#AmReading YA

All the Things We Never Knew
Liara Tamani
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

“Tamani masterfully bounces and slams two hearts up and down a shrouded court of first love and revelations. A hard-to-put-down backboard-breaker.”—Rita Williams-Garcia, National Book Award Finalist and New York Times–bestselling author

From the moment Carli and Rex first locked eyes on a Texas high school basketball court, they both knew it was destiny. But can you truly love someone else if you don’t love yourself? Acclaimed author Liara Tamani’s luminous second novel explores love, family, heartbreak, betrayal, and the power of healing, in gorgeous prose that will appeal to readers of Nicola Yoon and Jacqueline Woodson.

A glance was all it took. That kind of connection, the immediate and raw understanding of another person, just doesn’t come along very often. And as rising stars on their Texas high schools’ respective basketball teams, destined for bright futures in college and beyond, it seems like a match made in heaven. But Carli and Rex have secrets. As do their families.

Liara Tamani, the author of the acclaimed Calling My Name, follows two Black teenagers as they discover how first love, heartbreak, betrayal, and family can shape you—for better or for worse. A novel full of pain, joy, healing, and hope for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Jacqueline Woodson, and Jenny Han.

Carli was always looking for signs. So, when Rex blew that kiss in her direction, she knew there was something special there to explore.

This was my first Liara Tamani book, but after finishing it, I immediately pushed her debut, Calling My Name, up my TBR. She captured me with her beautiful prose, wrapping me up in the rapture of first love using vibrate and lush imagery. But, it wasn't just the gooey love stuff that got me. I was hit with every emotion these characters were feeling, and I felt them with full force.

Obviously, this book was about first love. It was sweet, and heady, and intense, the way teen romances tend to be. I loved watching Rex and Carli navigate these new feelings, and forming such a strong connection with each other. I can already hear the cries of "instalove", but I don't care! I remember being a teen, and all those firsts were so extreme and powerful. I also was sold on this union, because of Rex. When Carli looked at him and spoke to him, he finally felt "seen", and I accept that as a driving force to seek deeper connection with someone.

Rex was quite a complicated character. He carried around a lifetime of hurt, grief, and guilt related to his mother's death. He craved to be loved, and to be loved for who he was, not his skills on the court. I could feel his joy, when he was embraced by Carli and her family, and it was both touching and heartbreaking. He was a rather sensitive young man too, who wasn't afraid to bear his soul, and I never get tired of seeing boys like that. I felt so rewarded, when Rex started to build a positive relationship with his dad, but as things started looking up in his world, Carli's was falling apart.

She had always enjoyed a rather idyllic home life. Her brother was caring and very generous with his love. She had a mother she admired, and a father, who was known to dote on her. Now, her parents were getting divorced, and she had to choose which parent to live with. This decision, plus her resolve to quit basketball was weighing on her. She had many difficult choices to make, this weight sometimes kept her from being as emotionally open with Rex as she wanted to be, and as he wanted her to be. Let's just say, their relationship experienced the same sort of ups and downs, that they were personally experiencing apart.

There were also many secrets, and they played a big role in this book. It seemed like everyone had some, and ready or not, they were all getting uncovered. I think the one I didn't see coming until it was right in front of me, was the secret which prompted Carli's parent's divorce. I may have let a "wow" escape from my mouth, when I realized what had happened there, but I rather liked how it played into the overall story, the way Carli embraced the secret.

Overall, I had a fantastic time reading this roller-coaster romance. This was a wonderful story of first love and family, which was filled with fantastic characters to root for, lots of emotion, and many beautiful and heartfelt moments.

**ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

Life After Juliet
Shannon Lee Alexander
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Entangled
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

Becca Hanson is a reader-a voracious reader. And with all those fictional friends, she never had time for real ones. Plus real ones come with uncontrollable quirks, like constantly filling a room with song, drawing on any available surface, and worst of all, dying. Real friends are more trouble than they're worth. Since her best-and only-real friend Charlotte's death six months before, Becca has returned to a life of books in order to distance herself from heartache and constant loneliness as her junior year at Sandstone High begins.

When a class project forces her into the Drama Club, she attracts the attention of not one, but TWO guys involved in the production, onstage and off. Meanwhile, she's still dealing with the grief of Charlotte's death--the fact that Charlie is away at MIT--and that she finally has to build a life for herself on her own terms. Ultimately she learns more about who she is, what she wants, how she feels--and how to find what she's looking for. (And while she isn't sure what comes next, she's pretty sure there'll be more kissing involved.)

Gosh! I hate myself for putting this book off for so long, because it was exquisite!

I had met Becca, when I read Love and Other Unknown Variables. I can't even express how much I adored that book, but I think I loved this one even more. Though both books feature friendship and first love, this book was about healing, and it was a beautiful journey. Don't get me wrong. I cried a whole bunch, I am crying now, because I "knew" Charlotte, and I felt like I lost her too, but I also wanted to see Becca return to being part of the world.

Becca was painfully shy, and liked to live her life among the pages of her books. It was Charlotte, who became one of her first real friends, and therefore, I loved that it was memories and mementos of Charlotte, which encouraged Becca to resume living. She backslid often, and wow! I cried rivers during those parts, because they were so heartbreaking, but she kept trying to move forward.

Becca was lucky to have such a great support system. Her parents were very sweet and understanding, but I think her brother, Charlie, was one of her greatest sources of strength. You see, Charlotte was Charlie's first love, so he could easily relate to Becca's loss. There were some stupendous moments shared between these two. They were pained and heart wrenching, but very lovely and heartwarming too.

She was also lucky to fall in with a wonderful bunch of kids, the "techies', at school. They were her tribe, and embraced her as one of their own. It was easy to see how alive Becca was with them, and it brought me great joy to her integrated into their group.

But, my favorite connection she made, was with Max. Dear, sweet, Max. He was one of the first people, who attempted to connect with Becca, when she returned to school following Charlotte's death. While others tried to avoid the girl-with-the-dead-best-friend, he offered friendship. He didn't come empty handed either, he sort of understood her pain. It hadn't been very long since Max had lost his own cousin, and he therefore, easily connected with her, and could relate to suffering such a personal causality.  She found great solace in their shared pain, and in Max's company, as well. Their friendship grew, and it blossomed into a rather adorable romance, which I was so there for.

I must further comment on Alexander's exploration of grief and loss. She really captured the emotions associated with a profound loss. The emptiness, the desolation, the desperation -- it all emanated from the page. I could totally feel how Becca struggled with the guilt and agony of having to be in a world without Charlotte. It was beautifully done.

I absolutely adored this book! It had me laughing and crying, filled me with sadness and joy, and I loved every second of it. 

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