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Blurb
Seventeen-year-old Scout Ramsey’s life is a mess. With a dead father and a junkie mom, she can’t imagine things can get worse.
Then her mother tries to sell her for a bag of meth.
After her mom’s arrest, Scout’s forced to switch schools in the middle of senior year. Scared and alone, she pours her heart into her journal and dreams of the day she turns eighteen.
For Wyatt Campbell, senior year is predictable purgatory. Then the new girl steals his seat in history class, and suddenly, school’s not so bad. They bond through their love of music, and Wyatt finds himself falling hard for the journal-loving girl with the sad blue eyes.
Wyatt’s heard the rumors. He knows Scout’s had it rough.
He’s determined to be the one thing in her life that’s easy.
In this captivating teen novel, Sydney Logan weaves a touching story that tackles the heartbreak of addiction, the power of forgiveness, and the wonders of first love.
Review
4.5 heartbreaking, hopeful stars
“You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.”
–Maya Angelou
I loved this book! An emotional YA romance that is dramatic, heartfelt and intense, and beautifully written. I was instantly sucked in and couldn’t put it down, and I loved this gorgeous story.
Scout Ramsay is a 17 year old girl living a heartbreaking life. After the death of her father, her mother lost herself to drugs, and Scout has been subjected to hellish, neglectful and terrifying circumstances ever since. After her mother is busted, Scout is sent to live with the only family she has nearby – an uncle she doesn’t know who lives in the small town of Cedar Springs. Halfway through her senior year, her only goal is to get through the next six months so she can graduate, and by then she’ll be 18 and will finally be responsible for her own life.
Wyatt Cooper grew up in Cedar Springs and is from an idealistic family. Though the countdown to graduation is on, he has no idea what he wants to do with his life and in the meantime he is wishing his high school days away in the boredom that is his senior year. And then along comes the intriguing new girl.
High school is buzzing with nasty rumours about Scout’s life, but despite that she is immediately befriended by Wyatt’s twin sister, Zoie, and Wyatt himself is quickly captivated by her. The two of them develop a friendship, and as they begin to open up to each other, their relationship easily and naturally becomes so much more.
“I’m a freak.”
“No, you’re not. You’ve been dealt a shit hand in life so far, but you’re not a freak.” … “You’re awesome. And it kills me that you don’t know that.”
Tears trickle down my cheeks. His words are sweet, but I can’t believe them. Because I know they’re not true.
“I have a junkie mother and an uncle who can’t stand me.”
Wyatt gently places his finger on my chin and lifts my face to his.
“Screw them. You have me.”
The romance is absolutely beautiful. Logan does a fantastic job capturing the magic and wonder of first love, and I loved the emotion and intensity that she put into Scout and Wyatt’s love story. It’s sweet and all-consuming, and I loved the way they were so open about everything and blindly followed their hearts as they embraced all that was happening between them.
“I just want you to do everything you want. I want you to have everything you’ve ever wanted. Because you’re everything I want. You will always be everything I want.”
Oh Wyatt… my latest cougar obsession. This is the type of boy that you want as your first boyfriend – or that you want your teenage daughter to have. So sweet, loving and supportive. he’s just a gem!
But as Scout and Wyatt fall for each other, they are both dealing with so much in their lives. This book deals with some very serious subject matter – drug use, addiction, physical abuse and the many dynamics of family – and it’s all handled sensitively, realistically and with a lot of heart (and as a bonus, it’s safe for young readers). I could feel what the characters go through and I marvelled at their strength they showed.
It’s a wonderfully dramatic (but mercifully angst-free) story that is effortlessly woven into the romance to create a story with depth and heart, and it’s an amazing journey for two characters that I could not help but absolutely love.
And shout out, too, to the secondary characters. The support that Scout and Wyatt receive from the people in their lives is fantastic, each of them bringing so much to the story, and the relationships that developed were a real highlight of the book.
This is my first book by Sydney Logan, and I loved it. Her writing flows beautifully and she knows how to brings the feels without going over the top, to create a realistic story that absolutely stole my heart.
I loved it! 4.5 stars.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
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Author Bio
Sydney Logan writes heartfelt stories that feature strong women and the men who love them. In addition to her novels, she has penned several short stories and is a contributor to Chicken Soup for the Soul. She is a Netflix junkie, music lover, and a Vol for Life. Sydney and her husband make their home in beautiful East Tennessee.
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