I’m always down for a cute, summery, ya contemporary romance when it’s sapphic. In this story, we have Saoirse, a girl who has become jaded towards love. Not only has the love of her life broken up with her, her (former) best friend lied to her, and her father is with another woman. Things are complicated in her life, she doesn’t trust anyone really and all she’s down for is making out with girls that just want to know what it’s like. That is until the end of year party where Saoirse meets Ruby.
Ruby is staying with her cousin for the summer. She’s originally from England so she stands out to Saoirse even more than normal. That, and she was the only person at a party not drinking. Their first night together involves climbing a tree, jumping a fence, and rescuing a cat from it’s own yard. But then they kiss and their night becomes more about them than a cat.
On impulse, the girls decide to do a cheesy, rom-com falling-in-love montage. The list includes all the scenes and tropes from legendary romance movies including going to a fair, talking on the phone, slow dancing, and kissing in the rain. Their agreement is based on two fundamental rules: 1. This is just for fun and 2. They will end it at the end of the summer. This is perfect for Saoirse since she doesn’t believe in love anymore anyway…. right?
I really enjoyed this book. I have quite a few reservations about Saoirse’s father, but they are addressed in the book and I appreciate that at least. I loved Saoirse and Ruby’s relationship, it was messy and complex just as much as it was cute and sincere. Saoirse is really going through it, she self-sabotages a lot, but you can understand where it’s coming from even if it does make you want to shake her. It’s always important for me when reading young adult that I remember that someone who is 17, is not the same as me, someone who is 30. How I would handle a situation now is nothing like how I would have handled a situation when I was 17. We need to allow ya characters to be flawed and messy because they’re teenagers and that’s how they are when they haven’t experienced anything different. If this was a story about two people in their twenties, I would not be as forgiving.
Saoirse grows a lot as a character throughout this book. Her relationship with her father, mother, father’s girlfriend, her friends, her ex, her friend/nemesis, Ruby, herself, they all change and morph and reflect the way Saoirse is changing as she grows and experiences new things. I love that she and the side characters are allowed to be something other than what they were at the beginning, and other than what Saoirse assigns to them. Very often the side characters can be, well, brushed to the side, and they don’t get to be like actual people. I think Ciara Smyth is doing something really right in her writing and I can’t wait for her new release this year.
Just Read It 