Hola everyone! July has been quite the month for me! D: I've had multiple events and activities to be into, so hopefully that kind of explains why this is the first post of the month! Unfortunately, due to my busy schedule, I'm also behind on my Goodreads challenge by one book. Hoping to make that up, but for now, here's my thoughts on You Know Me Well.
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Synopsis: Who knows you well? Your best friend? Your boyfriend or girlfriend? A stranger you meet on a crazy night? No one, really?
Mark and Kate have sat next to each other for an entire year, but have never spoken. For whatever reason, their paths outside of class have never crossed. That is, until Kate spots Mark miles away from home, out in the city for a wild, unexpected night. Kate is lost, having just run away from a chance to finally meet the girl she has been in love with from afar. Mark, meanwhile, is in love with his best friend Ryan, who may or may not feel the same way.When Kate and Mark meet up, little do they know how important they will become to each other—and how, in a very short time, they will know each other better than any of the people who are supposed to know them more.
There were so many it was really hard to narrow it down.
Favorite quotes: "'...sometimes it's enough just to put something out into the world." pg 94
"You can keep doing what you're supposed to, what you're expected to, and tell yourself it's what you want...but if you don't really believe it, if all that time you're harboring a doubt so deep it creeps into even your best moments, and you break the rules and step away...you are going to have to explain it to yourself." pg 207
"There will be old people who fought hard for what we all have now. There will be babies who will only know a country where everyone can marry. There will be signs reminding us of how far we still have to go. We'll watch everyone go by, and our hearts will swell with the sight of it." pg 247
Cover: I personally prefer the American cover of this book by far! Ours is so cute with the stars and the Golden Gate Bridge! ❤︎
Chapter length/pacing: The chapter length & pacing for this book was great! Not too little, not too much. I also love how it was paced because it was told by days of the week, and every day was full of adventure.
Characters: The characters were lovely in this book. I connected to most of them on great levels and out of all of them I liked Kate and Ryan the best. I found myself fond of Kate due to me sorta in her shoes at this point of my life. With her being ancy about college/life choices, and struggling to find courage, I felt sympathy and related to her worries.
Ryan struck me because he's a passionate character and he evoked feelings out of me. For example, I was mad at him for awhile for breaking Mark's heart, but when he texted Mark and said he needed him and Mark found him crying his eyes out in bed, I felt sympathy and I stopped being bitter. He also reminded me of Damian from Mean Girls OOPS.
Moving on, I wanted so much more out of Violet! I feel like I began to connect with her?? But over all she remained a mystery in my mind. I really wanted to discover her personality and know things other than she's impulsive in a good way, she came from the circus, and she isn't sure what she wants out of life. I loved what I got, but I wanted more.
Lastly, I liked Mark in this book, but I didn't love him. I couldn't picture him and he felt kinda 2D (even though his emotions were very much 3D.) I think he's more of a great comfort character for when you heart is broken, because he validates all the feelings you may have in time of distraught. In reality, if I was going through heart break, I definitely would've liked him more.
So what else did I like about the novel?
The representation.
It was so refreshing to read a book that was jam-packed with characters of more than two genders. The diversity was astounding. I feel like this book is super important for not only LGBT+ allies to read, but those that are apart of the community themselves. As an outsider looking in, it truly seemed to be a gay utopian society (which some can argue is misleading since it doesn't portray much discrimination of LGBT+ people,) but to me, I think it may be a "feel good" book for those that are actually facing that discrimination. I mean, some of us read to temporarily get away from our reality. So for someone who's living in a non-utopian society (aka everyone alive,) it's good to read of what could be some day, and inspire our LGBT+ members to stay strong for the future generations. There's really not much I can say that I didn't like about this book. It may seem biased since Levithan is one of my favorite authors, but work like this just proves why he's one of my favorite authors.
So there are my thoughts on You Know Me Well. If you've read it, let me know what you think about it! Also, there should be at least one more post this month. (Probably a lifestyle!! My birthday is the 22nd!)