I comp this book to Perks of Being a Wallflower in that it deals with the aching reality of first love and all the emotions that come with it. It's also peppered with nods to other beloved works of music, fiction, movies, etc. Such an enjoyable read, and only sorry it took me so long to work my way down to it in my TBR.

I love stories that are well balanced between funny and serious. Sometimes a book can be so serious and heavy, that it needs that lightness and this book had just the right amount! These characters were so unique and different and I just loved them. The secondary characters were some of my faves out of the whole story. I always say they can make or break the story for me. I didn't like how Grace would use her backstory to hurt others. It was like an excuse and I'm not for that at all. Overall, it was a decent read.

This wasn't my cup of tea but I handed it to a few patrons that I knew would enjoy it and their feedback was overall positive. I appreciated that the book was written with a male POV, sometimes patrons are specifically looking for that and it's more difficult to find in YA novels. I would hand this to patrons who are looking for a thought provoking read.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me this book to read. I am sorry it took so long. Henry Page has never been in love until he meets Grace Town. As an adult, you will recognize that this book is about a romance that will end badly, but as a teen, I think you would ride along for a little bit. I enjoyed how fleshed out all the characters were (though Murray dropped a little at the end.) Each character is wonderfully flawed. I enjoyed it.

A perfect blend of quirky and sad. Grace is broken and Henry makes it his job to fix her. Can he accomplish this task without breaking himself?

I enjoyed meeting Henry, not quite as much meeting Grace. His attempts to get to know her and befriend her felt real, as did his neatly slotting her in to that Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope (despite her not fitting it). After all, we always try to fit people into neat stereotypes, right? Grace's "issues", on the other hand, felt a bit forced. Maybe it was one quirk too many? or that the whole seemed less than its parts? Still, a reasonable teen romance that it's too painful for adults to read.