I'm liking this trend in fiction of the push for medical advocacy. That's the most fascinating arc of this book: the chronic patient who doesn't feel heard. But the central conflict isn't with her doctors or her parents. It's internal. SHe's confident that something needs to change but constantly second guesses her decisions. Is her decision against surgery really what she wants or based on fatigue? This is, of course, more than a medical story. It's plot about perceptions and what we project onto other people. A little lacking in focus but generally a positive experience.

It’s My Life’s main character is Jenna Cohen. Jenna has a great family, a fabulous bestie, and a severe crush on her just-returned-to-town next door neighbor (who no longer lives next door).

Oh, yeah, and Jenna has Cerebral Palsy.

In Stacie Ramey's newest masterpiece, she takes the reader on a journey through Jenna's world - a place where she escapes to a fantasy life where she feels she's the Jennifer she's really meant to be - and its trials and tribulations. Her parents don't seem to want to listen to her when she wants to be included in her medical decisions, prompting her to talk to her attorney uncle about filing for medical emancipation. When Julian - the boy next door who moved away in seventh grade - returns, Jenna finds herself still seriously crushing on him. But instead of talking to him in the real world, she engages anonymously with Julian through texting.

Ramey paints strong pictures of the challenges of Jenna's life while still showing that being differently abled doesn't change the angst of a teenage girl. Jenna still has to deal with her crush, her best friend, and her family, with the added challenge of her CP, a condition that makes her parents even more overprotective of her.

The plot is well-drawn and engaging throughout, and even if Ramey weren't a member of my writing circle, I would praise this book to the heavens. It's a wonderful book with a realistic depiction of living with a potentially crippling medical condition. A must read for 2020.

I got an ARC of this book.

This book was something that sounded perfect for me. There was angst. There was romance. There was angst that got in the way of romance. Maybe even a tragic backstory I am a sucker for a tragic backstory.

The good: I was super excited to read a story about a teenage girl with CP. I can't say if the representation was any bit good. I have no experience with CP, outside of watching a netflix show about a gay man with CP. So please do not expect me to be able to do this topic any justice. The part that I really liked was how complicated everything was emotionally. The parents and Jenna had a complicated relationship, because of the medical decisions. It was a relationship filled with love, but there was more to it. I loved that there was representation of someone wanting more control of their body. Body autonomy is something I want to see more of in life and in literature. I want the idea that people should control their own body and choices that impact their bodies. 

The bad: the characters were pretty flat. The best friend was a GBF. The sister was just a sister. The brother was a hockey player. The dad was a dad. There really was not depth to them. Jenna's depth came all from reacting to medical decisions and obsessing over a boy. This obsession brings me to my biggest problems with the book. The romance and the romance. I know I just said the same thing twice, but I meant two different things. The actual relationship was weak. Two people who haven't seen each other in years are head over heels for each other in a Boy Meets World sort of back story way? I wanted to ship it, but they have been apart for years. They don't even know each other. The way that Jenna was about Julian was obsession, not love. It wasn't healthy. The romance, meaning the way they wooed each other, was also creepy. Seriously? Texting someone and refusing to say who you are, because you know what you are doing is wrong. Jenna had taken Julian's number without his consent and memorized it, she had it in her phone. If a man did this, it would read as creepy immediately. The conflict and resolution of the conflict for the romance was lackluster. The resolution for a lot of stuff was lackluster. 

The good: I liked the flow of the story. I liked how Jenna had an internal voice she used to help her get through pain and complications. I liked how Jenna made bad decisions. I like how she tried to take control of something, but did so in a way that wasn't exactly healthy. I liked how Jenna wasn't perfect, I especially liked it after she told the story of the saints. 

So overall, it was ok. It wasn't a great romance. It wasn't a great story of triumph. It was just ok. The romance could have been cut entirely and I would have liked the book more. It is pretty rare when I don't ship something. I ship EVERYTHING. So I wouldn't recommend this book as a romance, but as I would as a teen drama.

From the beginning, this book called my attention due to the representation, since I'd never read about a main character with cerebral palsy, I thought it would be something very interesting for me to read. I ended up enjoying it, I think it's a book that despite touching a super-serious theme has the ability to be quite light to read, which is great. It also has adorable scenes and a great family support system. However, it has some weak points that need a little more work and I'll talk more about them later.


In the book we follow Jenna, she's a young woman who suffers from cerebral palsy and after she finds out that her condition was caused due to a bad praxis, she's furious with her parents for having hidden it from her. Soon she must also face a new intervention and all this makes Jenna feel that her life is getting out of her control. When Julian, her childhood love, returns town, Jenna begins to send him messages anonymously to help him with his homework, but soon their conversations become more serious and a stronger feeling begins between them. Jenna starts to have doubts about what she's doing, and wonders if he really wants her once he discovers who she really is.


I think that a type of book where the main character suffered from a condition such as cerebral palsy should be taken very seriously and give it the place it deserves, I'm very happy to have run into this type of book, I must admit I was totally ignorant about this condition, so I think I'm a little bit wiser now, which is always a good thing. Beyond that, I'm not in a position to criticize the rep due to my ignorance on the subject, so based on the author's note, which so gently leaves us at the end of the book, it shows that she's an informed person since she has worked with children suffering from cerebral palsy, so I think it's great that she clarifies that to us. It was super painful to see Jenna going through all those treatments and to see all those devices that she uses to improve her quality of life, but it was eye-opening as well.

There's a huge romantic weight in this story, it's pretty much focused on it, it's a very adorable romance, but there are scenes where I think Jenna could be somewhat obsessed with Julian and they made me uncomfortable, these scenes are all about senseless jealousy, you know? but leaving that aside has super sweet and adorable moments that made me smile. The rest of the relationships in the book are very positive, which I'm very grateful for, the relationship with her family is very supportive and loving, (it's also very interesting to see how much the family is affected when a family member suffers from cerebral palsy), and also presents a very beautiful friendship relationship.


Medical Emancipation is touched upon, which I think is super interesting since I haven't read much about it. I think it's a subject that although it's taken very seriously at the beginning, it doesn't have the necessary depth or seriousness, I think it's touched very lightly and that's why it was unable to have a strong impact for me.

Something super curious and that I think adds another dimension to the story, is the fact that she has another self in her head, as another healthy version of herself, and whenever she has a difficulty she returns to that scene in her head and she revives it with her healthy self, "Jennifer" she calls it and we see how she would react to each situation. I think it's very smart, and it also gives us the opportunity to get to know Jenna better.


Sadly I don't have much to say about the characters, because they don't have a great depth in their personalities or lives, the only one we focus on is Jenna, and although I like first-person POV, I would have liked to know more about the other characters. Another thing that was annoying for me was the transition between chapters, which is done very abruptly and when another chapter begins you almost feel lost by a moment, there are also very strange time jumps and all this doesn't help the plot flows well.

In summary, I think the idea is to give us a look at the daily life of a person with cerebral palsy and I think that's really well achieved, has very solid moments like the family relationship and some of Jenna's internal thoughts, that help us to know her more. But on the other hand, it has weak points that need more work such as the transitions of the chapters and the deep and development of the secondary characters. Anyway, it's a book to highlight due to its representation and I would recommend it, no doubt, it's very easy to read and it will leave you thinking.

A timely narrative about disability, sense of self, and first love, It’s My Life deftly navigates the difficulties–physical, emotional, and social–that accompany serious disability, through the eyes of a smart, likable, and relatable narrator. Though it does get a bit cheesy and/or implausible at times, the story itself is an important one, specifically targeting the younger end of the YA spectrum with a solid message of hope.

(The blurb here on Goodreads covers the story fairly well, so I'm not going to bore you by repeating that.)

This is the second book I’ve read this year about a character with cerebral palsy (the first being A Curse So Dark and Lonely), and in terms of awareness about the condition and how serious it can be, this one did a far more thorough job. Of course, with such a wide variety of symptom manifestations, this is not a criticism of the other book; rather, it is a compliment of this one. (Note: while this isn’t an OwnVoices story, the author noted at the end of the book that she is a speech-language pathologist who works with a lot of CP patients, and as far as I can tell, she has done a solid job of research. If there are any OwnVoices reviewers out there who disagree with that, please let me know and I’ll edit that last part accordingly.) We see all the pains Jenna deals with on a regular basis: repeated hospital visits that put her behind in class, crutches and a wheelchair that impair her mobility, unexpected spasms that cause additional injuries to her, an inability to go out in the cold without extra layers because her body does not warm up easily, and so on. The condition is an essential and omnipresent part of who she is.

And yet–and this is the important part–it doesn’t overwhelm her identity, either. She is a multifaceted character and though I’m sure there are going to be people who complain about her being “too immature,” she feels like a real high school student, with a wide range of interests and emotions that permeate both her narration and her conversations. She loves to learn, sneaking online access to her friend’s AP Psych textbook even after she had dropped the class, just to keep seeing the material. She enjoys hockey, musicals, Panic! at the Disco, and Disney movies. She believes in magic and the Jewish concept of there always being 36 saints on Earth. She cares deeply about her family and is super close with her siblings. Like so many teenage girls, she has a crush on a boy. Like so many teenage girls, she is also deeply insecure about herself.

And here’s one of the most interesting elements of the book: one of the ways Jenna deals with this insecurity is through imagining herself as having a sort of alter-ego named Jennifer. The key difference between herself and Jennifer is not just that Jennifer is more confident; it’s that Jennifer doesn’t have cerebral palsy. This leads to Jennifer having a thriving social life, an easy time talking to boys like Julian, and an easy time graduating at the top of her class. Whenever Jenna’s life gets difficult–an embarrassing situation, being under anesthesia before a difficult surgery–she slips into a sort of daydream where she imagines herself as somebody who doesn’t have to live with the physical constraints she has grown accustomed to. It is a striking narrative device, a deeper sort of wishful thinking that highlights just how many ways Jenna’s condition has affected her well-being.

While Jenna’s story is the center of this novel, I would be remiss if I did not talk about some of its other strengths. Her relationship with Julian feels genuine, not just an “oh you’re cute let’s date” kind of deal, but something way more emotional, rooted in shared history and shared opinions and a whole lot of trust. It was nice to see a cute high school romance that didn’t have to deal with all sorts of sabotage or cheating or jealousy.

Side note, while we’re on the topic of romance: remember how I mentioned earlier that this book skews toward the younger side of YA? Here’s a nice twist: there’s nothing about sex, not even any making out, not even a thought or a daydream, just things about kissing and slow-dancing. And there’s not much (if any) profanity, either, meaning this is a book that parents can really feel comfortable giving to their younger teens.

But back to other nice side details. Jenna has a lot of really healthy relationships in this book. Her whole family is supportive of her (with the exception of the whole parents-keeping-secrets-and-not-giving-her-a-say-in-her-treatment piece), and they all do their best to take care of her, in ways ranging from the large/obvious–hospital visits, helping her in and out of the car, and so on–to the small and sweet. Heck, Jenna’s sister Rena decorates her wheelchair on a regular basis. How’s that for sisterhood? Also, no matter what goes on in Jenna’s life, her best friend Ben (who, incidentally, is casually gay) is by her side with encouragement and assistance and advice, and seriously I just like seeing a great friendship in a book that doesn’t have a random falling-out over stupid things like miscommunication.

But, of course, there are flaws. There’s a major side plot with Jenna trying to file for medical independence from her parents, essentially barring them from making decisions about her treatment. Everything about that plot thread was kind of strange, from the fact that Jenna’s uncle was literally acting as her lawyer against her parents to the bizarre way in which the question is finally resolved. In fact, the whole reason that that particular conflict resolves the way it does–which I won’t go into, because spoilers–was just weird and came totally out of left field. And though, for the most part, I thought Jenna was an excellent depiction of a truly typical teenager, rather than the ultra-mature teens we see in a lot of YA these days, there were still some moments where things in her life felt like scenes out of a cheesy teen movie, rather than a plausible story. That said, she does end up maturing substantially over the course of the story, which helps negate that flaw somewhat.

Basically, this is a book that is certainly worth a read, primarily for its representation and for its stellar protagonist. Though the book itself is a very quick read, Jenna’s story is simultaneously cute and memorable.

TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNING: ableist language (from a truly terrible person, so it is strongly condemned by all the other characters)

Before I start my review I would like to make it clear that I cannot speak for the representation of Cerebral Palsy in this book as I do not have an extensive amount on knowledge on the subject so cannot say whether it was accurate or not.

I really wanted to like this book. I like that there are now more authors writing about topics and illnesses that were previously ignored however I found it really difficult to connect with the main character and the decisions she made in this book. There was also plot points in this story that felt unrealistic and I sadly found myself bored throughout.

As I mentioned before I really wanted to love this book but it just wasn't for me!

This book was not my favorite. I really wanted to like this book because the main character has cerebral palsy and I love to see that kind of representation in books, and there aren’t a lot of them out there. I can of course not speak of the representation in this book since I personally don’t have CP but I didn’t have a problem with that aspect of the book. I did, however, find pretty much everything else annoying and in the end, I was just powering through. The whole plot seems pretty unlikely from the beginning: the mc is trying to get medical emancipation from her parents so she herself can decide upon all her medical decisions. The weird part is that her lawyer (her UNCLE?!) is helping her with this and they both keep all of this information hidden from her parents. The romance in this book was also a flop if you ask me. The love interest, Julian, had pretty much no backstory to his character and I didn’t like how much the mc was obsessing over him only because of his looks at the beginning of the book. The book tried to be feminist but then she would say stuff like “...no way am I going to eat chocolate cake in front of a boy.” And the mc really didn’t have any character development throughout the book so it wasn’t like she grew with all of this. I’m just really disappointed because I thought this book was going to be great.
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Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this early copy so I could review it before it is released.

I really wanted to like this book; I think that having diverse representation in YA protagonists is incredibly important. I cannot speak to the accuracy of the portrayal of CP that was present in this book, but I appreciate what the author was trying to do. I also loved how much love the family was written to show to each other. I felt that the family was genuine and caring and this is one of the highlights of the book to me.

However, what I struggled with was Jenna's characterization itself. There was very little character development outside of Jenna's CP and her crush on Julian. I felt like know very little else about the main character, which made her very hard to connect with. I also had a hard time pinpointing what exactly the conflict of the story was outside of Jenna's anger towards her disability. I wish that there had been more to Jenna's character so that it was easier to connect with and like her.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I'm a fan of Ramey so I was thrilled to receive an ARC on this. It was a risk, this story about a young girl living with a disability. I think she hit the nail right on the head with the family's portrayal. The family's unconditional love comes across beautifully and it really was my favorite part of the book. Even though I found the idea of the medical emancipation to be a bit much.

I just struggled to identify what Jenna was struggling with. Was it the fact that Jenna truly didn't understand her disability, I hated the way she viewed her disability as a reason why boys will not want to date her and it was a destructive view to be honest. One that actually went against what I thought the author was trying to convene. Jenna seemed determined to live her life without any sort of limitations, so this thought process was hard for me to believe.

The book itself does carry some important messages which I think will really hit home with teens.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

***This review will go live on my blog, The Library Lane, on December 11, 2019.

First and foremost, I cannot speak for the cerebral palsy representation. I do not feel as though it is my place to say if the representation was accurate or not. If anyone can attest to it, please let me know so I can link back to your review! I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts!

At times it was really hard for me to like the main character Jenna. She had so much hatred and anger built up because of her diagnosis and other reasons. All throughout the book she had a really bad attitude and made some not so great decisions.

While I applaud the author for having Jenna’s parents involved in her life, it was way too much. Her mom treated her like a toddler. She never took into consideration that her daughter might want to do normal teenage things. I know she was just worried about her wellbeing, but it infuriated me. I absolutely loved her brother and sister though! They were thoughtful and sweet. Both of them were there for Jenna without breathing down her neck the entire time.

I had an issue with all the secrets the parents kept from Jenna. I can totally understand not telling her certain things as a child, but Jenna is now grown enough to understand. Her parents should have had those conversations a long ago. Way before Jenna found out on her own.

The romance was precious. It took a while for the chemistry to show up, but once it did, I was rooting for the two! I am a sucker for a book with anonymous correspondences so the texting between Jenna and Julian was so fun and definitely swoon worthy. As far as Julian goes, I really liked him as a character. He was nice and protective, but I do wish we got to know more about him.

I love that Jenna wanted to make medical decisions on her own. It is her body so she should absolutely be able to. However, I don’t think that it was realistic for her to medically emancipate herself. I don’t necessarily know how easy that is to do, but it just seemed like the wrong way to go about the situation.

My least favorite thing about this book was the ending. As I mentioned above, Jenna had a bad attitude throughout the entire book. She basically gave up on herself so she just didn’t care anymore. I was expecting her to figure things out for herself. For her to come to a realization that her actions weren’t okay and then reassess. What I read though was her dad telling her that she was going to change whether she wanted to or not. Jenna didn’t get to come to that decision on her own. He told her how it was going to be and she just went along with it. That was a huge letdown and very discouraging.

Overall this was just an okay read. There were things that I really loved and others that just didn’t work for me.

I really appreciated this book in regard of enlightening teens on what it means to live with a chronic illness. The tone of the book, although it illustrates how it feels to live with cerebral palsy, is still a light one in the way any rom-com would be. In a way, this book is still a rom-com since the main focus of the book is how Jenna loves Julian (a childhood friend who moved away but has returned to town and is now in her English class). She’s trying to be a normal teen by getting to know him on a more intimate level through texting, but at the same time keeps her identity concealed because she feels that no boy could possibly fall in love with her damaged body.

I really liked Jenna, so reading the story from her perspective was fun, plus there were a lot of likable side characters as well, such as her best friend Ben and sister Rena. The flirting between Jenna and Julian was totally adorable and appropriate for their age.

I know that some of the premises in the book may seem unreasonable (such as Jenna wanting to legally emancipate herself from her family so that she could make her own decisions in regards to her health when it comes to surgeries and tests). But since the rest of the book was good I could overlook that minor lapse of judgment.

I recommend this book for anyone who’s wanting to learn more about living with a chronic illness and if you’re in the mood for a quick light romantic read.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Overall I enjoyed this book. It had a lot great representation for CP and I think really embodied the perspective of someone with CP. The cute texts with the love interest reminded me a lot of Tweet Cute and I thought it was such a great addition to the story. Towards the end, I couldn't really connect with the protagonist as much and her decisions just seemed stupid for someone who's apparently so smart. Her need to be heard seemed to constantly waver throughout the plot and her parents infuriated me a lot - props to the author for making me feel such rage and annoyance, however. It would've been great to see more character development in her sister, her parents and just more of her cool uncle. More backstory with the love-interest would've added more depth too. At the end of the day, this book was an enjoyable contemporary that tugged at your heartstrings in many instances but held more potential than anything else.

I'm a sucker for a "I'm in love with my best friend" storyline, and this book takes the romantic trope one step further. Jenna is such a real character, and I love the representation of someone who is not able-bodied. The storyline of her legal battle (if it can be called that) with her parents for medical emancipation was interesting and refreshing to read about. Thoroughly enjoyed reading.

In a strange coincidence of timing, I began this book the day before my own daughter was diagnosed with CP. While her condition and situation are quite different from Jenna’s, I was interested to read a story from the perspective of a teenager with a disability. It’s not something you find often. Jenna’s story was thoughtful and compelling. It was easy to empathize with her struggle to essentially find herself after learning more about her medical history. The pacing and story progression felt a little off at times, but overall I found this to be an enjoyable and thoughtful YA read.

I found Jenna to be an appropriately complex character. She has relatable teenage insecurities, such as a fear of rejection, and at times, a self-centered nature. While her CP is a major part of who she is, it seems to define her more in her own eyes than in those of others, which I found a refreshing departure from similar characters. This is an engaging read for teens of varied reading levels.

3.5/5 STARS.

Overall I enjoyed this book. It had a lot great representation for CP and I think really embodied the perspective of someone with CP. The cute texts with the love interest reminded me a lot of Tweet Cute and I thought it was such a great addition to the story. Towards the end, I couldn't really connect with the protagonist as much and her decisions just seemed stupid for someone who's apparently so smart. Her need to be heard seemed to constantly waver throughout the plot and her parents infuriated me a lot - props to the author for making me feel such rage and annoyance, however. It would've been great to see more character development in her sister, her parents and just more of her cool uncle. More backstory with the love-interest would've added more depth too. At the end of the day, this book was an enjoyable contemporary that tugged at your heartstrings in many instances but held more potential than anything else.

Jenna has Cerebral Palsy, and she wants nothing more than to be in charge of her own life. She know she can't live a "normal" life, but her parents have made her medical decisions for her her entire life. Now that new information has surfaced about the day she was born, Jenna wants to take control! In addition to fighting for her medical freedom, Jenna is also dealing with high school. Should she take harder classes that challenge her? What should she wear? Will Julian remember her and their friendship now that he has moved back to town? Jenna is supported on all sides by her family and best friend, Ben. I loved how the support of her family was portrayed. I also loved how music was intermingled through the book. I think this totally fit with a teenager's life. I immediately felt proud of Jenna for asserting herself and fighting for the things she wanted in her life. With many YA books, there is a lot of teen angst, and I didn't feel that with this title. Nothing was overly dramatic or unbelievable. When the action picks up about 2/3 through, I was very drawn in and anxious to see what would happen next. I was happy with the ending and didn't feel like the story had an unresolved parts.

I am so incredibly disappointed about this book. I went into it with high hopes. By chapter 5, I was sure it would be a 4 stars at least (more if I could get someone to verify the representation). Things went downhill quickly from there.
First off, I can’t and won’t speak for the representation of Cerebral Palsy in this book, so I’ll only be reviewing it based on overall enjoyment and general author competence.
There were a lot of things wrong with this book. I find it highly unlikely that any 15 year old would be allowed to ask for medical emancipation from her parents. I find it even more unlikely that her uncle/lawyer would not only approve of it, but also encourage it and keep it a secret from her parents.
Also unlikely that a 15 year old and a senior in high school would end up in the same English class. (Also, I’m pretty sure neither the main character nor the author knows what the term “catfishing” means.)
The character “arc” was more of a character teleportation. There was no growth or change, just her dad telling her how it would be and her suddenly agreeing.
The feminist lines in this book were nice until you read lines like “…no way am I going to eat chocolate cake in front of a boy.” And realize that they didn’t really mean much. There were more sexist/misogynist lines, but they require way too much context and backstory and I’m just tired at this point.
Overall, this was such a huge disappointment and I wish I had loved it, but I could barely make it to the end.

The Secrets We Bury by Stacie Ramey is one of my favorite books so I was thrilled to have the chance to read this arc in exchange for my honest opinion. I finished reading this new novel by Stacie Ramey last night and I have been thinking about it as an educator ever since. This is the quite possibly the first book I have ever read that is focused on a character who has cerebral palsy and I really find that surprising. As an educator of almost 20 years, I have had a handful of students who have CP and I found it refreshing to read a novel where CP was discussed in so much detail, including treatment. CP impacts every body differently and in Jenna's case, she is alternating between wheel chair and crutches for mobility. As the reader meets Jenna she is struggling to get over the revelation of how her CP may have been caused. She has recently discovered some information about herself that she didn't know before and she is struggling to handle it and continue to balance her life. Jenna has dropped her advanced classes and is starting to doubt her parents ability to make the best medical choices for her. She is looking at more testing and the possibility of new treatment when suddenly, her childhood crush returns to her town and high school. Jenna hides her identity from Julian as she begins to text him and attempt to help him readjust to high school. Overall, I really enjoyed this story because it was more than a YA romance (thought the romance was delightful in it's development). Jenna was a character who was dealing with many different physical issues due to her CP, as well as attempting to find her way back to who she was before she realized that her parents had been keeping things from her. I felt that Jenna was an authentic character and I loved the relationships she had with her siblings. I also feel the struggles she felt with her parents were very typical teenage issues, with the additional stress of the medical unknown. I do with there had been a bit more development between Jenna and her best friend, Ben. He was a great character but I felt like I left the book knowing him the least. I am glad that Ramey wrote this book because of the way she discussed CP, the medical treatments and issues that can be faced. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

the best thing about this book is its cover.

going into this the extent of my knowledge of cerebral palsy came entirely from the netflix show Special. Jenna's experience with CP was different than what was shown in that show. it's much heavier on the medical treatments. It was interesting to see that side of CP and I learnt a few things and researched things this book touched on that i wanted to know more about.

what really sucked about this book was the romance. jenna has been in love with julian forever. she hasnt seen him in a while since he moved away, but he's back and she freaks out. now comes the annoying part.. jenna is totally obsessed with julian, but.. won't talk to him? when she goes to school and sees him there for the first time she avoids him. then when he finally sees her, he seems pleased to see her, but she sort of blows him off? more than once? but then she starts anonymously texting him and they start flirting in text. i really just cant convey how obnoxious jenna's obsessive thoughts about him were.

the sad thing about jenna is that she's got so much internalized hatred of her disability that she doesn't think she can have a "normal" life. she doesn't think anyone would want to date her, and she drops out of AP classes because what's the point? i'm pleased to say by the end of the book she starts accepting herself and her disability more.

the best relationship jenna has is with her sister rena. rena is so supportive and the just have regular sisterly fun. jenna also has a good relationship with her brother, but it wasn't as prominent as the bond with her sister. both siblings treat her like an equal and they all love and respect each other. she also has a best friend named ben who is basically her own personal cheerleader. all we know about him is he is gay and president of DECA or something?? i dont know what deca is.. but good for him? i wish the author had explained a couple of the acronyms in the book. maybe they're common knowledge for americans? but anyway, back to ben.. he was basically your standard one-dimensional gay best friend who's there only to make the MC feel good about herself. at least thats how i saw it.

most of all though? this book was just plain boring. sorry.