Heartwarming and heartrending, this tender novel-in-verse explores the difficulties two teens have in dealing with everyday teenage life when their families are struggling with health concerns and past traumas. Danna and Raul are both wonderfully drawn characters, easy to dismiss at first glance (as so many of their teachers do) but finding their own core strength and embracing the beauty of first love. The novel's structure is well balanced between their two perspectives, at times offering mirror images of their experiences, and the more I read, the more I felt drawn into the heart of their lives. There's so much to love about this book.

CW: dementia, death of a grandparent, fatphobia, body shaming, physical violence, references to rape, parent in prison, aftermath of prison time

Thank you, Hachette and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.