Review by Maia Dueck
Tundra Books, 2023
337 pages, Paperback, $10.99 CAD, 9781774882139
Young Adult, ages 14-17
Fiction, Contemporary Realism
You can also read our interview with Jackie Khalilieh here.
Within the last week I’ve acquired two eyebrows, camouflaged my mustache, and upgraded to real bras. Everyone says looks don’t matter, but it’s not true. People treat you differently when you’re attractive. It’s just the way it is.
Maybe if people can get past the things that make me different on the outside, then they might try to get to know the real me. And maybe I’ll let them. Which brings me to my next goal.
Goal #2: Make friends!!!
When Jessie Kassis, a fifteen-year-old Palestinian-Canadian with an affinity for old movies and songs starts high school, she’s determined for things to go well. That means focusing on her list of goals to accomplish: number three, to not cry at school, and number four, to not tell anyone about her autism diagnosis. It’s foolproof… right? But navigating a new girls friend group, cute guy number one—Levi, who Jessie hopes will see her as more than just a way to pass Science class—and cute guy number two, Griffin who is just a friend—as well as navigating her protective family, comes with a whole new set of expectations and challenges. Will she manage to accomplish her goals by the end of the school year? And will opening herself up to new opportunities encourage her to step out of the shadows and into being herself?
This YA novel handled the complexity of teenage relationships and emotions with a refreshing honesty. Characters were allowed to mess up. They had conversations about the mundane and the difficult with varying levels of teenage maturity. They learned when to step back, and also learned when to give each other chances (although in the case of Levi, I personally think he could have used less second or third or fourth chances… no spoilers, but #TeamGriffin). No matter what one’s high school experience was like, there is space to relate to and empathize with the ups and downs of Jessie’s journey.
Jessie is the heart of the story and it was easy to follow along with her and to understand and sympathize with her choices as she discovered how to deal with crushes, friend troubles, and the general chaos of the first year of high school. The author wove complex relationships effortlessly into the story, whether it was with family or friends, and there was a depth to their conversations that read like real life high school experiences. The characters were truly what stuck out to me in how they cared for each other and grew over the course of the book, coming into their own as Jessie did.
Because it is a coming-of-age story that took place over the course of a school year, at times I was taken out of the story by the pace or flow when time periods were skimmed over in order to reach an event further in the future. In this sense, some of the chapters or sections felt as if they ended suddenly, or took some time to catch up to the main storyline. However, we soon got back on track, and this structure overall lent itself to snapshot-style writing that captured moments of the school year.
This is a genuine and heartwarming story of embracing being oneself that features a wide cast of characters and a neurodivergent protagonist. This book would be ideal for fans of the romance and coming-of-age genres.
Maia Dueck is an avid reader and writer currently enrolled in the Creative Writing program at UBC. Her favorite trope is probably enemies-to-lovers.
YOUNG ADULTING 