3.75 stars

There was the overwhelming feeling of growth and acceptance to this story that was really lovely. And the eccentric personalities of Paintbrush created a vibrant and lively setting that was filled with a strong sense of community. I also loved seeing Mitchell and Josie finding themselves. It was a great story with a strong cast of characters, those it did take me a bit if time to get into.

I loved the main characters Josie and Mitchell so much. Josie is such a funky and lovable character. Her style of fashion made her stand out as a main character and really protrayed her background. I also loved how she is not scared to speak the truth no matter who she is with or who its about. Mitchell is also a lovable and connectable character. I felt very connected to him as a character and just wanted to give him a hug throughout the whole book with the situatuion he was in and how he was struggling with his feelings. 

I loved being able to follow their relationship and how it grew. Within the book their was so many characters and we were able to learn most of their own background stories which made me feel more involved with the book. I felt like i was an actual character in their community. The scenes within the book where they were at the lakes were just beautiful and made me feel like i was there in the summer time instead of fall. 

I gave this book 5 owls/stars as it just made me happy the whole time reading it and i connected to it so much.

I like to intersperse different types of stories between the usual genres I read. I always like a good coming of age tale. The commune setting was very unique and the budding romance between Mitch and Josie very sweet.

Although I'm not usually into contemporaries, I did enjoy this book. I kept wanting to read it every free moment I could find. So many emotions.

Really interesting setting, and premise. I felt that the main characters significant family issues were resolved too quickly, and unrealistically.

I don't usually go for the friends-to-lovers theme because I find it is always cliche and lacks depth but Bucchin has converted me with Paintbrush. It was artsy, lyrical, the character development and depth was extraordinary. A perfect read for a cloudy day.

This book is a nice quick read about different types of relationships and how they can change at a moment's notice. Someone can go from being a friend to being the most important person in your life.

Wow I really enjoyed this! It was so cute and the characters were so great! I highly recommend it and I think it's perfect for many people who feel like they're ready to leave or reluctant to leave home. I just think the characters were so relatable and I adored them so much! Such an amazing book!

I received an ARC ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

PAINTBRUSH's slow start made it hard to get into it. I wondered what the story was about for the first quarter of the book. After that, some events made the characters come to life and the story took off. But the dual POV didn't quite work for me--the boy's narrative voice sounds a tad too girly for my tastes, and the two POVs were too similar, giving way to confusion.

On the good side, the girl's voice is superb, and PAINTBRUSH's story is really cute. It's also a fast, light read.

I absolutely adored this YA contemporary novel. It was such a feel good read, that i was actually smiling when i finished! I loved the setting and the characters were easy to love. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC!

An intriguing set-up. You certainly don't get many novels set in modern communes. When it comes down to it, though, this is very standard in its plot. Neighbors and best friends discover love. Good kid is thrown by parents marital issues. The unknown at war with the comforts of home. This could just as easily have been set on a standard suburban street with very few changes. That aside, my biggest complaint is with the attitudes towards the female character. Everyone else is making huge life decisions for her, like they know her mind better than she does. Her guy gets her a job and this is seen as sweet rather than manipulative.

A quirky, sweet and moving tale of two high school kids, their unconventional lives, and their relationships along the way. I fell in love with Jodie and Mitchell, their personalities, friendship and overall relationship. Their relatives and their family at Paintbrush are unique, as are so many of their experiences together. I literally laughed at the blue jay scene, and cried at a couple reconciliations, and really just loved this book.
Bucchion has an infectious 'voice', as her characters pull you in and kept you intrigued, while the story itself is intricate and original. I can't believe this is Bucchin's first novel, and I can't wait to read her next literary endeavors.

Great characters in Mitchell and josie. I liked that it was told in alternating points of view. I appreciated that they did not have sex. I did not like the amount t of swearing in this book and felt so unnecessary. A good YA read overall.

Josie wondered what a normal school morning was like. People watching was a prime activity of the Indian Paintbrush Community Village For Substantial Living. Paintbrush is a commune, a safe haven for mountain folk, hippies, eco-freaks, spiritualists, and any lost soul Myra Gilligan the founder takes in. As a result things were pretty bizarre around the commune. Josie and Mitchell were graduating HS in a month. Mitchell and Josie were the only two kids growing up in Paintbrush- although Josie did have two younger sisters. Josie’s family had moved to Paintbrush almost twelve years ago when she was six. Mitchell can’t wait to leave Paintbrush and he works very hard to be a “ normal kid”- captain of the swim team. advanced placement and student council. Josie looks the part of a hippie and is happiest when she is outside gardening. In Mitchell’s opinion Josie looks like she just stepped out of Woodstock. Mitchell’s parents had been young corporate lawyers then they married and had Mitchell and then a big epiphany and sold their apartment and car and all their things and moved to Paintbrush when Mitchell was four. Mitchell’s parents seem so in love then one night at dinner Mitchell’s mom Carrie announces she has fallen in love with a newcomer that had only been there about six months named Joe and Joe loved Carrie. Joe looked like a surfer type to Mitchell. Mitchell is furious and his dad John looks devastated and Mitchell took off. Mitchell got back to Paintbrush early in the morning and Josie was sitting on her porch as she had been worried about Mitchell and wanted to make sure he was ok.
I didn’t really enjoy this to be honest. I found it a little dull and boring. I read until I just couldn’t read anymore and was done making myself. It just didn’t interest me. I am sure others will really enjoy this story.

3.5 stars

Paintbrush is Hannah Bucchin’s debut novel, and I loved it. A charming coming of age story, with colourful characters, realistic drama, hopeful dreams, and gives you that feel good vibe.

Mitchell and Josie both grew up in the same commune, but couldn’t be more different. While Mitchell can’t wait to leave the place, Josie thrives in the community. Besides driving to and from school together, you wouldn’t even really call them friends. Though after a major revelation by Mitchell’s mom, his world is turned upside down.

Graduation is almost here, and meanwhile Josie and Mitchell grow closer than ever before. Big decisions need to be made, feelings are involved, colourful secondary characters to keep you on your toes, and Paintbrush Community Village becomes one fascinating place to be.

Paintbrush is a perfect young adult summer read. Two great main characters, real issues, wonderfully written, inspiring message…what more could you need.

*I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

First off let me tell you this book in eBook is only .99 cents man and if you want a paperback? Its only 9.95 for a small publisher that is amazing! Most of them that I have seen the eBook is usually really cheap with the print copy being way WAY expensive. So this rocks man!

Ok, so my review? This book was hit with me. I loved the cover, and the book was a swift read. I am so hit and miss on contemporary books, so I am always scared to start a new one. But this one was so cute! This was a great book about how our lives can change in an instant and how our connections change over the course of our lives. I know that I may still talk with people that I knew ages ago but those conversations are not the same as they were then.

This author did a fabulous job with the characters, setting, and the story as a whole. Everyone was wonderful and I just adored all the characters. The writing was good although some of it felt a little repeatly but I got over it pretty quickly once I got used to it.

This would be a great book for the end of summer before school starts again. I know I really enjoyed it and I cant wait to get a print copy.

I received a copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

Rating: 4 Stars

We follow Josie and Mitchell seniors a few weeks from graduating. They have spent their whole lives together and used to be the best of friends which is easy to see being the only kids at the time at Indian Paintbrush Community Village-AKA Paintbrush. Josie loves Paintbrush and is content to spend her time there while Mitchell is ready to get as far away as possible. The live separate lives in school but as Mitchell’s mother makes a huge announcement it rocks everything he knows while Josie’s younger sister is acting out in dangerous ways. Both of them need support and find it in one another, having shared so much. They see one another in a new light and something more than old friendship starts up, just as they are about to go down separate paths for the future.

I read through this in one day. It was such a quick and sweet read. I was so caught up in the story and the idea of this community. I like how they both saw different sides of Paintbrush. I’m not even an outdoorsy type of person, okay honestly I avoid it like the plague, but this made me wish I was. It made me want to go out and just enjoy nature. I loved the whole concept of the place as a whole and how it played its own character in the story. The concept and idea of the place was explained simply as it was and that was that. A place that takes in all sorts and creates a diverse and colorful community that works together. I could see the positives that Josie loved and the negatives that Mitchell was ready to escape.

Paintbrush is all about the characters and relationships. Between Josie and Mitchell. Between families. Between friends. Between the community. I like that while Mitchell and Josie had been best friends for most of their life and were still friendly as they grew apart they found their own grove and new friends. Mostly because I loved Leah and Cord. Leah though, she had some of the best moments for sure. She is a great friend and so many of the things I love about her are things I see in my own friend! Cord and Mitchell, they are so different but they just have this type of acceptance that is so nice.

This story takes place in such a short time frame when compared to many other books but it manages to pack so much feeling into that time. It tackles so many issues that I think anyone can relate to and this makes the story that much more real. I am so pleased by this debut book!

This debut from Hannah Bucchin was a really cute and fluffy story. I fell in love with Josie and Mitchell, they are too cute. Also, the side characters, like Leah and Cord, the best friends, were awesome, even though their characterization lacked some depth.

There was some angst and drama but nothing too major, overall, it's a nice and entertaining story.

This was so adorable. I have been trying to read more contemporary books and romantic books, especially now that it’s summer. And I have been enjoying them so much! They are always so cute, emotional and quick to read and this one was no exception!

Paintbrush is the story of Josie and Mitchell. They have known each other since they were children, and although living at the Indian Paintbrush Community Village would make it impossible not to know each other, they started drifting apart and finding new friends. Their interactions became only the car rides to school together and the occasional hi and bye. But one day, when everything seems terrible, something good comes of it, and they start passing more time together and getting really close.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book, even the secondary ones. They were all so interesting and well put together! Josie is a bit of a nerd and an outcast, while Mitchell is adored by all the girls, and known to everybody. But in the end, they are not as different as they think. They were such nice characters!

I thought their relationship was really sweet, how they knew so much and yet so less about each other, how much an appearance can be only that. It was really well paced and fun to read about and I absolutely loved it!

As for the secondary characters, there’s way too many that I love… I thought their friends were really great and the people at Paintbrush too. They were all so warm-hearted and so unique! Also, there’s some development with them and even some that you are not kin on, you start loving by the end.

The writing was good, but slightly repetitive – mainly in the beginning. It was too much and it was annoying me. But it actually changed and got less after around 30% of the book, which I was really grateful for.

This book made me laugh and cry. It was really emotional and honest and I loved it for that. I was reading it inside my classroom (during break time) and I had to stop because I didn’t want to start crying there and I could already feel my eyes watering!

I would for sure recommend it, especially if you are looking for a cute book with some amazing characters and a lot of honesty and emotion!

So I admit that I was drawn to the beautiful colors on the cover of this one. And its quite fitting because the plot centers around two teens who were raised "in a commune full of hippies and mountain folk." That being said, just like hippies and mountain folk, the book is very laid back and pretty slow moving so don't expect much action or quick pacing or even very much angst. Things just happen, and the characters deal with them. Mitchell (athletic, funny, good-looking, ready for college <i>away</i> from the commune) and Josie (sunshine-loving, overall-wearing, community lifestyle proud) grew up together and slowly develop a relationship after Mitchell's mom admits to having an affair.

For me, this book never took off as much as I hoped. I always appreciate books with diversity and books that have new and different settings, which this certainly did (I mean, an old woman who does naked yoga every morning? Show me another book that has that!). But I found it to stretch far wider than it did deep. I like depth as well. For being so different, Josie and Mitchell actually sounded pretty similar to me in their reactions. And then for liking each other, they were so judgemental of each other. What gives?? Oh well. By the time their romance was in bloom, it was cute and sweet and well written. Which was a huge plus. Not only was the romance writing great, but the writing of the scenery and the community was wonderful as well. I really enjoyed that.

** Thank you to Blaze Publishing for providing me with an eARC in exchange for a honest review **