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Review: Our Year of Maybe

OUR YEAR OF MAYBE
Rachel Lynn Solomon
384 pages
Simon Pulse, January 15, 2019
★★★★★

I don't have the words to fully express my love for this book. My expectations were kind of ridiculously high; Rachel Lynn Solomon's first book, YOU'LL MISS ME WHEN I'M GONE, was one of my most anticipated books of 2018 and one of my favorite books of 2017 (thank you, NetGalley!). It felt like I'd have to wait so long for OUR YEAR OF MAYBE, but Edelweiss made all of my hopes and dreams come true by granting my request last summer. And this book absolutely lived up to my expectations - and shattered a few to boot!

Let's start with what I think Rachel Lynn Solomon's greatest strength as an author is: the characters. Sophie and Peter were both exceptionally written, and I was invested in both of their stories by the end of the prologue. Their relationship is so complicated, and is navigated with such nuance, but they both have parts of their story that exist independently of this main focus. I loved reading about Sophie's family, and Peter's friends, and I thought all of these separate elements were incredibly balanced.

 I am so hesitant to say anything about this book, because I really think it's best if you don't go in with many expectations about what you might get out of reading it. This is not the book I thought it might be, and I couldn't be happier with what it really was. If you like complex characters with complicated relationships, read this book. If you like writing so beautiful that a single phrase can give you so many emotions, read this book. Hell, if there is anything about this book that makes you even vaguely interested in it, take that chance. It will be worth it.

 I'm going to be even more vague at this point because I don't want to spoil anything, but this book has one of the most meaningful and memorable last lines of anything I've ever read. I still get emotional just thinking about it. And if you also have feelings about that line and these characters, I highly recommend this song. Personally, I'm going to listen to it on repeat while counting down the days until TODAY TONIGHT TOMORROW.
What are some of your favorite books about complicated friendships? Tell me in the comments!
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  1. Samantha@WLABBJanuary 15, 2019 at 4:38 PM

    This book was all the tears and emotional confusion. I was happy and sad all at the same time.

    ReplyDelete

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