This is such an important book. About growing up, about having and making friends, about school- and family-life, but most importantly this is about the sexual harassment students can experience at the hands of their peers, and why adults must take children seriously when they come forward and speak out about said harassment. 

Hazel Hill doesn’t have friends; she has school. The only person she talks to at school is Tyler Harris, and they don’t even talk; Tyler talks at Hazel about his crush of the day and all the ways the girls he’s into are awful and whatnot. Until suddenly he tells her than Ella Quinn has a crush on Hazel. 

It very quickly evolves into a really well-crafted story of developing friendships and taking down harassers (and the adults who won’t listen to children who experience harassment) and it’s exactly the kind of angry, feminist and queer book we, unfortunately, need today. I’d love to see this read in every classroom, translated into every language imaginable, and discussed at length. 

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.