So the blurb is kind of misleading. When I saw that Noah disappeared, I thought the guy was kidnapped or something. But no, he just left for like, a day to run off and do something. I honestly couldn't tell you what he was doing because it was just
So.
Damn.
Boring.

There's all this stuff about a Catholic cross or something- I don't know. All I know is I was bored to tears and skimmed a lot. I thought this book was going to be completely different, and I thought the paranormal aspect was going to be interesting or captivating or something besides completely boring and bland. It was all so underwhelming.

Also, the blurb talks about Riley being stuck between her feelings for Noah and Jay-- now that's a straight up lie. Throughout the whole book, she drools over Jay and thinks she's in love with him. Then when she finds out Jay doesn't like her back, she walks outside, sees Noah, and they make out. Oh, and some spirits go to heaven.

What the hell.

First of all, the Noah+Riley romance literally came out of nowhere. There were hints that Noah liked Riley, but nothing about the feelings being returned. Then some spirits make them kiss and then boom-- happily ever after. Um, why would spirits want to make them kiss? Did I miss something?

I won't even go into the severe lack of depth these characters possess. Nor will I go into the detatched feeling this book has. The four of them are supposed to be best friends? Didn't buy it. Hell, Kate's only purpose in the book was to google things and cry about everything being too overwhelming. Funny, I feel like crying because everything was so underwhelming.

Ugh. This book was a waste of time.

To be honest, I did not know whether or not I wanted to read this at first. However, there was just something about the synopsis that called to me, and the high Goodreads rating definitely factored in as well. When I started reading this book, I was taken by surprise because I didn't know that religion (St. Ignatius of Loyola) would be involved, and I don't read books that involve religion as a general rule. But as I said, there's just something about this book that's compelling, and I couldn't help but read on.

I can't believe I'll ever say this about a book that has religion for a pretty big part but I really loved how everything was connected to each other. The way the author merged the aspects of religion, grief, acceptance and romance is seamless, and the way that they were connected makes this book really, really amazing. This book is such a creative brilliance written by an author that I would surely be looking out for!

This book is about a group of four teens who have one thing in common - they each have lost a loved one. When Riley saw her dead mother in a supermarket, she begins to think that she is crazy. But then Kate and Jay also saw their loved ones, and so began their quest to uncover the mystery of Saint Ignatius of Loyola's Lost Cross.

Although I couldn't connect with the characters fully, I really did enjoy reading this book in the weirdest sense. It's not the kind of happy enjoyment, but the kind of enjoyment that says I'm glad I read this book. In a way, this book is heavy because it deals with grief. It also deals with good and bad spirits, which gave me literal chills multiple times while reading it, by the way.

I think that this book is really special. There's so many amazing things here about moving on and finally accepting certain things, but also getting that you can both move on and still be sad from time to time as well. I love how Riley dealt with her grief, how it was a long and vigorous process but she did the best she can to do it anyway.

Overall, this book is a really special book, in my opinion. It's impactful, full of lessons and 100% unique. I don't think that this will be everyone's cup of tea, but if this sounds interesting to you, I urge you to give it a shot.

I loved this book, but it felt like it was missing something. Like it ended when it shouldn't have. I feel like there was more that could've been explored and explained to make the story better. It just kind of stopped when it was really just getting deeper into things.

I don't know how I fell. This was a gorgeous story. I'm really glad I found it.

My only problem is that it has a magical element too it that I wasn't expecting and that's something I don't like just thrown on me. Also where was the parental guidance? We only really get a few parts where the teens get in trouble. I mean they classy slipped school for a few days in a row.

Interesting concept. The characters were okay but I did not feel a connection to any of them.
Just not my type of story.

I finished this a while ago, but I only realized now that I didn’t write a review for it.

I LOVED this book. I loved the world building, the magic, the history. I’ve FaceTimed with the author and I fell in love with her writing even more. She’s a wonderful person and you can truly see that in her work.

💕

Another book that has a great premise, but it does not live up to its potential. I think the author was very ambitious, but the execution left something to be desired. Too many convenient character quirks to fit the plot- and the pacing seemed rushed and choppy to me. Again- I liked the idea, just wish it had been a little more thoughtful and more sophisticated.

Emily France's debut YA novel is about the teenage experience of grief that is part mystery, part ghost story. Sixteen year old Riley's guilt over her mother's death is eating at her, even a year after the tragedy. Her guilt feels real and relatable. The mystery picks up when Riley and her friends from the grief support group all begin having visions of their lost loved ones. One of the friends goes missing and the others go on a mission to find him that involves an old Jesuit religious relic.

I can't say much else about the plot without giving away too much, but France's storytelling capabilities are impressive. She relates a story about teenagers dealing with personal tragedies with humor and grace, and while I found the religious history fascinating, I liked that it wasn't "preachy." SIGNS OF YOU is smart, touching and unique. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

Visit Stay Bookish for more book reviews!

As an avid reader, it's always refreshing when you come upon a book that completely takes you by surprise. Going into Signs of You, I never really knew what to expect, especially since it was a debut novel. It baffles me now why this book isn't more acclaimed and hyped because oh my goodness, it's brilliant.

From the very first chapter, the voice establishes itself right away. It's strong and emotional, which made me interested and invested in Riley's narrative then and there. Riley feels like she's going crazy when she sees her dead mother at the grocery store. Her distress about this was unmistakable and definitely left me longing to know what unfolds from this inciting event. Moreover, Riley's grief and guilt from losing her mother because of a tragic accident after a huge fight, really resonated. Emily France portrays grief in such a genuine way and I love how she ties it all together later on as the plot thickens.

“That old, familiar ache fills my body. I know it's grief. I've lived with it for over two years, and I know it so well. It's like a roommate who never leaves the house, like the brother I never had... And sometimes, you almost forget he’s there. Almost.”

Perturbed and feeling haunted, Riley turns to her closest friends, Jay, Kate and Noah, who understood tragedy just as much as she did, having each lost a loved one. To her disbelief, she finds out they've been seeing their own dead family members as well. Connected by their heartache and adversities, the group ventures to find out the reason for their strange visions.

One of my favorite things in the book was Riley's relationship with her friends. I think it's so rare and beautiful to find people who truly understand you and what you've been through and who are as close as family. Each character was different in their own way, but I really admired how tight-knit their friendship was, that they would travel lengths to find Noah when he suddenly vanishes later on.

“My deepest, darkest fear is that maybe we don't ever get over some things. maybe we just carry them around, permanently, these heavy, dull aches in the heart. And maybe they don't heal; maybe we just learn to work around the pain.”

I loved how being there for your friends is given such a huge importance in the book, as well as the fact that people connect not because of shared grief but because they share what grief has let them see. Aside from the friendships, I also loved the father-daughter dynamics in this book. Riley's relationship with her dad was complex but also very real, especially after mourning Riley's mom for two years.

“If I’d never been hurt, if I’d never been through anything, I might have only seen the bright stars like Sarah and those other super popular girls. And they’d blot out the really beautiful people. The people who sometimes get overshadowed—the intricate flares and filaments.” He looks at me, directly at me, with those eyes. “I wouldn’t wish what has happened to us on anyone. But if it hadn’t happened, I would never have seen you—a beautiful, complicated loop of light.”

Another thing that I think Signs of You portrays really well was unrequited teenage love. Riley, who's been crushing on Jay for the longest time, was a true image of a girl pining over her clueless guy best friend, one thing I'm sure a lot of readers will find relatable. Unrequited love aside, I loved the light romance in the book so much. I pretty much shipped Noah and Riley since the first quarter of the book!  The brief but sweet happily-ever-after was so so gratifying that it made my heart soar.

“And I kiss him. Like really kiss him. I’ve never kissed a boy before, not like this. And I feel it. From the top of my head, past my glued-together heart, all the way down to my unpainted toenails. I’m two places at once—forever in this moment, on this porch, grounded by this kiss, this warmth, this now-ness, and simultaneously soaring in the storming sky. Swooping like dizzy birds, unafraid of rushing dark clouds. And then I soar twenty feet higher, let the ground get smaller and smaller—because he’s kissing back.”

The huge mystery of the book revolves around the reason why Riley and her friends are seeing spirits and I was perplexed in the best way but also incredibly satisfied with how it was explained. Seriously, the whole mystery plot was remarkable. I love how so much of it was trying to decrypt an enigmatic ancient relic related to St. Ignatius. The author did such a great job looking into this aspect and I admit that I was totally captivated by the mystical elements in the book that I even did my own research right after reading. It was just so fascinating and I think the mystery and mystique are what makes this book so memorable and one of a kind.

“Portae ad caelum: doorways to heaven. We’re all doorways. To the other side. That’s what the dead are trying to do. To cross through us.”

But what makes Signs of You so special for me is how I was absolutely moved by the amazing introspection on the way spirits influence us and how we can let ourselves be their portals by truly living. I've never been a spiritual person but I loved how this brought out this side of me. I was touched by how lovely and inspiring the spirituality in the story was written that I was actually in tears after reading one of the best scenes in the book. I'm so impressed by Emily France's poignant prose and I wish more YA books grappled with spirituality so teenagers can get in touch with their own beliefs.

“Missing my life is no way to remember you,” I whisper. “Living is.”

To sum up, Signs of You is a transcendent story dealing with grief, mystery and spirituality. With vivid characters, emotional scenes, powerful writing and an engrossing mystery, it reminds us how we can remember the people we've lost. This is one heck of an unforgettable debut and I can't wait to read whatever Emily France rights next!