The story is told from the point of view of Clare, a senior at high school and part of the popular crowd. She dreams of using photography as her way out of her small town and constricting life. Hilda enters her life as a transfer student from Germany, returning to her hometown and forces Clare to examine all that she knows about herself.
This is the second book I’ve read recently that included controlling religious parents, and I thought the tone of this book was done really well so that it had impact but was appropriate for a YA novel.
There a lots of characters in Clare’s friend group, something that can be a little hard to keep track of at times. As you’d probably expect there is quite a bit of angst in this book – both from the main characters and those around them, but for the most part it works well within the narrative.
The book keeps a hopeful tone, especially in the ending, but doesn’t promise anything. All in all this kind of book I wish had been around when I was a teenager.
I received an e-ARC via BookSirens in exchange for an honest review.
LGBTQ+ Reader 