A.J. Steiger

This is a story of two people with differences that make them outcasts in the real world but when they find each other suddenly they realize they don't have to be alone.

Normally, I'd be put off by a 19 year old showing interest in a 17 year old but I'm going to go in defense of this one. Alvie and Stanley are in the same stages of life. She's not some high schooler worried about applying to college in her junior year, in fact, she's already got her GED. And Stanley isn't some worldly experienced guy, he might be in college but he's never had a girlfriend. They both want to prove to themselves that they're capable of sharing a human connection with someone else regardless of their circumstances.

The question is: is this really a YA contemporary novel? Because to me, it felt more like that weird New Adult genre where the main characters aren't old enough to make this adult fiction but it's not exactly teen angst with a mix of high school drama.

The book cover was very misleading, at least to me. It looked like one of those tumblr minimalist aesthetics so I thought it was going to be a cheesy romance. I've just got to say, thankfully, that the sex didn't come across as some smutty fanfic so that was a surprise. The budding relationship was so real and nicely paced that I liked where it went.

I really liked how Alvie was not broken because of her autism but rather her childhood trauma. I think that was something really important to highlight especially because of the adults with authority that tried to make that the main source of her problems. And Stanley becoming aware of his body and accepting it was just as satisfying.

I'm a prude so I would never admit to anyone that I read and enjoyed this but if it wasn't I wasn't I would totally recommend this *hint hint nudge nudge*… (mais)