A always find myself eagerly awaiting Samantha Young's new books like a child at Christmas. Her characters are all so well developed and you find yourself falling in love them as much as they love each other. I loved The Impossible Vastness of Us and this will be a book I reread in the future.

3.5 Stars

Samantha Young, in her first Young Adult contemporary novel, tackles timely issues while delivering a novel that is sure to move all those that read it. I was hooked from page one, connecting quickly with India Maxwell, the narrator and main character of The Impossible Vastness of Us. Though she suffered through a traumatic childhood, India found strength in her recovery. I found her quick witted and compassionate, snarky and secretly vulnerable.

There is a lot to like about The Impossible Vastness of Us. Young does a nice job of creating realistic characters without making them clichéd, which would have been so easy in this setting. India is the focal point of the story and as her relationship with each character grows it reveals more about her and them. I loved the dynamics between the characters and the way Young weaves all the stories together without letting anyone slip through the cracks. I was invested in every relationship, but there were three that stood out for me:

• India and her mother, Hayley, have a tentative relationship as the book starts. They actually seem more like sisters with Hayley portrayed as more girlish than mother-ish. It’s so easy in YA to leave this mother/daughter relationship in its infant stage as the MC finds her way without the unreliable adult. It’s quite the opposite here and I loved watching this relationship develop as India and Hayley face what happened when India was younger. Instead of Hayley being a one note character as I expected, she reveals herself to be someone that India could rely on.

• The relationship between India, Eloise, and Finn was unexpected and defines the book. All three are broken in some way and when circumstances should have divided them, it instead it brings them together as they form a protective bubble around each other. Pictures that Young paints of them huddled together were vivid and believable.

• My favorite relationship was between India and her stepfather, Theo. While the previous two were obvious and stood out, it was Theo that, to me, is the most important of the story. India’s ability to trust seems to depend on who Theo is as a father and a man. Their story touched my heart more than any other.

While I loved the character dynamics, I found the storytelling to be shaky at times. The Impossible Vastness of Us starts strong with hints of India’s traumatic childhood. Snippets of her past are revealed in flashbacks and I looked forward to seeing how she overcame everything that happened to her. But, as she develops relationships with both Eloise and Finn (together and separately) the book becomes overwhelmed with too many issues and I felt like India’s story got watered down. And, while I loved the relationship between India and Eloise-which grew in a natural and believable way-India and Finn seemed thrown together. I thought they had chemistry initially but the foundation for their romance seemed to be the extent of their relationship. Finally, the ending seems to come out of nowhere, especially in Finn’s case and that left me with a sense of incompletion. Still, Young tugs at my heartstrings as India finds her way while leading her friends and family to a place of love, safety, and acceptance.

3.5 stars. Heat level: 2

I received a copy of The Impossible Vastness of Us from InkSlingerPR and the publisher.

Samantha Young is one of my personal favorite authors. When I heard that she was venturing into YA I was instantaneously excited for The Impossible Vastness of Us. I tried to hold back some of my excitement, sometimes adult authors don't transition well into YA. So I was a bit nervous but I can truly say that this book was a great process from adult to YA.
This story for me was a heart tugging and a charming tale. The Impossible Vastness of Us shows us a young girl named India Maxwell. India has learned to built walls around herself throughout her lifetime and only show people what they want to believe or see. But everything changes when her mother and her move into a new state and new house which include, a set of wealthy people and world.
I ought to say that this story was excellent in a lot of ways. I believe there are good lessons in this story, that one can relate to, as I relate to them. This is a great narrative of great pressing, fundamental lessons that many young adults related to.
I can't wait to share this story with my students come September.
Thank you, Inkslinger, for the opportunity for being a part of this extraordinary tour

I have been a fan of Samantha Young since I read On Dublin Street years ago, and when the opportunity for Young Adult novel from the same author became available I jumped at the chance.

The Impossible Vastness of us is an absorbing look about whom we let in our lives and what happens when we release those fears that have jailed us. The journey of self-discovery between these teens, India, Finn, and Eloise had me riveted to my book. Their actions were authentic and compelling in this story, with twists and secrets that focused on friendships and family.

India moves from California to the east coast when her mother marries a prominent lawyer from Boston. She struggles to fit into her new privileged lifestyle that also includes a step-sister her age. Then she meets this guy named Finn and at first he seems distant and broody but soon you see him in a different light for there is much more there beneath the surface. Together they fit and soon India lets her guard down and lets Finn see the real her.

There is so much more to this story but to delve much further would reveal to much and ruin the experience for people. Although some things may seem predictable and obvious you will be surprised on what will take you of guard and you will be guessing about certain reveals in this book that will definitely keep you engaged

I enjoyed this book and it's unforgettable characters and feel that Samantha Young did a fine job and will have much more to offer in future Young Adult reads. I cannot wait to see what she has in store for us next and would recommend THE IMPOSSIBLE VASTNESS OF US to anyone in search of an engaging read that isn't afraid to tackle some serious issues.

I have found myself reading more and more YA books in the past year or two. Samantha Young decided to take a step out of her norm and write a YA read and she really kicked ass on this. I think people who don't normally read YA will enjoy this one and yet it's still relevant and a great read for the YA age group. Samantha definitely has a hit on her hands.

India shows the world a side of herself that she wants them to see. But they don't really see her, know her. Her life hasn't been easy and then her mom complicates it more and decides she met the man of her dreams and moves them both across the country to live with him. India is now forced into a new life style and making new friends. And it's not easy in her new posh life and trying to attain the high status quo on the popularity scale.

The Impossible Vastness of Us is a journey for India; it's all about learning who she really is, finding trust in others and allowing herself to be her, not what she thinks the world needs to see. Many young adults will relate to this book and deals with issues we see in today's world.

Samantha wrote some intriguing characters. While there are some I wanted to slap upside the head, there others that made me smile. Samantha writes a touching story that I think everyone can relate to or understand.

The ending has me wanting so much more. It's not a bad ending, it just leaves you wanting more. And I really hope we do get more from these characters in the future. This is a book I doubt that I will be forgetting any time soon.

I’ve been a fan of Samantha Young’s writing for a long time and when I read the synopsis for this book I knew that it was going to be a bit different than what I had read from her in the past but I was still looking forward to reading and enjoying and that I did, what I wasn’t prepare for was for all the emotions that this book brought out in me.

So in this book we meet India, Eloise and Finn the three of them are so unique and afraid to a certain point to be free, and it was lovely/heartbreaking to follow their story as it kept twisting and more secrets kept being discovered and it became THEIR story.

I think this book proves that Samantha can definitely write YA and she does it brilliantly, I don’t know if she has any plans to continue writing in this genre but I sure hope she does.

Samantha Young has been one of my favorite authors since I first read her book On Dublin Street only a little over a year ago. From that point on I devoured her books, mostly through audio the first time. One of my all-time book boyfriends, above almost all others - probably top 3, Nate Sawyer, came from her book Before Jamaica Lane. While I was sent an egalley of this book to read and review for the tour, when I found someone willing to trade a physical ARC, I jumped on that chance since I had to have at least one physical ARC of one of my favorite author's books. The way she writes both the characters as well as the events in the story always leads to an emotional and memorable read. If I had not had any other responsibilities, such as work, this is one I would have read in one sitting. In fact I read it in about 3 sittings, as each time I was barely able to put it down for anything else. I read the last 100 pages in one sitting, at the park near my house, in my car, where I knew there would be no one to distract me from reading. And that last part of the book was packed full of tear-jerking scenes, where anyone who had seen me sitting in my car crying might have wondered just what was going on.

I feel all of the characters and most of the reactions were pretty realistic. There wasn't anything that was way out there, used just to create drama for the story. Honestly everything that happened was something that I could see happening in real life, or maybe had actually seen happen to others around me, or to myself. Nothing in the extreme bad things, just the way that people reacted to situations is very realistic to me. Even the mean girl, yeah, she was kinda a mean girl, and her friends knew it, and would call her on it. The reaction of people to finding out someone in their life was a different person then they'd been led to believe, that their very best friend had lied to them, well, it was pretty true to human nature. Young really had a great grasp on real life and how people interact. I'm so excited to finally have a book by her that I can definitely put in my high school library and share with my students. Hopefully alerting them to an author they will also fall in love with and pick up every book she writes from now on.

A wonderfully emotional story, showing that it doesn't matter what walk of life you come from, the things you keep hidden about yourself can be the same, and do affect you and the rest of your life just as much as they do anyone else.

As a whole, this book did not work out for me.

I have read the author's work in the past and enjoyed it, but I never really connected to the characters in this story. With that said, there were moments that I really enjoyed. I especially liked the way friendships developed, but the whole blended family situation didn't work out for me. It felt more forced than anything.

While I won't give up on Samantha Young by any means, this particular title just fell short for me.

This book just didn't work for me on so many levels. I appreciate the opportunity to read it early though.

Thank you

Going into this book, I did not expect to be this blown away by it. Let me tell you right off the bat, this is by far on my favorite books in 2017 and from Samantha Young in general. I think, when this book initially came across my radar, I glossed over the synopsis and thought it sounded good, but I think I was more willing to give it a try because I’m a fan of Young and like her writing style. After requesting it, however, I totally forgot about it until it was closer to the time that I needed to read and review it. By then, I couldn’t even remember who this book was by, let alone what it was about, so I dove in pretty much blindly, and I couldn’t be happier about it. This is the first YA novel of hers I’ve read, but it certainly won’t be my last, if she chooses to write more in this genre.

I’ve read variations of this storyline time and time again, but none of them has quite hit the mark as much as this book has with me. Something about the characters and Young’s writing just drew me in from the very first page and I honestly couldn’t stop reading. I just had to know more and had to see what would happen next. I love it when I can’t stop thinking about a book long after I’ve read it, and it happened with this one.

Despite India being the main character, I really enjoyed the storyline of each character we meet in this book. Eloise, Finn, Theo, Hayley, Charlotte, and even Bryce…they all have complicated lives and when certain secrets come to light, it reiterates the fact that you really don’t know what a person is dealing with. Just because someone may seem to have the perfect life, it could actually be far from it. And those who suffered outright, it’s so intriguing seeing how they coped and their character development as they grew up.

Everything, from the drama to the romance, felt very fluid to me and played at just the right moments. I will say that I was hoping for more of an ending, but just because it’s pretty open to reader interpretation. I guess I just didn’t want the book to end and I really just wanted to stay in this world for as long as possible. I know that this book wouldn’t warrant a sequel, but I would love a companion novel, if only to revisit these characters again and see what they’re up to.

I seriously loved this book and can’t recommend it enough. It’s a definite must read!

India hasn't had the best life and definitely doesn't have the best mother. So when her mom drags her across country to live with someone she has never met, India shouldn't have been surprised. Not sure what she is going to be moving into, she puts up a wall and tries to be positive about. Get ready for unexpected situations and serious teenager jealousy and anger!

The Impossible Vastness of Us follows the story of three teenagers – India, Finn & Eloise – and their journey of growing up. India is uprooted from her home to move to live with her mom and her high society fiance. She has to leave everything behind, everything she worked so hard for – her friends, her school, but mostly her stellar reputation on the top of the high school food chain that she spent years building. And then, it’s a new world for her because her stepdad is loaded and she’s never had so much money and because suddenly, she’s at the bottom of the high school food chain, with her stepsister, Eloise, and her boyfriend, Finn, at the top. She doesn’t particularly like Eloise and she starts to develop feelings for Finn, but as she spends more time in her new home and school, she learns that not everything is as perfect as it is being portrayed and she’s not the only one with life changing secrets.



What I like about India is that she is so resilient and strong. She’s been dealt a shitty hand and she makes the best of it. She stands up in the face of adversity and I love how strong she is. I admire her for being able to get up and do daily, mundane things such as going to school in face of what has happened to her. I don’t want to get into it a whole lot because I think it’s better read than said. I really, really, really liked reading about her. She’s an amazing MC.



Then, there’s Finn – the broody, mysterious guy, who also happens to be her step sister’s boyfriend. But, Finn & India fall for each other and of course, Finn has a secret too. His life isn’t as perfect as he’d like people to believe. His story is as heartbreaking as India’s and I’m really glad they had each other through the story. I mean, they’re such an adorable couple! I ship them, okay? I ship them hard. They’re amazing together. I love it.



The themes in this book were so on point. Not everyone has a perfect life and there’s so many bad things and obstacles. I love that. All the characters were multi faceted and there was so much to everyone’s story than what was on the surface. They were all complicated and flawed. Some characters I loved and some I hated, but they were all amazingly written and I loved how they were portrayed. Young has done an incredible job with that. Kudos to her.



Yes, the drama got a little too much for me at times, but I still loved the story and I was so hooked on knowing what was happening and why it was happening. So, points for being a page turner.



What I love about this is the open ending. It wasn’t all wrapped in a present with an HEA and the characters had a long way to go still, but they had changed so much from the beginning of the story and I love that. I mean, it was completely fitting to end the story on that note. I would have liked a more definitive ending in terms of the romance, but there are no guarantees in life and I was pretty okay with it.



All in all, this was a great coming of age story and I really enjoyed the journey these characters took.

I love Samantha Young's new adult and adult books, especially her very popular On Dublin Street series. Her books are emotional and wonderfully written and always leave me with a happy feeling. The Impossible Vastness of Us is Samantha Young's young adult book. It basically focuses around three teens and what's going on in their lives.

The main character in The Impossible Vastness of Us is India. The whole book goes from her point of view. When India's mother decides to marry, India is forced to move across the country. Her new step father is rich, like extremely rich and he has a daughter of India's age. India soon finds that all is not what it seems with her new step sister Eloise and her boyfriend Finn. And everyone is keeping secrets.

I really liked India as a character. She had had an extremely difficult and abusive childhood at the hands of her father till her mother rescued her. Now all India wants is to get through high school and she knows no one can hurt her if she's popular. India was a girl with her head on her shoulders. She was strong and determined and all she wanted was to be independent in her life. With all the new changes happening in her life the last thing India expects is to be attracted to her step sister's boyfriend Finn.

Finn was the typical mysterious teenage boy when India first sees him. But things are definitely not what they seem with him. He's hiding something and all India wants to do is take away the sadness she sees in his eyes. Eloise on the other hand only wanted to be the perfect daughter for her father. She knows her reputation would be ruined if her secret came out.

Samantha Young's writing is amazing as well. I could understand so clearly what was going through sixteen year old India's head. When secrets are revealed things become complicated and feelings get tangled. One thing I'd like to clear is that there's no cheating involved in the book. I was hesitating for that reason before I knew this. And I'd also like to point out that I loved the way Samantha Young said in the book -sometimes its not the happy ending that matters but the right ending- and that's exactly what we got in The Impossible Vastness of Us. This was a good read.

*Note: A copy of this book was provided by the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. We thank them.

Secrets, love, and the harshness of life is right in the face of these teenagers. They are a group wise beyond their years and facing adult problems with dignity and maturity.

A great refreshing read with teen angst and drama. A tale of starting over, forgiveness and growth.

Pain recognizes pain and these characters are a mix of complexities that just bring you into their world.

I absolutely love Samantha Young. This is the first YA I've read from her and I think this book is one of the best I've ever read from her! The story following Eloise, Finn and India and the things that intertwine their lives, through friendship and love. This is a coming of ages story and will have you guessing and thinking throughout the entire book. I really hope Samantha continues to write YA because she can write anything and do it with such grace. If you love Samantha Young’s novels and YA books, then you will absolutely love The Impossible Vastness of Us! 5 stars all around for this masterpiece!

This book was brilliant! It was refreshing, original, entertaining and emotional....
The three main characters in this story have swept me away on an emotional journey of self-discovery, friendship, love, respect and determination.

This is the first book I have read by Samantha Young, and my word what an introduction to some great writing!

In this book we meet India Maxwell. She is soon thrust into a new world with a new family when her Mum, Hayley goes to live with her new boyfriend and his daughter, Elsoie. Suddenly thrust into a new world of money, exclusivity, cliques, and everything she is not used to, she goes from the top of the social ladder at her current school to the very bottom of rung of her new one.

The journey each of them go on is something special. This is one of those stories where you feel very differently about the characters at the start of the book to the way you feel at the end. I was reluctant to like them at the beginning, but as I went through the story with them, discovered them as they discovered themselves, travelled with them, laughed and cried with them, I really learnt to love each of them.

They journey we go on with India, Eloise and Jay is wonderful. I can't express how much I loved this book. There was something about it which was a pure pleasure to read. The story is written perfectly, it flows so well, and the character development and plot works superbly. I fell in love with India, Finn and Eloise. I really felt for Eloise and her hidden secrets, which is really SUCH an important subject. So wonderfully written.

This is a MUST read for all readers of Young Adult romances, and even if you prefer the heat or something more mature, I would really encourage you to give this one a go! Read it, enjoy it and discover it for yourself.... With friendships, teenage drama (but done well), family feuds, lies and secrets, this book is a whirlwind of emotion and feels. It will leave you breathless, with tears in your eyes and hold a special place in your heart...

It was one of those stories that I really didn't want to end, and I don't think you will either!! Would love to get more from these characters! It has given me a definite book hangover, and is a story that will stay with me for a very long time...

***** 5 Impossibly Possible Stars *****