you know me well by nina lacour and david levithan
basic information:
★ pages: 248
★ genre: young adult, contemporary, romance, LGBT+
★ release date: june 7th, 2016
★ rating: 4.5/5
★ 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.
Told in alternating points of view by Nina LaCour and David Levithan, You Know Me Well is a story about navigating the joys and heartaches of first love, one truth at a time.
review:
plot: 4/5
I really liked it. I revolved around the group of friends at Pride Week, and the romances and hijinks that ensue. I guess part of the reason we read is to see thinks go better than they would in real life, but some of this stuff was just too unrealistic.
characters: 3/5
Kate and Mark are really cute, and really good friends. But their insta-friendship is a little hard to grasp. Violet is the ultimate french girl. Which is absolutely amazing. Ryan is a cutie, but I feel like he takes Mark for granted too often. And they each have problems that feel a little ridiculous to their lives. But I do love each of them.
writing style: 5/5
It was written well, very easy to follow and what I thought to be a lot like the thought process of a teenager. One think I don’t usually like about YA books is that the author tries to write the main character like they’re actually an adult. It bothers me immensely, and this book managed to veer all the way away from that.
overall: 4/5
final thoughts:
I know the book is very cliché and what not, and that everything wraps up too nicely. But it kind of reminds me of a Disney princess story and this is the contemporary gay version (something I’ve always wanted), and I’m really glad I finally got one. Even if you end up thinking this book inauthentic, I hope you enjoy the quick, short read.
love,
alexis
iridescent reads 