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*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review*

Virginia hears the gossip about her, the rumours that follow her everywhere she goes about how promiscuous and easy she is. When her best friend Poppy unexpectedly goes away for the summer, she begins to hang out with Poppy's boyfriend, Rumi. Breaking her norm, she does not sleep with him, in respect to Poppy. But as they spend more time together, she begins to realize that she may be falling in love with him. As she grows closer to Rumi, she also grows closer to his younger sister, Lyra, who tells her about a "special friend". As Lyra confides in her more, she begins to feel uncomfortable as the details of this friend are far too familiar to what happened to her.

This book was intense, and so heartbreaking. It covers some difficult topics, such as sexual abuse, grooming, addiction and suicidal ideation. The trauma that Virginia went through as a child, and had to relive in order to help Lyra was hard to read. I know Virginia is meant to be unlikable, but I couldn't help but want to comfort and hug her. She felt like such a real person, and it hurt to watch her turn to alcohol and sex as a coping mechanism because of that trauma. I like how this showed how sexual assault and abuse affects not only the person who it happened to, but also those around them as well and how these effects can last a lifetime. I also loved how it ended on a more hopeful note, when Virginia chooses to speak up.

This does not feel like a debut in the slightest, and I can't wait to read more of this author's work as soon as it comes out.