Coley just moved to Oregon to her estranged father after losing her mother in San Diego. In her first week there, she almost gets run over by this group of teens, which eventually take her to a party at the lake. Coley can‘t help but crush on Sonya. Her eyes are fixed on her (a little too much a little too fast in my opinion, especially because I didn‘t really like the group from the get-go). And umm? That scene escalates quickly. Because there is this one boy in the group - Sonya‘s ex - and he seems to lack common human sense. But over the course of the summer, Coley and Sonya spend a lot of time together and the promise of something more lies in the air.
I really really hoped to love this book. I love Hayley Kiyoko so much and she is susch a huge rolemodel and her musical storytelling is just perfect, that I hoped the same for this book. But I had real troubles to like Coley or Sonya. Coleys whole personality was her dead mom (which I get, but it just doesn‘t feel very authentic) and Sonya. She doesn‘t have anything else that would shape her personality or make her more transparent to the reader. To me, it just felt as if Coley doesn‘t have any self-respect and there was this constant back and forth with her and Sonya and it really just seemed like Sonya was using her and played with the boundaries knowingly.
Coley caves really easily to literally everything Sonya says, demands or wants.
Sonya says some very questionable and hurtful things to Coley and I‘m not seeing any change from her in the further development of the book so I‘m not sure why Coley still wants to date her! Sonya wants it all: having Coley but only on her terms and to play around with her, but without the consequences.
Also: Coley always tries to talk to Sonya at parties? Like, Girl, I don‘t think this is the place or time to have a conversation with someone, because Sonya drinks a lot at this parties and is always drunk or stoned.
And the final scene! Let me tell you about it, but don‘t read on if you don‘t want any spoilers. It‘s that scene from the (absolutely amazing, soul-changing) musicvideo and Coley gets her head smashed on the ground and no one even bothers to check her wound? To drive her to a doctor? No, she almost blacks out but decides to bike home? It just doesn‘t make any sense.
I would‘ve ended the book with the second to last chapter. That would‘ve been kind of nice. Because like this it left me with an uncomfortable feeling.
But, if Hayley ever brings out another novel, I will definitely give it a shot. This book just wasn‘t my vibe.
