“We all push sometimes, just to make sure someone is on the other side, pushing back.” – 5/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: proverbs, emails, Internet trolls, online games, churches, cyberbullying, religion, abuse, trauma, sexism, scars, cute dogs, and hoodies.

Rev Fletcher is battling the demons of his past. But with loving adoptive parents by his side, he’s managed to keep them at bay…until he gets a letter from his abusive father and the trauma of his childhood comes hurtling back.

Emma Blue spends her time perfecting the computer game she built from scratch, rather than facing her parents’ crumbling marriage. She can solve any problem with the right code, but when an online troll’s harassment escalates, she’s truly afraid.

When Rev and Emma meet, they both long to lift the burden of their secrets and bond instantly over their shared turmoil. But when their situations turn dangerous, their trust in each other will be tested in ways they never expected. This must-read story will once again have readers falling for Brigid Kemmerer’s emotional storytelling.

I read this book in one sitting – that should tell you how amazing it was! I thought it would be difficult for it to be as good as “Letters to the Lost” (which was also incredible), but I was wrong. This story gives you all the feels – both main characters have their ghosts, so the story is sad and heavy, especially when you begin to understand their backstories a little better. But at the same time, it’s a very heartwarming story.
Part of the reason why this is such a good book is because it has great characters, great character development, and also great relationships. If you read the previous book (if you didn’t, you should definitely read it first before going into this one), you are introduced to Rev, Declan’s best friend, who is our main character in this book. Rev’s backstory is very heavy since there was a lot of abuse coming from his dad, but Emma (the love interest) also has her struggles. She is a gamer who created an online game used by her school colleagues and is being harassed online (which gets progressively worse). Not only that, but she also has family issues to deal with. As you can probably tell by now, it’s an emotional read!
The romance was cute and I liked how their relationship developed so organically. They had good chemistry, and it was nice to see them help each other with their issues. Sure, it’s a romance, but it’s not only a romance. It’s also a story with great meaning since it’s about growing up and learning to deal with life’s traumas.
Going back to the relationships in this book, I have a few of my favorites to share with you. It was great to see Rev’s parents being supportive and giving him all the love he deserves, so that was one of my favorite relationships from this book! It was also nice to see how Declan was so present in this book. He is a very important person to Rev, and it was nice to see them together and see their relationship grow even more. And can we talk about Mathew? He was such a nice addition to the story and he provided one more beautiful layer to the plot – and also had a wonderful relationship with Rev.
Now let’s talk about the writing. It was awesome because reading this book was smooth like butter! Despite the heavy subjects, it’s an easy book to follow, it is detailed, and it is very easy to empathize with the characters. When they are suffering, you will suffer. When they are happy, you will be happy!
You can’t help but root for both of them and their happiness! It’s an excellent book, and I’m glad I finally read it and concluded the duology. I honestly can’t recommend this duology enough – start with “Letters to the Lost”, and then read this one! It’s beyond amazing for a contemporary YA.