Okay so this book isn't the type I usually go for these days. However I had heard good things and found myself drawn to it. I read through it quickly and without a whole lot of dissection. I ended up crying for many many pages and it was some ugly crying too!

Now that I've had time to recover and really think about the story I obviously see what so many people loved it. I can also see why a few people had issues as well. One reviewer said they could tell this was a story from a first time writer and I can agree with that, but that doesn't make it a bad book. Everyone starts somewhere and no one is perfect right out of the gate, if I could give half ratings I'd probably go with 3.5. One thing that I didn't like was the weird name dropping. He used Dolly Parton which was great, as were the quotes used to push the story. However when it came to the fashion stuff it was kind of made up names very similar to real fashion icons. It just rang false for me and every time It was a little jolt as I would read it. This is nitpicking and the author may not even have realized he was doing it, but as someone very familiar with the blogging world it felt a bit half heartedly researched. Lydia's blogging was a significant point in the story and I'm well versed in that world so it kind of was one of those "wait what?" moments in the book. I kept thinking I was going crazy lol.

Many people were put off by the "stereotypes" depicted about southerners. Well I was born and raised in the south and I'm sorry... these are real people! Is it how everyone in the south is, of course not! You can't scream "I'm southern and offended, because not everyone is like that." That's akin to burying your head in the sand, because I know people like each one of these characters. Just because you don't see it or live near it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I thought the writer did a good job touching on what drove the characters to act the way they did. Obviously you can't develop every single sub character extensively or the book would be a million pages. The writer made the assumption the reader would use intelligent inference, and I could appreciate that. The small town mentality, alcoholism, the religious aspects, etc. that is all real world things. I felt the authors depictions were dead on, even down to Lydia's cluelessness. Were all the kids in the high school assholes, probably not? However this is a point of view story and that's how it would have been perceived by these three characters in their bubble at 17.

The characters: Sigh Dill was a character who took too long to develop, and normally I would be annoyed. Except now I'm older and wiser and have seen just how hard it is for those small town boys to reach beyond their family circumstances and to get out of their own heads long enough to allow themselves to grow and succeed. (Holy run on sentence Batman.) Lydia is a young girl who was raised with few obstacles. That is how she reacts to things, but I love that her father had conversations with her to gently wake her up to reality. She had growth, maybe not enough for many readers... however I remember being 17 and just how clueless I was. It takes a long time to grow into being an adult. I'm still working on it at 35 ;) Now Travis... that's the one that hits you in the gut. He deserved so much more than he got. He was the source of my tears. He was the character I loved... He has a quiet strength and it's because of him that Lydia and Dill could succeed, grow, and move forward. He was the catalyst!! I fell in love with him right away and that won't go away easily.

This day in age in a sea of YA Dystopian action, this book is a slow burn. It's a human interest piece with little action. Some find that hard to read, I found it to be an interesting change of pace. There's lots of everyday life going on that many found boring. I, however, don't mind it and got lost in it. I don't think this book will ever land in being a favorite and I'm not sure i'd read it again, but it moved me and I found it to be a good starting point for this new author!

Sorry for rambling... but it's my two cents without spoilers.. take it or leave it as you will :)