I listened to this book the first time through and was engrossed. I’d sit in the car in front of my apartment so I could keep listening. As soon as I finished, I started listening again. Sometimes I get lost in the plot of an audio book and don’t pay much attention to whether it’s actually well-written. I wondered if a second listen would prove that I’d only been in this novel for the story. I enjoyed the second time through just as much. This is a book featuring characters who are real and full and honest, but whose lives are unlike those we usually see in the all-American YA love story. Even though the plot becomes operatic at one point (in maybe a bit of a tv-movie way), this novel is utterly entertaining and it feels life affirming to see these two kids make it through.