It was pretty confusing to me to know which of the two characters was narrarating and this could have been done better. The books also didn’t make the impact I wanted it to make but I do think it is an important topic to talk about and I like the way it was told.

And We Call It Love is a story of love and abuse told in verse narration. It's unique and definitely a topic we need. but I wasn't a fan of the verse bit, which is odd because I LOVE poetry. I think, for me, this story lost some of its depth in place where straight up prose or more impact lines would have done the job.

Note to the publisher: I’m sorry, but this is not the review that you were expecting. My old phone broke, and all the titles that I had saved to it went too. Since NetGalley has archived the books, I am no longer able to access them. My sincerest apologies.

This ended up being an okay read. In this short novella, we follow two teenage best friends who begin to drift apart when one of them enters into a new relationship. Soon it becomes clear to Clare that something is wrong, as Zari is acting less and less like her usual self. She realizes that there may be some abuse taking place in her friend’s relationship. Clare knows she has to help her friend remove herself from this horrible situation. I didn’t love this book, but I didn’t hate it either. This narrative deals with very serious issues that can take a while to fully understand, so while this was decent, a longer format suits this topic much better.

And this brings us to an opinion that is going to sound a bit silly given the type of story this is supposed to be. This is what is considered “hi-lo” fiction—short books that are designed to encourage young, reluctant readers to read more. This one seems like it is aimed for a late middle school to early high school audience, so basically early young adult. This story definitely fits into the short format better than some other books of this type that I have checked out. However, I still ended up feeling that it needed just a little bit more to it. It is harder to connect with the characters given the small amount of information we get on them.

That being said, I do think this is one of the more decent examples of hi-lo fiction that I have come across. It is quite hard for me to put myself in the shoes of a potential reader of this novel as I want to read every book in sight. With this one, though, I did get into it a bit more. While these are topics that are hard to fully portray in this limited format, I think the author did an okay job. Domestic abuse and speaking up about it is such an important and timely topic, and I love the fact that Vink is contributing this work to an audience that needs to learn this information.

This title explores a serious topic in a unique and honest way. From the points of view of two friends, we see the consequences of friendship and trust being tested. A tricky subject and verse aided in the story-telling.

"And We Call It Love" is a story written in poetry/prose about two best-friends Zari and Clare. The main theme of the book is about what happens when a friendship is tested by families and significant others. I found the bond between the two girls was very authentic and heartwarming. Both girls have hardships and tough situations throughout the story. Clare struggles with the loss of her father as well as trying to help her mother make ends meet, and Zari also deals with the pressure of upholding the "perfect daughter" title her parents have pushed upon her... and an abusive boyfriend during the end of the book!

The story is told through the girls points of view and switches back and forth. At first, this was a little confusing...but once I was able to get into it the rest flowed very easily. This was a really touching and honest look at some of the pressures teens can face from the people they hold most dear.

📚 Thank you to NetGalley and West 44 Books for this e-galley in exchange for my honest review.
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📚 Clare and Zari, though from different walks of life, are close friends who understand one another and are there for each other during the tough times.  When Zari gets an internship to work under Irving Mallory, a fellow professor of her father whom he very much admires, little does she know his son Dion will become the boyfriend that your mom warns you about. Dion is abusive, controlling, and demanding of Zari's time, effectively pulling the friends apart. How will Clare be able to intervene when she keeps getting pushed away from the one person she is trying to save?
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📚 I loved the concept of this book. While it is a middle grade novel, it broaches a topic that unfortunately kids as young as middle-schoolers are having to encounter and are not prepared for. If only more books reached out to that age-group, maybe the kids would know how bad it is, how bad it can get, and how to get help.
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📚 I had trouble discerning who was speaking with each poem. It constantly switched between Clare and Zari's point of view, but there was no way to tell (different page, different font, name at top, etc.) or pattern to follow, to know immediately that there was a change. This created a confusion as I read and I kept getting the points of view mixed up. Context clues helped, but I had to re-read most of the poems after figuring out I had read it in the wrong girl's voice, time and again.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher West 44 Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.



This is another book where I went out of my comfort zone to try a new style of book, as well as to not read any other reviews or spoilers, if you will. I think that if I had done that, I may have seen that the entire book was written in verse and not just parts of it. That being said, I am trying to not take that into consideration in regards to my review. I was a little confused at first with the verse going between points of view, but once I established the pattern and who characters were, I definitely got more into the book. I read through this one quickly, and found myself a little perplexed at the end. I was left wanting more. I wish somehow there was a little more depth and a little more background. The following is to avoid a direct spoiler alert: With the story material, I felt as though the plot was wrapped up a little too neatly, and too quickly.

Zari and Clare are best friends. They have a lot in common including their love for music and writing. The one thing that makes them different is their economic status. Zari's parents are educated professionals. Her father is a college professor. Clare's father was a musician, but he died. Clare's mother is going back to school to get her degree in botany.
Zari meets Dion, son of the professor and writer that Zari's father looks up to. She is intrigued by him and is flattered by the attention he gives her. They begin to date, but he is not the guy he pretends to be. Pressured by her parents and Dion, Zari ends her friendship with Clare.
This book did not quite hit the mark for me. Character development left me unsatisfied. I feel like the writing started to interest me but I was let down because of its quick ending. I even researched a little bit to see if this was the second book in the series. I felt there was too much left out of the story.
I will consider adding this to my classroom bookshelf because my students enjoy reading narrative poetry.
2.5/5 stars

Wow, okay, I am very behind on reviewing recently and I seriously apologise! I found ‘And We Call it Love’ far better than some of the other poetry written YA novels I have found, but it certainly didn’t stand out to me. There were some pages where I felt captivated and caught, unable to get the words out of my head, but more than not I found it lacking. It was lyrical, but meaningless. The poems that represented the story seems to only hold the purpose of telling a story, rather than trying to get the reader to engage with it. For someone who wants to be wowed, this ain’t it (chief (okay, I’m sorry, I had to do that)) but it certainly is a lightgoing and easy book to read when you are looking for a change in your reading diet.

Clare and Zari both have similar thought processes, which I understand comes from being long-time friends, but I found it difficult to have a stark difference between the POV I was reading from. I think that the message explored within this novel, such as abusive relationships, friendship and self-worth (and therefore, self-discovery) are very important ones, and this is a book that starts to explore these very well! This book is perfect for middle grade to tween readers, so I may be looking for something a little more sophisticated to quench my personal preferences, but this is still an amazing novel.

Much thanks to NetGalley and West 44 Books for this complimentary copy. This review is voluntary and opinions are fully my own.

📚 Series: No
📚 Genre: Young Adult Poetry

⚠ Content Warnings: Domestic Abuse, Friendship Problems, Family Problems

And We Call It Love is a story told through poetry/verse about two friends Zari and Clare. They are two best friends who write music and do everything else together but is faced with trials when Clare starts dating and they encounter parental problems.

This book is very promising but I think felt short in so many ways. The theme is very timely and important but I was looking for more impact, considering that the sensitivity of the theme. I was looking for more feeling. I was waiting for the goosebumps, unfortunately there were none.

This poetry book still sent a great message and it is a very quick and easy-to-understand read.

☁ THE CRITERIA ☁
🌻 Blurb:⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Heroine:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Heroine:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Support Characters:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Writing Style:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Character Development:⭐⭐
🌻 Pacing:⭐⭐
🌻 Ending:⭐⭐
🌻 Page Turner:⭐⭐
🌻 Book Cover:⭐⭐⭐⭐

☁FINAL VERDICT: 2.8/5 ☁

This book was.. different. As it was written in verse style I had a bit of a time actually getting into it since it’s not the kind of book I usually gravitate towards. The reason as to why I kept reading it through the end is because of the message behind this story which I believe is so much more important in this current climate than ever. I couldn’t help but think that not every survivor of abuse is fortunate enough to have a Clare in their life, or an older brother willing to fight for their sister and friend. These two characters were able to help Zari realize that she did not deserve the abusive relationship that she was in and that there was a life beyond the one she had fallen into.

I have read many books done in verse, but I didn't care for one. The writing style seemed strange and chaotic. There did not seem to be a rhythm that was comprehensive. The plot was lacking and broken.

This 200-page book told in verse tells the story of Clare and Zari. They've been best friends for years when Zari starts an internship with a famous author and gets enamored with his son. Everything gets complicated from there.

As much as I like books told through verses, I have to stop requesting books from this collection. I always feel like those are way too short and can't transfer feelings properly. It all feels rushed...
Anyway this was ok but I couldn't care all that much. it speaks of interesting topics but since it was so short, I felt like it was brushed over. Like it couldn't really convey how important these topics actually are.
I do not know if I make sense but that's how I felt.

I have a love/hate relationship when it comes books written in verse or through poetry. They can either be extremely effective, or kind of a waste. And We Call It Love had a great premise, but I think it never should have been written in verse. The poetry was lackluster, when it had the potential to be powerful. The darker parts of the plot could have been way more intense if they had been flushed out and explored more. 

Another thing that got lost in the story's format was the change in perspectives. half the time I had a really hard time figuring out who was narrating. If I could have this story written in prose, I would have enjoyed it much more. 

I was sent an e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A young adult story told in a series of short, free form poems, And We Call It Love by Amanda Vink is a powerful and memorable book that tackles dark and difficult situations head on.
Best friends Clare and Zari do everything together, from schoolwork to writing and performing music and are as close as sisters, but when Zari is pushed by her ambitious parents into taking a prestigious internship and falls for the charismatic Dion, the relationship between the girls begins to feel some pressure. It's not helped by the fact that Zari's mother does not approve of Clare, especially when she begins dating her son, but when Zari beings distancing herself from everyone, and starts showing up at school with bruises, Clare knows that she must help her friend no matter what.
One of my favorite things about this book was the way the author built the relationship between the girls, their voices felt real and the way they spoke to and related to each other seemed very genuine, which is important since without believing in this relationship the rest of the book would not really hold up. I also liked that a book aimed at teens was willing to look at abuse and violence within a relationship, something that I haven't really seen before in books aimed at this age group, but something that sadly does happen in real life. While upsetting to read about, the subject was well handled, it never felt gratuitous or overly dramatic, just chillingly and disturbingly real. Giving us both Clare and Zari's perspectives worked really well to show how sometimes people on the outside looking in have no idea what goes on behind closed doors.
I ended up reading this book in a single sitting, partly because of the format, the flowing nature of the writing made it easy to just keep reading, but mostly because as a reader I was invested in these two young women and their story, and I was eager to see what would happen.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

A verse novel, which I have just been introduced to as of recently. Turns out it is a style of book that I can really appreciate!

Vink offers a back and forth story telling between high school best friends. It navigates between friendship, first love, abuse and the general woes of young adults. I would recommend this book to my younger self, proof that I was definitely not alone and my experiences were not uncommon. Thank you for shining light on the hard stuff and giving voice to those who feel alone. 3 stars (and probably 5 if I was 15 reading this).

Thank you to West44 and NetGalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

Very different from what I used to but And We Call It Love is a beautiful book about female friendship. It depicts the best and the worst about it. For some reason, I had all the feels - be it happy or angry or sad - I could feel it all while reading the book. Everyone should a try reading it.

And We Call It Love is a book of poetry that brings us a history of friendship, toxic relationships and inner strength.

Claire and Zari are best friends. They write songs together, they know each other better than anyone and they are inseparable.

Claire is a girl with some difficulties so the money she earnes playing guitar on the street is to fill the needs that exist at home. Zari comes from a family with money and is constantly on the pressure to realize the dreams that her parents idealized for her.

The problem is that Zari's parents don't like Claire ... nor her recent boyfriend, Dion.

When a boyfriend does not like our best friend, this is already a sign that something is wrong. Of the two of them: or our friendship isn't really the best, but we already know that - and there we are, we insist on this toxic relationship too - or this is a warning to pay attention to our partner. But Zari ignored all the signs.

I got very involved with this book because I once was Zari in some situations and, mostly, I was Claire trying to rescue a friend from a situation like this. I know how hard it is to see people push us away and we don't know why, but it requires a lot of patience and time to be there for that friend no matter what, even if we do not agree with the direction the person is taking.

"It's difficult for a tree to survive without its support system."

We're going to think that she knows very well the situation she is into and maybe we will think that she does not get out of the situation because she doesn't want it, but it's more complicated than it seems. For those in the situation it is very difficult to feel that you can leave, there is always fear of the consequences of ending the relationship. What Dion did was to get Zari's support system, and the parents, whether they wanted to or not, also contributed to it. He began with small things that put her self-esteem down, and then inflated her again with the typical words "I love you", "I need you" and she even thinks that the problem of seeing something wrong with his behavior is purely her fault.

I learned from Dion that normally abusers are boys unsatisfied with themselves, that have to be the center of the universe at all times and when they find their target they will not rest until they break the person at their will.

With this book we think a lot about how often we do not tolerate some attitudes like the ones that Dion has, how often do we blame ourselves for something the other has done because "it was a consequence of our actions", how many times we erase ourselves so the other can shine because if we shine we will have repercussions, whether physical or psychological? And I'm not just talking about love, I'm talking about friendships and family. We have to stop canceling ourselves for other people. We have to stop romanticizing what is toxic.

The book is so well constructed that the poems look like prose and the story of the two friends is told in such a fluid way that we get lost in time. I loved the fact that the narrator changes, allowing us to see the situation from two perspectives: from the victims and from the perspective of the friend who feels powerless.

That is why I strongly recommend reading this book because it tells us a story that we may have passed through at some point in our lives, or that we have seen someone pass by and shows us that we must act, even doing the small great act of being there for the other person.

For those who are starting to read in English this book is a good bet, since its language is very simple, the author says what she has to say and the message is very clear.

I would like to thank author Amanda Vink, West 44 Books publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. One of the best I've read so far in 2019!

Enjoyed the storyline and the main character immensely. Some of the secondary characters were a little annoying and grated on my nerves, but the writing was lovely and the story was interesting.