The Next To Last Mistake
I was given an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley, for my honest, unbiased review. This book releases on March 19, 2019. You can pre-order it on Amazon now.
"We have 16 years of history together, Tess. Nothing can take those memories away from us. You're always gonna be a part of my life, even if you're no longer a part of my days."
This story is about a girl named Tess. She finds out in the beginning of the story that her family is moving from their very small farm town in Iowa to a military base in South Carolina when her dad re-enlists in the military. Tess is a reserved girl, she loves to play chess, and she loves her best friend Zander even more. What she really learns from this move is how to make lasting friendships, what it feels like when you realize you have fallen in love, and how to survive an unspeakable loss.
This was not a typical love story. This was a love story about friendship. It was a love story about family. And it was a story that taught you the importance of having both in your life. How the love of friends, new and old, and the love of a tight knit family can help you grow.
"I'm sure there are good guys in the world who won't lie to us or break our hearts." she says as we approach the door to our English class. "I'm just not sure where to find them."
Tess and Leonetta's friendship was so special. Tess grew up in this small town in Iowa, and really had quite the culture shock when she got to South Carolina. She had never met anyone like Leonetta, and she had never experienced any bias or racism in the town she grew up in. Leonetta taught her so much about life, all the while not judging her for having a simple mind. She was patient with Tess and helped her understand things she might not have ever even learned about had her family not moved. The friendships she gained with Alice and Summer were also special, but I don't think any helped her grow as a person, as her friendship with Leonetta did.
It's not often you find a YA book that isn't centered around the love story, or the hot guy. I appreciated that about this story. This truly was a story about friendship. Friendship from different cultures, and friends teaching each other about life, love, and loss. This is a great story for young girls to read.
"I love you guys. You know that. I love you like I've never loved any other girlfriends because the truth is, before you, there weren't any other girls I felt comfortable letting into my life. But the three of you..you taught me what it means to be a friend. A real friend. What it means to have someone else's back even when life gets hard or messy."
"Like when triflin' heifers try to sabotage you at every turn?" Leonetta adds.
I can't review this and not talk about Zander. Zander is the first and only best friend Tess had before her family moved away. They grew up together, and you could tell they loved each other, but they were too worried about ruining the friendship they had to act on it. I think Tess moving helped them realize how much they meant to each other. And their story was a sweet one, Zander was a sweet boy, but it wasn't the focal point of the book, and I don't think that was a bad thing.
Overall I'm giving this book 4 STARS. It's getting 4 stars because, while it was a very thought provoking story, and it was a great lesson, I felt like some stuff was a little drug out. The author talked a lot about racism, and farm life. And while I appreciated the lessons, I did feel like some of it was a little too in depth. I would have liked more story of the 4 girls and their friendship, or Tess and Zander, instead of pages of that. I also thought the ending was SO super sad. I just really wish she didn't feel like it needed to go in that direction to be a good book. But I would still recommend people read this. It was a great story.
"We have 16 years of history together, Tess. Nothing can take those memories away from us. You're always gonna be a part of my life, even if you're no longer a part of my days."
This story is about a girl named Tess. She finds out in the beginning of the story that her family is moving from their very small farm town in Iowa to a military base in South Carolina when her dad re-enlists in the military. Tess is a reserved girl, she loves to play chess, and she loves her best friend Zander even more. What she really learns from this move is how to make lasting friendships, what it feels like when you realize you have fallen in love, and how to survive an unspeakable loss.
This was not a typical love story. This was a love story about friendship. It was a love story about family. And it was a story that taught you the importance of having both in your life. How the love of friends, new and old, and the love of a tight knit family can help you grow.
"I'm sure there are good guys in the world who won't lie to us or break our hearts." she says as we approach the door to our English class. "I'm just not sure where to find them."
Tess and Leonetta's friendship was so special. Tess grew up in this small town in Iowa, and really had quite the culture shock when she got to South Carolina. She had never met anyone like Leonetta, and she had never experienced any bias or racism in the town she grew up in. Leonetta taught her so much about life, all the while not judging her for having a simple mind. She was patient with Tess and helped her understand things she might not have ever even learned about had her family not moved. The friendships she gained with Alice and Summer were also special, but I don't think any helped her grow as a person, as her friendship with Leonetta did.
It's not often you find a YA book that isn't centered around the love story, or the hot guy. I appreciated that about this story. This truly was a story about friendship. Friendship from different cultures, and friends teaching each other about life, love, and loss. This is a great story for young girls to read.
"I love you guys. You know that. I love you like I've never loved any other girlfriends because the truth is, before you, there weren't any other girls I felt comfortable letting into my life. But the three of you..you taught me what it means to be a friend. A real friend. What it means to have someone else's back even when life gets hard or messy."
"Like when triflin' heifers try to sabotage you at every turn?" Leonetta adds.
I can't review this and not talk about Zander. Zander is the first and only best friend Tess had before her family moved away. They grew up together, and you could tell they loved each other, but they were too worried about ruining the friendship they had to act on it. I think Tess moving helped them realize how much they meant to each other. And their story was a sweet one, Zander was a sweet boy, but it wasn't the focal point of the book, and I don't think that was a bad thing.
Overall I'm giving this book 4 STARS. It's getting 4 stars because, while it was a very thought provoking story, and it was a great lesson, I felt like some stuff was a little drug out. The author talked a lot about racism, and farm life. And while I appreciated the lessons, I did feel like some of it was a little too in depth. I would have liked more story of the 4 girls and their friendship, or Tess and Zander, instead of pages of that. I also thought the ending was SO super sad. I just really wish she didn't feel like it needed to go in that direction to be a good book. But I would still recommend people read this. It was a great story.
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