just really got on my nerve. The only other problem I really had with this book was that it was so fast paced that I found myself skimming certain points, which could have been me or the book or the fact it was really late.

If you want a contemporary romance with found family, sweet and sarcastic characters, and a sense of mystery-I was always so curious why Ellis was in California-I'm sure this book will appeal to you.

This book is told in alternating chapters between the past and the present. The story focuses on Ellis and Easton, two high school students in Indiana who are best friends. When Ellis is sent away to California for her senior year of high school, she is bitter and angry. However, it takes far too long for us to understand why she was sent away and why she has such hard feelings toward everyone back at home. I think teens will enjoy the angsty attitude from Ellis far more than I did and will keep reading to find out why she was sent away. I found her character hard to like. The ending, however, was just what this story needed.

Oh my goodness. My heart. I’ll never have enough words, the right words, to convey just how perfect this book is!

Some Mistakes Were Made is so seamless. You forget you’re reading a book and feel like you’re living through a year with Ellis and Easton. I rooted for them, holding onto the hope that they would find their way back to each other. Chapter twenty-five was the death of me in the BEST way possible.

Kristin, your book is so incredibly beautiful and heartbreaking and easy to fall for just like a first love. Thank you for sharing this story with the world 💜

i finished this book a week ago and can still cry over it if i think about it for too long. kristin’s writing is absolutely beautiful and she captures the emotion so well.

Ok. I’m going to try and properly express the way I felt about this book but I don’t know if I’ll be able to. You know when you’ve been anticipating a book for so long, and you’re afraid it won’t live up to what you’ve built it as in your head? Yeah, this was NOT one of those times. My chest physically HURT while reading Ellis’s story, that’s how good Kristin is at making you feel her character’s emotions. Watching Ellis, broken beautiful Ellis, I wanted to scream at her, shake her and force her to know she is loved. But when someone feels like they aren’t loved, feels like they don’t deserve that love, but are still desperate for it, even as they keep themselves from that love, you can’t force them to feel it. And watching her learn to accept that she IS loved was such a beautiful, and powerful journey. And my boys 😭 MY BOYS. Dixon, and Tucker, and Easton. I don’t even know what to say I loved all of them in different ways, just like Ellis. This is a love story, but it’s also about family, and familial love - both biological and found. It’s about brokenness, and healing, and learning how to love yourself, and take care of yourself, even if that means letting go of people who are supposed to love you but don’t.

Alternating from present day to earlier days, we meet newly graduated Ellis, from Indiana,who now lives in California. Ellis and Tucker, Easton’s brother who was sent to California as well have been invited to Sandry’s 50th birthday party. Sandry has been like a mom to Ellis, taken her in when her mom wasn’t around or when dad was in jail, and even given her a room in their home. Easton and Ellis have had their ups and downs and Ellis told Easton not to call her when she moved to California. When Ellis comes back for the party, Ellis and Easton go back and forth: do they want to be together again or not? Will their past keep them from being together and traveling like Ellis has always wanted.? Do they still have feelings for each other or has too much happened?

Be prepared to be sucked in. Relatable characters and story told with a strong and unique voice. Kristin had my head spinning, my heart aching and my head yelling at the characters with each turned page. I wasn’t sure if I should stomp my feet or wipe the tears from my cheeks first. So damn good. Kleenex should sponsor.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

And thank you Kristin Dwyer for wrecking my life.

Honestly. This book. I don’t even know if I have words for how beautiful, how painful, how angsty and redeeming it was. I spent the majority of my time reading it through a sheen of tears, my chest aching. I wanted to hug Ellis, I wanted to shake Easton, I wanted to hug Tucker because honestly he’s the hero in this story.

Best book I’ve read this year. Hands down.