This book has an amazing representation of grief and anxiety.
Told from the perspectives of both Ava and Gideon, it unravels a slow burning love story of how two very different people can help each other heal.
Gideon is awkward and shy, seeing a psychologist to help him with some serious issues and come out of his shell with tricks to handle his anxiety.
When he starts working at Magic Kebab he finds himself around feisty Ava, who is grieving the loss of her best friend by getting angry and yelling f*** off to the whole school assembly, getting expelled from school, hooking up with the wrong kind of person and shutting herself off from the people who care about her.
I love that this book has very positive messages and heaps of feels!
The parents in both families are very supportive. Gideon’s two mums try to help him in any way they can, along with his older sister Anna. There’s no brattiness to their attitude either which is refreshing. Ava’s dad is her number one confidant and I really like that the author created a solid figure in a single parent family. It didn’t focus on a struggle to survive but kept its eye on the main characters.
The issues that are tackled in this book are important. Anxiety and depression, self harm, suicide and grief are covered without making it feel like that’s all the book was written to do. The story line is engaging, and the characters are well developed. I think this book would provoke interesting discussions at a book club, in class, and amongst friends.
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