Thank you Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Robbie Couch how dare you??!!! This book had me in tears!! River lost his best friend Dylan a year ago. Unfortunately he’s become a statistic, in their small town, for not texting and driving. River doesn’t want to remember him this way, Dylan was so much more than that. As a result he doesn’t really act the way people expect him to while grieving. When his school works will company called Affinity to do an experiment for people who struggle with social connections they highly encourage River to apply. He’ll never do it, that is until a classmate blackmails him into it. No one else knows what he’s done and if it gets out he will probably lose his college scholarship. He’s forced to spend a week in his empty school with classmates he never got to know. All except Mavis, Dylan’s ex-girlfriend and Rivers ex-best friend. They haven’t spoken since Dylan died, not after what River did. As they embark on the experience River, as much as he’d like not to, starts to make friends. Include Nash, his mentor’s hot athletic brother, who reminds him vaguely of someone. But is Affinity who they claim to be? Will River be able to handle the things he discovers about himself? And is Nash too good to be true? Can he reconnect with Mavis or will this whole thing just make everything worse? I absolutely loved this heartwarming and heart wrenching story! Told through Rivers perspective, with Dylan’s perspective on his last day mixed in! I loved reading from Dylan’s pov, he’s so sweet and caring! I also loved wonderful River, who’s trying to navigate loss while also holding on to all the good things about his best friend! I also love that the side stories of the other characters are brought in and my heart broke for all of them! I found the relationship between River and Dylan to be heartbreakingly beautiful and it gave me all the warm and fuzzies! Robbie is a must read for me and I can’t recommend this book enough, but be prepared to cry!!

This is, by far, Couch's most-mature and emotionally insightful book to date. It's a real pleasure to see his work grow and build. He's a real star on the rise. The story is incredibly touching and interestingly doesnt shy away from hard subjects. It's a pleasure to see a book in this genre treat its audience with respect. Can't wait to see where Couch's evolution takes him next.

a brief note before I begin. having read the first three novels from Robbie Couch, I jumped at the chance to read this one early. while I saw that this arc wasn't going to be available for the kindle only through the netgalley app, I figured I'd suck it up and figure out a way -- maybe just read it on my computer. Turns out that didn't work. so how much did I want to read this book? I read it on my iPhone. yes, I consumed this on the tiniest of screens because I had that much faith that Couch's writing was only getting better and that reading this one early would be worth it. and, not to toot my own horn, but I was right.

ok so yeah, another standout piece of speculative YA sci-fi from Robbie Couch. So much to like here, but especially how he develops his main character's inner turmoil. there's also a poetic tone to his work that has definitely been improving with each novel, and this new one has more than a couple lines that really sing.

and If you didn't get it from the opening note: I received a free arc of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I did not expect this book to have me crying so hard at the end, but here we are. This book follows River, who lost his best friend Dylan in a car accident at the start of summer. It’s a dual POV book, but told in Dylan’s POV from the past and River’s from the present. He signs up to participate in a study at school for kids who have trouble socially. There are spoilers below so tread carefully!

Things I loved about this book:
The dual POV was truly *chef’s kiss* perfection.
River was so so believable as a teen whose best friend died. I felt like I was on the journey with him as he came to terms with his grief and terrible loss. Not only that but *spoiler* when he still wants to see Dylan again even when he knows it’s not real?? I sobbed. SOBBED.
Dylan. He was just such a relatable character and I’m so sad he died. Him discovering his feelings. That perfect, perfect kiss. Him calling River. His final scene (real or not) and that letter!? I’m a mess.
I liked Nora.. at first…
The kids becoming friends during the experiment even as their perfect friends were created in their minds was so lovely.
Mavis coming to terms with her grief. I cried again.
When River realizes he was in love with Dylan and would do anything to see him again one more time.
When everyone tries to save River.
Waking up in the hospital to friends.
That final letter and that Mavis and River take the road trip!?

Seriously, loved this book so much. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Told in dual perspectives, It’s been a year since River’s lost his best friend, Dylan, in a car crash and he’s still grieving. Dylan’s girlfriend, Mavis, isn’t talking to him. The school is offering the Affinity Trials for those who are struggling socially, and they want 20 students to sign up. River and others sign up including Mavis. Everyone has to wear a disk on their temple and there are security guards. River wonders why? One night River thinks he sees Dylan. How is that possible? As someone has vivid dreams and someone else is inspired to draw, people are wondering are the disks messing with our brains? When River finds out he might have imagined something, he knows something is up. What is happening?

Books that deal with grief are often ones I shy away from for personal reasons, but the description on this book drew me in. The writing was really well done and immediately had me hooked to where I finished the book in two days. The story follows River a year after the death of his best friend, Dylan, in a car accident. He gets blackmailed into joining a social experiment hosted at his high school, which leads to a confrontation with his grief and loss of not just Dylan, but his other best friend Mavis as well.

The handling of the experiments was really interesting, I honestly wish we had gotten more from those moment! The reason the different participants had for participating was a mystery at first and I loved how the story showed you more about these characters and how grief can not only look different, but also the different types of losses one might experience. The conclusion feels earned after the emotional processes of the story.

I have so many thoughts that veer into spoiler territory, so I will just leave it at this: I could not put down this book and felt so many emotions at the revelations throughout the experiment.

I loved this book so much! I have read all of Robbie Crouch's books - each has been uniquely great. I think this book hits a deeper, sadder place than the others, but it is really sensitively addressed. I love that the author adds an element of something not quite a part of our current reality - it exponentially adds to the allure of the story - no spoilers though! I really loved all of the characters in this story, and especially the ensemble teen cast and how they related to one another and actively supported each other. It strikes me that adults don't come out looking very good in this story and that is an important insight as well. And for the record, the dual viewpoint chapters worked really well, and I feel that the author gave us, the readers, closure with that - again, no spoilers. I would highly recommend this to all readers, not just readers of teen fiction. It is a powerful story and left me with tears in my eyes - always a good thing.

Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!