This is a beautiful novel in prose about two friends trying to stick together despite many different trials. It’s heartbreaking, but also uplifting and hopeful. Loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This novel in verse was a story about getting lost in our way to find love and then find ourselves with the help of Love. Because there are feelings that we call love but we should not confuse love with self-distruction.
Books find you when you need them And I needed this reminder so bad.
And We Call it Love was everything I wanted in a novel in verse and more.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks NetGalley!

claire & zari are best friends... inseparable. until zari starts dating dion. claire tosses it up to it being a new an exciting relationship and waits it out... until she starts seeing some hidden bruises on zari... and she knows things have changed.

this book is written in verse and beautiful.

And We Call It Love is a short, but powerful story written in verse. There's really nothing more to say about this. It deals with abuse, with a toxic relationship and with the message that friendships are so, so important. Especially when things are going downhill for someone. Support is key when you know something isn't right with one of your friends. Even if they push you away.
This short book definitely shows just that.

The only thing I had an issue with, is there seeming to be two different POV's. It was often very hard to tell who's POV a poem was set in, which made reading it a bit harder than it should've been. Since I read an ARC, I think the difference will probably be clear in the finished copy when all the formatting is done right? At least I hope so, haha.

4 / 5

There has been a considerable amount of thought and emotion in this poetry book. The poet introduces us to her life so gently and in such a wholesome way that one feels like they are sitting there in her room with her thoughts. It felt like being invited into her home. I appreciated the effort and thought, it led me to her house and mind. I was hoping for a little more exploration of her emotional states and her mind. I look forward to it in the next collection!

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I enjoyed reading this. An interesting story with fun characters. Well written.

*This book was sent by me from the publisher for honest review.*

Nice poetry. The book was overall charming .I liked the book and enjoyed reading the poetry. Eagerly waiting for new titles from the author.

The font was very very small and thus was unreadable. So had to drop this one. Had high hopes though.

I love the theme of the different sections broken up onto the four seasons. This collection is a beautiful and personal telling. I found myself relating to a lot of the poems. Her style is very lyrical. I enjoy all the different subject matters that were talked about throughout the entire collection. I really enjoyed the different perspectives from Zara and Clare.

Claire and Zari are the best of friends, they know everything about one another.
But when Zari starts dating Zion she becomes withdrawn, everyone else might be fooled into believing Zari's lies as to why sh is covered in bruises but Clare knows better and she will fight to protect her best friend.

This book is written in Verse. I personally do not like reading books in verse because you can not connect fully with the characters,
I did like the story that was being told and the topic it dealt with.
If you enjoy reading books written in verse I would recommend picking this one up.

I am thankful for the publishers and netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really unique book. I was particularly impressed with the writing. The narrative dealt with family, love, friendship, abuse, and commonality. I enjoyed the fact that the author wasn’t scared to let the cat out of the bag about a somewhat taboo subject that would reach a younger crowd. Lamentably, they never think it’ll happen to them, life.

Finally! A hi-lo novel in verse about REAL THINGS! Thank you!!!

As a librarian of many reluctant readers and English language learners, my hi-lo collection is well-worn and a constant area of development. You know what it's missing? A novel-in-verse. Hi-lo books have a rhythm all their own. Plots are often simpler while the content is gritty. For some, they find these books skim the surface and to those people I say:
EXACTLY.
That's what hi-lo is for. It's like a gateway chocolate before you eat the rest of the bag. It gets the kids reading! Then, if they come back and ask for more books like that, you go crazy and show them all the amazing things you have.

I adored the formatting, how accessible the language was, and the characterization. I feel like I know exactly who these girls are (and the boy I'd rather NOT know). The overwhelming message of friendship, support, and getting out of a violent situation are messages our teens need to hear.

If I could change one thing about this book, it would be to label each page clearly with the name of who is speaking. It is labelled whenever the narrator switches, but if I put the book down and came back later, it was sometimes a struggle to remember who was talking. If we're talking maximum accessibility here, I would love to see this changed before the actual printing. (I read an ARC version from NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.)

I have a very good friend named Zari. She's older than me, and 7 years ago got married to a guy who, let's say, was bad news altogether. I will not get into details, but after 18 month of marriage they filed for divorce. Needless to say, when I read the premise about this book, it hit home and very hard.

Zari meeting Dion was fateful enough to predict bag things happening. Just as in many, many teenage stories, once BFF gets a boyfriend, the other half BFF is thrown to the side and in this particular case, since Zari's parents didnt approve of her friendship with Claire, it was more than obvious that a very wide breach would open, until the day Claire noticed Zari with bruises.


it's hard to talk about teenage relationship abuse cause many don't even believe it's a thing. But newsflash: IT IS REAL. and not only that, it's a disease our society tries to hide in order not to unleash the pandemic. it's more common that you think and it affects many teenage girls (and boys, for that matter) around the world. Just cause you have a teenage boyfriend it doesn't mean he's automatically prince charming, right?

it's important we spread the word among our youth. The way this book is written is fantastic IMO, and it should be an optional read for young High Schoolers who are experiencing the throws of teen love.

Thank you to the publisher and author for the privilege of granting me this ARC.

This is a sad, yet heartwarming book about friendship. It's written in verse, but has a continuing (sp?) story, which made it an interesting read, but it got the message out in a way that one couldn't do with "regular" prose.

A noble attempt at fiction in verse but the domestic violence subplot felt contrived and the friendship between the two friends suffered from a lack of complexity. Much too "after school special."

3.5*
First of all, this is told in two perspectives that I misunderstood in the beginning so I had to start all over again, my fault. Second, this was good! Like... I haven't really enjoyed a poetry book or just wanted to pick one up in a while so I'm glad I enjoyed this one. Also, I never really read a poetry book in which the poems were linked (basically fiction in verse), normally it's just poems that are separate from each other beside the point of being about the same thing. This talks about abuse and I was not expecting that!

It was good, recommend!

Very good book. I found the poems short and very easy to understand. This book is all about teenage relationships, the good and also the bad and the ugly. I originally thought that this book was going to be about something completely different but I was pleasantly surprised when I started to read the book that it was every more interesting than I originally thought it would be. The only thing I didn't like about this book was the constant switch in perspectives it made it very hard to follow even though the author did a great job of stating who was speaking and when they switched. I just found it a little jarring. Very simple book but worth the read.

3 Stars!

I think this was a more of a it's me not you kinda thing, I wasn't as engaged as what I would of liked, however I can see why other people would enjoy this more than I did!

I loved the writing style in this book! It was very interesting the way Amanda was able to write the novel in verse. However, with the little graphics replacing some of the letters in the words it got confusing! Also, it needs a trigger warning for domestic violence so the audience will be able to know before hand if they can handle the content.

And We Call It Love by Amanda Vink
This is a different kind for read for me. I me, I read poetry, but not in story form. I thought it was unique way to convey the message of dating abuse that is so prevalent in our society today. Especially the topic of teen dating abuse. I loved the way Clare is portrayed. A sensitive and creative girl, who is both keen and strong enough to help her friend Zari. I love the title. It is so fitting for the subject matter.
Told in poetry and prose for both the MCs POVs, it switches back and forth between the two. I became invested in the characters. They were so realistic. This story-telling style was a perfect way to impart the subject matter and you saw a genuine connection between the two girls and how much they cared for each other. It brought forth feelings and I sometime cried while reading it. The author certainly has a flair for telling a tale in a new and inimitable way and I loved it. Her writing is perfection and spot on. One can’t help but wonder if she has not created this, or if she has lived it.
The characters were all dynamic and meaningful to the account as a whole. The parents of the different individuals, Zari and Claire, Dion, and others in the cast that brought the entire thing together. It was such an interesting method to introduce problems and cycle of abuse: manipulation, alienation, control and then abuse. You came to know the depth of fear Zari had for Clare, and her attempts to intervene. There was such a perfect dynamic between them.
The plot moved at a steady pace and as you read, you are drawn in slowly, almost unwittingly into the narrative. It was a quick, albeit difficult (in terms of topic) book. It tackles issues of abuse certainly, but also, of others’ unwillingness to see what is happening to the victim. I thought it was shrewdly presented by Vink.
This is a book I will give to my daughters to read. I think it is a significant examination of a very preeminent issue. I thought it was flawless. 5/5.
I was given this book by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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