After reading Katy Upperman's debut novel, Kissing Max Holden, last year I knew I had to get my hands on her next novel as soon as possible. I was such a huge, huge fan of Kissing Max Holden so my expectations were high, and Katy did not disappoint. The Impossibility of Us was such a wonderful, emotional read, and it was so much better than I expected. I didn't expect this book to make me cry, but I was crying buckets by the end. Upperman does a fantastic job of making the reader feel so many things all at once, and I can truly say this is a story I won't soon forget.

The characters were probably my favorite part of this novel. Elise was so relatable and headstrong and Mati was so sweet and strong--their relationship is so adorable!!! I loved how the story was told from both of their perspectives--Mati's being more poetic and Elise's being written in prose. It really added an extra element of creativity to the story that I haven't seen before. I thought Upperman did an amazing job at addressing Islamophobia by making Mati Afghan and showing how terribly people, including Elise's mother, treat him. I especially enjoyed the moments when Mati taught Elise about his culture--I found those moments to be so precious.

Overall I think Katy did an incredible job with The Impossibility of Us. It touches on topics I don't think I've ever read about in YA novels in such a fantastic way. In conclusion I give the Impossibility of Us four out of five stars for being a heart wrenching, emotional read that'll be sure to have everyone crying. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone, but especially to fans of contemporary romance. Katy Upperman is a fantastic author, and I truly can't wait to see what she comes out with next.

This was cute!!!! The love story and characters and plot were all very strong. The social issues were addressed thoughtfully and the prose was lovely.

I loved this! I expected this to make emotional because of the subject, but it really made me teary. This story was beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time.

Elise and Mati warmed my heart. Elise was going through the grief of losing her brother in Afghanistan and moving to a new town. Mati’s family is from Afghanistan. They are in the U.S. on a medical Visa to get health care for his father. When they met there was a connection that I wasn’t read for.

These two had so much thrown at them that I was scared to keep reading. I needed things to work out between them so much. This was really down to their families. Honestly I couldn’t stand Elise’s mother and sister in law. I understand their grief, but they were downright awful to Mati. You cannot judge a whole race because of the actions of some and that’s what they did.

Like I said before, This book made me teary and emotional. I was into this story and I want to push it at people to read. Even you don’t like YA contemporary, give it a shot!

This was a wonderful forbidden romance. Two teens fall in love but due to the differences in their family cultures, they are faced with pressure and criticism among their family. Mati (the hero) is Afghan and Elise (the heroine) is the sister of a fallen US soldier. They meet on the beach in Elise's new hometown and face judgment from their family. The plot and characters were enjoyable. I thought the story was cute and I found myself rooting for Mati and Elise. The story sends a message that love transcends all. I am glad I picked up this book!

It’s poignant, intense, and was swooning over the moon. It sure will stir and provoke your thoughts to question morality, upbringing complicated feelings over differences of race, values, and beliefs. With the topic of racism, it was explained more than enough, it was heartfelt, the way the information was feed to the readers was lovely and touching.

There were cultural differences and values between families. The juxtaposition posed was handled great. All were shown in the right amounts of it. The drama among, the camaraderie built, beliefs, the relationship with family and partner. And prejudices present in our society.

I dare you not to shed a single tear going through this book. The Impossibility of Us is the whole package! A compelling novel you won’t easily forget and would be loved by all reading age groups. I recommend it to everyone.

Very sweet story! Dealt with a lot of society prejudices as well as her mother and sister in laws predudices and hatred. Told mostly from Elise’s POV. However Mati has some chapters from his POV that are his poetry which I thought was really cool. Will stir emotions when reading about how Mati is treated by others in the US.

Now here is something entirely different. Not only is it is a cross-cultural romance between an American girl and an Afghani boy, but it is also told in dual narrative that is part prose and part poetry. The summer before her senior year, Elise is forced to move to Cypress Beach to help care for her young niece, who’s young soldier father was killed on his first deployment. There she meets Mati, in America with his parents due to his father’s cancer, and a target of hatred from almost everyone he meets – except for Elise. Despite the objections of their families, the two fall deeply in love, and told through the eyes of Elise and the soul of Mati, their tale of star-crossed love is affecting, beautiful and thoroughly enchanting. Very clever, very original, and very, very romantic. Unforgettable. – Rachel Hyland

4 1/2 stars.

This review appears in Romantic Intentions Quarterly #2.

Buckets, people, I cried buckets of tears reading this one. It was emotional on so many levels. Upperman incorporated ideas of forgiveness, friendship, grief, loss, tolerance, and prejudice into a touching story of first love.

• Pro: What a beautiful and emotional story. My heart was wrecked in a bunch different ways, but also filled with so much joy.

• Pro: I must say, I was a fan of the book format. It was alternating POVs between Elise and Mati, but Mati's chapters were in verse, and they were really gorgeous.

• Pro: Mati shared so many wonderful things about his family, his religion, and who he was, and it all made me love him that much more.

• Pro: Mati's Baba was so fabulous, and I found myself hoping his treatments would work, because the world needed a leader like him out there.

• Con: I was a little disappointed, that in a book where there was this idea about making generalizations, that the author did just that.

• Pro: The relationship between Elise and her niece was so heartwarming, and I got teary-eyed every time she shared those "daddy" stories. My heart --> 💔

• Pro: I was really impressed by the ending. There were parts I was overjoyed about, and others that I accepted, because it seemed, sadly, realistic.

Overall: A beautiful and touching story, which reminds us that love can transcend all barriers.

What a beautiful story... I cried and laughed and smiled and felt the heartbreak of these two teenagers as they fought to be together against all the reasons that they should be. Told in alternating voices and writing styles, Elise and Mati have a beautiful story to tell. Elise has recently moved with her mother to be closer to her sister-in-law and niece. After the death of her older brother in Afghanistan, Elise has been trying to survive and find her way. When she meets Mati on the beach, she is drawn to him but her family is quickly against him due to the fact that he is visiting the country from Afghanistan while his father receives cancer treatment. Their relationship is so well written and real that the reader is immediately sucked into the story and cares about what is happening to these two. Elise finds friendship with Mati and her neighbor Ryan, who is exploring his own new relationship. This is a story about love, pain and heartbreak but it is also a story full of hope that there is a way to move beyond the places and people that we are not comfortable with and may not always understand. I liked that this story showed both the pain their relationship was causing to Elise's family and Mati's family. I loved the writing shift between prose and a free verse poetry style. I enjoyed Upperman's first book but this second story grabbed my heart even more than her first novel. Thank you netgalley for an opportunity to read this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I need more substance and more reason for the instant attraction and draw to each other! Grrr
Full review on goodreads.

EEEEEKKKKK!! Omg! I've found a new favorite author! Katy's writing has blown me away. Her characters were so real and lovable! My heart ached for them the entire book and i was ugly crying at the end. This book tackled so many issues. Learning to love and to trust and learning how to live with you heart when the deck is stacked against you. My heart broke for Elise for all she goes through in this book: dealing with her brothers death, wanting to love someone and being told not to. Also cuteness overload with her niece and how she named their dog Bambi. This book is super adorable!!!! 5/5 Stars.
***I received an e-arc of this book from Swoon Reads via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

Absolutely loved it. I may not know what it's like to have a family member in the Army, but I was able to relate to Elsie's brother being away. The emotion that goes into how Elsie is dealing with this was so spot on. The struggles in this book were portrayed really well and I couldn't put it down.

Thank you net galley for the advance read copy of this novel. This was a clean romance of star crossed lovers. I enjoyed the perspective of Muslim faith that played in this novel. Elise and Mati's relationship was tender and the prejudices that they each face within their families was realistic for today's young adults. The language was a bit salty at times but I appreciated that there was no sex so very much. I would recommend this novel and author to others.

I loved Katy's first book but The Impossibility of us blew me away, I fell in love with Elise and Mati and their story. Great Book

This is a beautifully written book about two teenagers from opposite sides of the world. Elsie is still dealing with the loss of his brother in Afganistan and the move from her hometown to Cypress Beach. Mati is from Afganistan and is in California so that his father can be part of a medical trial. The story of forbidden love that is inlined with what's currently happening in the world. The only part that I disliked was the ending; it wrapped up too nicely. I think that it would have meant more if it wasn't such a happy ending.

THIS IS A GREAT BOOOK. OH MY GOD THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK. It's about falling in love for the first time. It's about loss, and the grief that a family goes through. It's about racism and how it can effect us all. The Impossibility of Us left me stunned. I was expecting a fluffy contemporary. I got so much more; it was heartfelt, emotional and so damn adorable. I will be buying this one for sure

This book had an unexpected impact on me. Honestly, I was not expecting to love it as much as I did. I was a bit apprehensive when I read Mati's first chapter because I was not expecting this formatting, but I really grew to love his perspective. I went into this book expecting a cute romance and I finished with that and so much more. The discussions about racism, discrimination, love, and fighting for your independence and what you believe in.

The characters were great! Mati was loveable and unique and Elise was very relatable and real. I was apprehensive during the first few chapters but quickly grew to love the characters and how they created their own story. They were strong characters who fought for themselves, made mistakes and learned from them, and learned to practice forgiveness and acceptance. Even the side characters were well-developed and loveable.

The real-world issues were not romanticized or preached. It felt so organic and didn't make the story seem like the author's political tirade. I really appreciated that Elise made an effort to actually understand Mati's culture, especially since she had such a negative personal experience with the radical side of it. I came away from this book with more knowledge and understanding of Afghanistan and its culture, which I can't say about many other books.

My love of this books was unexpected but very welcomed. I look forward to reading more from Katy Upperman!

While I was taken by the story of Elise and Mati and their struggles with being accepted by their families, I was distracted by what I felt was the thinly veiled agenda of the author.

This was a great young adult romance. I thought the use of poetry for Mati’s chapters was particularly effective. The characters were well-rounded, and the romance was believable. Young readers will also probably come away from the book having learned a little about another culture. Overall, a good book to recommend to teens.

I really liked this book. At first, I thought it was going to have the same concept as many young adult contemporary books, move to or visit a new town, meet a boy and fall in love. Don't get me wrong I love those books, but something I want something more raw and thats what I got with this book. It was a rollercoaster of emotions and I could not out it down. Thanks to the author, publisher, and netgalley for making this review possible.