THE IMPOSSIBLE VASTNESS OF US
by Samantha Young
Publication Date: June 27, 2017
Published by Harlequin Teen
Pages: 384
Source: INKSlingerPR | Netgalley
Synopsis
I know how to watch my back. I’m the only one that ever has.
India Maxwell hasn’t just moved across the country—she’s plummeted to the bottom rung of the social ladder. It’s taken years to cover the mess of her home life with a veneer of popularity. Now she’s living in one of Boston’s wealthiest neighborhoods with her mom’s fiancé and his daughter, Eloise. Thanks to her soon-to-be stepsister’s clique of friends, including Eloise’s gorgeous, arrogant boyfriend Finn, India feels like the one thing she hoped never to be seen as again: trash.
But India’s not alone in struggling to control the secrets of her past. Eloise and Finn, the school’s golden couple, aren’t all they seem to be. In fact, everyone’s life is infinitely more complex than it first appears. And as India grows closer to Finn and befriends Eloise, threatening the facades that hold them together, what’s left are truths that are brutal, beautiful, and big enough to change them forever…
India Maxwell hasn’t just moved across the country—she’s plummeted to the bottom rung of the social ladder. It’s taken years to cover the mess of her home life with a veneer of popularity. Now she’s living in one of Boston’s wealthiest neighborhoods with her mom’s fiancé and his daughter, Eloise. Thanks to her soon-to-be stepsister’s clique of friends, including Eloise’s gorgeous, arrogant boyfriend Finn, India feels like the one thing she hoped never to be seen as again: trash.
But India’s not alone in struggling to control the secrets of her past. Eloise and Finn, the school’s golden couple, aren’t all they seem to be. In fact, everyone’s life is infinitely more complex than it first appears. And as India grows closer to Finn and befriends Eloise, threatening the facades that hold them together, what’s left are truths that are brutal, beautiful, and big enough to change them forever…
My Thoughts
I LOVED IT!!
THE IMPOSSIBLE VASTNESS OF US is about the the secrets we keep to protect ourselves. It's about the secrets we keep to protect the ones we love.
Friends have recommended several books by Samantha Young to me, but this is the first that I picked up. The fact that it is her young adult debut may have had something to do with that. I didn't even finish the entire synopsis before I decided this is a book I wanted to read. I thought the cover was cute - my eyes were drawn to the three people under the umbrella, but it was the title that really piqued my curiosity. What was the Impossible Vastness? This is what I needed to know.
What I liked:
I LOVED IT!!
THE IMPOSSIBLE VASTNESS OF US is about the the secrets we keep to protect ourselves. It's about the secrets we keep to protect the ones we love.
Friends have recommended several books by Samantha Young to me, but this is the first that I picked up. The fact that it is her young adult debut may have had something to do with that. I didn't even finish the entire synopsis before I decided this is a book I wanted to read. I thought the cover was cute - my eyes were drawn to the three people under the umbrella, but it was the title that really piqued my curiosity. What was the Impossible Vastness? This is what I needed to know.
What I liked:
- The portrayal of combining the families from different backgrounds - and the relationship between India and Eloise as they learn how to become stepsisters
- The many moments of honest vulnerability - these feelings was captured perfectly
- The massive amount of compassion and forgiveness and the willingness to understand motives and acceptance of the ones we love
- Eloise!! Finn!! India!! - these characters grabbed a hold of my heart
With the many characters and their secrets, there was a lot going on, but it never felt like it was too much or that the story was overworked. We have many experiences simultaneously which we deal with, so why wouldn't that be the same for the characters. It just served as a reminder that being a teenager can be hard.
Favorite Quotes:
"A boy like that needs someone to shake him up a little. You’re so good at shaking people up.” - There's just something about India that makes others take notice.
"Not only had I moved across the country, I’d moved into a freaking Jane Austen novel." - This made me laugh out loud. India is so out of her element, in a world of money, formality, and etiquette and obligation that almost seems of a different time.
"Life is what you make it, no matter where you come from.” - This rings for true for many of the characters. They just need to realize they can make their own destiny.
"He gave me the things that would last long after everything else faded to an end." - 💗💗💗
What surprised me the most:
This story made me cry. A tender, but significant moment snuck up on me and the next thing I knew I was crying.
Oh how I LOVED this book. (I'm afraid this review didn't do it justice.) India and Finn and Eloise prove that we are capable of more than we ever imagined - love, understanding, forgiveness, compassion. It's in all of us. THE IMPOSSIBLE VASTNESS OF US is by far one of my favorite young adult contemporary reads of this year!
Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from INKSlingerPR in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated in any way other than the e-ARC provided. Quotes are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may differ from the final published version. Thoughts and opinions are my own.
About Samantha Young:
Samantha Young is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of adult contemporary romances, including the On Dublin Street series and Hero, as well as the New Adult duology Into the Deep and Out of the Shallows. Every Little Thing, the second book in her new Hart’s Boardwalk series, will be published by Berkley in March 2017. Before turning to contemporary fiction, she wrote several young adult paranormal and fantasy series, including the amazon bestselling Tale of Lunarmorte trilogy. Samantha’s debut YA contemporary novel The Impossible Vastness of Us will be published by Harlequin TEEN in ebook& hardback June 2017
Samantha has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award 2012 for Best Author and Best Romance for On Dublin Street, Best Romance 2014 for Before Jamaica Lane, and Best Romance 2015 for Hero. On Dublin Street, a #1 bestseller in Germany, was the Bronze Award Winner in the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2013, Before Jamaica Lane the Gold Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2014 and Echoes of Scotland Street the Bronze Medal Winner for the LeserPreis German Readers Choice Awards for Best Romance 2015.
Samantha is currently published in 30 countries and is a #1 international bestselling author.
ENTER TO WIN
Signed copy of The Impossible Vastness of Us and Prize Pack!
Thank you so much! ~Jessica, InkSlinger PR
ReplyDeleteGlad that you loved this one so much! Your excitement is so sweet, and more than a little contagious. Thanks for the review! I have this one lined up with Netgalley!
ReplyDeleteCass @ Words on Paper
I really do love it. It's one of those books that I hope when I do decide to reread it, it will be able to capture the feelings I had the first time reading it.
ReplyDelete