* I got this book for review*
I really enjoyed this book. This book def has so many elements that worked for me half siblings dymanics. I also liked both characters. This book also had a super short time table. but this was a super quick read and this book handled so many harder topics like abuse in so many forms with the backdrop of PTSD!! I liked the harder topics!! would love to read more by this author in the future! ( )

* I got this book for review*
I really enjoyed this book. This book def has so many elements that worked for me half siblings dymanics. I also liked both characters. This book also had a super short time table. but this was a super quick read and this book handled so many harder topics like abuse in so many forms with the backdrop of PTSD!! I liked the harder topics!! would love to read more by this author in the future! ( )

Henry and Samira both take DNA tests for very different reasons. Samira wants to find her father because she needs the money he would owe in child support. Henry just wants to know where he came from and more about his family. These two soon discover their connection as half siblings and this sends them on a quest and it turns into more than just finding their father. It turns into a new found family and friendship.

These children have been through so much because of bad decisions from everyone around them. Henry has been raised by very tough parents…his aunt and uncle. His real mom is in the picture but both his moms fight like cats and dogs. He just does not feel like he is loved or understood. Then there is Samira. Samira has been put in charge as the family fixer. Her bother stays in trouble because he is a drunk and cannot stay sober. When he nearly kills someone with his car, the judge orders him to an in-house recovery center. Samira must default on her college to pay for it.

I usually do not read teen or young adult books. Boy! Would I have missed a jewel! This book is emotional, unique and just powerful. This story had my emotions all over the place…mad, sad, scared and then mad all over again!

Need a deep and forceful novel…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel for a honest review. ( )

*Thank you to NetGalley for a free e-copy in exchange for an honest review.*

The second I saw that this was a family-centric YA novel, I got excited — these are rare.

This book is told from two perspectives. There’s Samira, who lives with her grandmother and has just given up her college dreams to afford the recovery treatment for her brother’s alcohol addiction. And then there’s Henry, torn between his biological mother and the aunt and uncle who raised him. Despite being very different people, they both have one thing in common: they want to find their long-lost father. When Henry and Samira each take a DNA test, they find themselves matched to each other instead and start the journey of finding their way to each other.

Plot-wise, there were some interesting aspects but I think it could’ve gone more in depth on some. The most interesting part of the book to me was the alcohol addiction subplot and I feel like we barely touched upon it. Similarly, Henry’s family issues weren’t as gut-wrenching as I imagined they could’ve been. Still, the ending gave me a realistic and satisfying conclusion.

I also think it took too long for the Henry/Samira dynamic to be cemented. Each character was mildly interesting on their own, but the best part of the story came at the end when they were finally comfortable with each other. The way they gradually went from strangers to knowing each other’s deepest struggles to finally seeing each other as family was really touching, and I definitely wish we’d gotten more screen-time in the middle and last phases where they had the chaotic and fiery tension of two people being forced to confront their identities.

Ultimately, I’m not sure I clicked much with the plot or the characters, but I still really think this is a story worthy of being told, and I’m sure many fans of coming-of-age YA stories would love it. ( )