Joya is so great at writing authentic friendships and relationships, you’ll even laugh out loud during some scenes. There is also an interesting use of diary entries in this novel, making it slightly different from many others of this. She is constantly at war with her mother and after an epic row erupts involving her sister Vae she is determined to quit Texas and go to.

Nikki is unhappy and struggling with life problems, especially with her relationship with her mum and disappreance of sister. Last year I picked up Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry and finished it the same day, bleary eyed, dehydrated and completely obsessed. The one thing I struggled with a little was the pacing - I thought I knew where it was going when they started the road trip but that quickly got complicated.

I began reading it in bed, with the intent to read a few chapters before sleep, but I ended up finishing it at 5am with tears streaming down my face. Until her best friend and long-time crush, Malachai, discovers her plan and convinces her to spend spring break with him, so he can show her all the reasons she should stay in Texas.

Nikki’s background is completely different from Quinn’s and Monique’s, the protagonists of the other 2 novels, and I really enjoyed being able to compare them and appreciate the way Nikki was written. She's both vulnerable and resilient, she takes care of her little sister but also needs to be taken care of; she exhausts herself trying to protect her heart from disappointment but still secretly kindles a hope that things will change. From Joya Goffney, author of hit YA romcom Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry, comes a stirring coming-of-age, best friends-to-lovers romance. At one point I was almost rooting against their relationship because I was worried she would give up the audition for him but I really shouldn't have worried because the way that was handled was flawless. Overall it was a good read but I was disappointed that the Mother's behaviour was explained away poorly and that Nikki's sister had a more believable relationship with Mal than Nikki did.I love the way it was handled, with a clear message on what’s normal and healthy, and with the mom having reasons but not excuses.

while i am more familiar with east texas, i could still picture some of the setting since i’ve visited west texas, so i enjoyed this aspect. I haven’t read a book from this author before, so it’s good that i’ve discovered her and am able to sense whether she is a good author for my sense of reading style, which i believe she is.For all ebook purchases, you will be prompted to create an account or login with your existing HarperCollins username and password. This book handled that topic so well, because I despised Nikki’s mom until they finally had that conversation. The situation was never portrayed as all good or all bad, giving space to all of Nikki's complicated emotions about it. Joya Goffney is an absolute pro at writing YA contemporaries you pick up and find you’ve done nothing else with your day but devour the book whole.

Money isn't really talked about other than one flashback to her mother not being able to afford toys for them. I think my only “issue” (and it’s not really an issue) is that I would’ve liked to have seen a bit more of Nikki interacting with her other friends, and for the big to be a tiny bit longer. That relationship is also really cleverly contrasted with other relationships in her life; her friendships and her friends parental relationships. I love how soft Mal was- he made a stupid choice at the start but he was allowed to grow and come back from that and I didn't feel the defensive need to hold that against him (I tend to be unforgiving when it comes to love interests making mistakes oops).HOWEVER, narratively, and appreciating the reason behind the pacing and repetitiveness of events, it's genius. It's exhausting reading her take steps and make ways to get to that audition and get her life started, and then be dragged back to the place she wants to be least in the world. but it's so so smart because in doing that, the reader is living a little of what Nikki is- if its exhausting reading about her life, imagine how it is for her to live it.