This book started out slow and stayed slow for a several pages so much so that I thought it was going to be a 3 star book but it warmed up quite nicely at some point which lifted it up to 4 stars.
I will say that Heidi Cullinan is the first writer for whom I would say writing in first person works so much better than in third person.
When I read [bc:Carry the Ocean|23110300|Carry the Ocean (The Roosevelt, #1)|Heidi Cullinan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1409106553s/23110300.jpg|42657999], I thought that she could really personify any character with her words and make you feel like these were her experiences but this book fell short of those feelings. I especially couldn't feel Walter's emotions that well but I did love Kelly and was able to connect with him a little more.
I was disappointed that the author chose to portray Walter's supposed badness by saying that

Spoiler

having sex at 14 years old with a 30 year old man made Walter bad and to go so far as to express that there was consent and that the 30 year old just took a risk as if that is not rape. Just because Walter was a gay boy doesn't make him to blame and bad for doing this and it wouldn't have worked with a 14 year old girl.

Spoiler

I do love Heidi Cullinan's writing and will definitely read more.