Very heartwarming story about forgiveness and "found" family in the truest sense of the phrase. Samira and Henry were very authentic characters, and I enjoyed seeing their sibling relationship develop. I wish more books focused on sibling dynamics!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. Review has previously been withheld as part of a pro-Palestine reviewer boycott of St. Martin’s Press titles.

I didn’t know entirely what I was getting when I started The Search for Us, but I was interested in reading more from Susan Azim Boyer after enjoying her previous book. While it was already a compelling premise, it ended up really resonating with me in a personal way, as while I come from a pretty standard nuclear family, I recently lost someone due to struggles with addiction, so seeing what the characters were going through really hit home for me.

Samira and Henry are great choices to ground the story, with each of them having their own unique family struggles as a result of the mess their biological father left behind. Samira is compelled to take on more than she can realistically handle, being forced to advocate for her ne’er-do-well brother Kamron, due to their Gran being too old to handle it, their grandfather having recently passed and leaving it in her hands, and their mother also being ill-equipped to deal with it all. Henry, by contrast, is raised by his biological aunt and uncle, who he considers his parents, but there is still tension between them and his biological mother, who they consider a bit of a ne’er-do-well, in a similar vein to his biological father.

But even though Samira and Henry are the main characters, I love the richness with which everyone else is drawn. Kamron in particular is a great example of the perpetuation of generational trauma, with him on the path to repeating their biological father’s mistakes, even though he’s much more antagonistic towards the man due to his greater awareness of his rages, due to being the older sibling. Their father’s story explores the impact of PTSD among veterans, with the additional impact of the Islamophobia that men like him faced, especially in the early 2000s, as well as suggesting what Kamron’s path could be: both in terms of how dire the situation can get, and also that redemption is possible. Both biological mothers are compassionate portrayals of women in a relationship with addicts with abusive tendencies, and how nuanced that situation can be. And even Henry’s uncle/adoptive dad, who comes off as a bit of a hard-ass, surprised me by the end in how much he truly cared.

I loved this book, and would recommend this book to readers looking for hard-hitting YA contemporaries.

this book was amazing and I loved it was so amazing and I just... why I literally cried of happiness while reading this book because it was just that amazing

Samira Murphy is a self-proclaimed overfunctioner. Raised by her grandparents due to her mother’s underfunctioning lifestyle, Samira took on adult duties from a young age. She feels responsible for getting her alcoholic brother, Kamron, on the road to recovery and taking care of her enabling grandma. Missing from the picture is her dad, Mohammed, who Samira knows little about. She takes a DNA test hoping to reconnect with him but learns about her half brother, Henry, instead. Henry Owen has been raised by his aunt and uncle since he was a child, and he has no recollection of what caused his mom to lose custody. He can’t get a straight answer from his aunt, uncle, or mom about what really happened with his adoption or his father, so he takes a DNA test looking for answers. Soon Henry and Samira meet and look for their father as well as answers to all of their questions together.

This is a powerful YA novel. The plot is fast paced with short chapters, making it easy to read and stay engaged. The book touches on a lot of sensitive topics such as alcohol and parental abuse, adoption, PTSD, and Islamophobia. There are great conversations surrounding these topics within the story, but there just isn’t enough time in the plot to fully dedicate to each issue. Samira’s character was frustrating at times, but I enjoyed each chapter alternating between her perspective and Henry’s. I really loved Henry and Linh’s characters. Their romance isn’t the focus of the book, but Linh is such a supportive, loving character that is desperately needed for Henry. Even for the characters I didn’t necessarily love (Samira and Tara),
I appreciated the representation and roles they served. The plot is heavy at times, but the ending is hopeful, and I cried quite a bit. Thanks to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and Susan Azim Boyer for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Overall, this was an alright read. I never felt a strong connection with either the plot or the characters. All that being said, it was still a solid read about friendship and family relationships.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I love a good contemporary read that focuses on family instead of just romance, so this was an overall enjoyable read. I liked that it showed some of the complicated nature of what family can look like, especially when there are family secrets involved. I think overall it was well written and I liked getting to see this journey from both Samira's and Henry's perspectives. There were some times when Samira was making me feel stressed with how much she was putting on herself, but it felt like an accurate portrayal of how some people can get when they focus on taking care of everyone but themselves. If there is one thing I didn't like as much, it's that the ending seemed to perfect, everything wrapped up in a nice bow and characters who had been acting problematically the entire book just suddenly seeing the light or having their bad behavior explained away. Of course we all love a good happy ending, but I think some aspects of it felt a little unrealistic. That being said, I still enjoyed the story and think it was a nice, heartwarming read about the complicatedness of family.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for the copy of this eARC for my honest review. All ratings and any reviews are opinions of my own.

A heartwarming story of two teens who find out they are half siblings, I enjoyed Samira and Henry’s relationship and how it evolved, trying to find their place in the world, and figuring out who they are.
I enjoyed this book, I thought the storytelling was beautifully done and the characters were full of depth.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy, all opinions are my own.

So pretty much every single adult in this book sucks. The two main characters are Samira and Henry, half siblings who found each other through an ancestry DNA test. They are trying to track down their father who disappeared from their lives when they were babies.

Okay, first there’s Samira. Samira is dealing with a ton of very very difficult shit throughout the story. She’s essentially forced to be the only adult handling things, giving up her dreams to help save her brother.

Then we’ve got henry. Henry’s parents all fight over him, his mom and dad (aunt and uncle) and his bio mom. Henry’s also under pressure, but more so from his parents to be a certain way and succeed in a way they want. I don’t think anyone cared if henry was happy, he seemed like more of a pawn in their game until the end.

I don’t love how quickly all was forgiven. It seemed very rushed.

I also did not like these characters. I did not connect with them. Samira had very little regard for Henry’s well being the entire book. The concept was great but not executed well.

A touching story of a connection brought on by a DNA test. High school senior Samira is tired of being the adult in the family. Everything seems to land on her shoulders. When her chance to escape to college is threatened, she decides to take a DNA test, in the hopes of finding her father and maybe getting some of the child support he never paid. Henry, also a senior, is beginning to question who he is. He loves his family (his biological mother and his aunt and uncle who raised him), but he starts to think that maybe finding his biological father could help fill in the some of the blanks. Instead of a father however, Samira and Henry discover each other: the half sibling they never knew they had. Maybe together they can find their father, forming this newfound connection along the way.

I adored this story about familial love and forgiveness. The slowly built connection between Samira and Henry was fantastic. It was very sweet watching them meet and learn from each other. Family relationships are just as important as romance, but a lot less featured in YA. I relate a lot to Samira's character, and also felt for Henry, so it was easy to root for their happiness. There are so many difficult topics in this story, and I felt that they were all handled well. These families have a lot to work through, but it seems that they just might make it. The ending definitely brought on the emotions. I loved the whole ride. I recommend reading the author's note, where the inspiration for the story is described.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

what a beautiful, heartwarming story! the character development was top-tier especially given the difficult situation they found themselves in! I'm excited to see what Susan does for future books!

The premise of this book is so different from what I expected in the best of ways. The double helix and the characters facing each other could initially imply romance, but I was really pleasantly surprised to learn this was a story about half-siblings finding each other and building a connection. While interesting it didn't keep me engaged throughout unfortunately and I can't really place why. Perhaps this just didn't work for me as a YA. I'm still looking forward to reading more of Susan Azim Boyer's work!

I really enjoyed seeing the journey these characters went on to find out who they were outside of how they've grown up. More than anything it was refreshing to see such a tough topic handled in a way that was so well executed. I truly enjoy when an author can write something that can touch so many people. In a world where so many individuals are put up for adoption, IVF, or donated IVF it's interesting to see how people may handle those situations going forward. I will absolutely be reading more from this author in the future.

I absolutely loved this heartwarming story!

Samira and Henry are each having a tough time, and each decide to take a DNA test to find their missing father. Instead, they find each other, and decide to search for their father together. Through this search they find out a lot about each other and themselves.

I adore Boyer's prose and mastery of characters, and have ever since her debut, so I was very excited for this one, and it did not disappoint. Boyer is definitely an auto-buy author. Can't wait to see what she does next!

i adored this book. loved LOVED ‘jasmine zumideh needs a win’ and susan azim boyer did it again! it’s a very touching story about family and taking your place in the world, and it’s simply JUST <33 4.5 stars!

Thank you @wednesdaybooks for this complimentary copy!

I loved this author's previous book, and this one was great! This beautifully written story was all about figuring out who you are, what your place is in the world, and learning how to deal with differences in family dynamics with tough topics such as adoption, addiction and PTSD. I loved the main characters, Henry and Samira, and I thought they had amazing character development throughout the story! I was really rooting for them the entire time. I love young adult novels, but I do not normally read stories about sibling relationships, so I found this one incredibly interesting and unique!

Read the authors note at the end 🤗

𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮:
• young adult books
• finding yourself
• multiple POVs
• mental health focus

"They were a family. And now that they had found each other, they were never letting go."

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

What a surprising gem of a story. I connect on a personal level with none of the key topics in the book, yet I finished reading it with the sense that I not only related to the topics but that I also felt them deeply. From addiction to PTSD to adoption, this book ran the gamut of emotional storylines, and it tackled each one with a gentle hand. I found my eyes rimmed in tears more than once.

In support of the SMP boycott, I will be withholding my review of this title until SMP speaks out. If the boycott is resolved, I will update with a full review.