My Week with Him is a mixed bag of emotions and it is so good! Nikki and Mal are seniors who are each trying to figure out their futures. They've been best friends for years even though don't always hang with the same crowd. When Nikki gets kicked out of her house by her mother, the first person she wants to talk to is Mal but seems preoccupied with someone else. She wants to flee Texas and never look back yet somehow Mal convinces her to stay for the rest of spring break. He is determined to support her but also wants to try and keep her with him in town. His plans quickly get interrupted when it is discovered that Nikki's younger sister Rae is missing and they must find her.

The last time Nikki saw her younger sister she was so angry at her. Rae had betrayed her to their mother, a woman who she already had a tense relationship with. And now she has to work with this woman to try and find her little sister before anything happens to her. There is so much tension and emotion when it comes to Nikki's relationship with her mother. As the reader, I could see the impact their relationship had and how complicated family dynamics can be. It also showed the impact of generational trauma as it is continually being passed down. Some of this was almost painful to read because is was written so well.

Joya Goffney also knows how to write a sweet romance. It was fun watching Nikki and Mal go from being best friends to something more. The two of them are awkward and adorable and have such a strong connection. I loved how Mal continuously supported Nikki when it came to her dreams to be a singer and her troubled relationship with family. In return, she supported him and their connection grew even stronger. Throwing the fact that Rae is missing into their dynamic allowed it to strengthen and for Nikki to be come to actually unfold her dynamics with her sister. It is the perfect blend of drama and romance.

My Week with Him did not disappoint me as a reader. From the moment I picked it up, I knew I was going on an adventure especially after feeling the tension between Nikki and her mother. I really loved the sweetness and the awkwardness that was Nikki and Mal's relationship. Everything was just so well written! I left wanting even more.

The perfect read for a bipoc young adult interested in reading texts that mirror their lives, without trauma, but just the joy of discovering life.

Joya is one of my auto-buy authors meaning whatever she writes I'm going to read. I think she is an expert at capturing the grey area of youthful adulthood that 18 year olds find themselves in. You feel like you know everything but life has so many lessons. I would say that this book is not unlike her others in that regard, however, this one did start out a bit slower for me. "Excuse me" and "Confessions" immediately grab you in and take you on a journey. With "My week with Him" Nikki is so caged and protective of herself, even to the reader, that it takes a little bit for the reader to become invested. It almost felt like Nikki needed you to buy in before she trusted you with her story (idk if that was intentional or not).

That being said, once Nikki began to open up more, and we got more of her and Mal together, the story really takes off in the way that Joya books do. The romance here is great, I was really rooting for Mal and Nikki. But what really grabbed me was definitely the exploration of how generational trauma can affect a family and concerted and intentional efforts have to be made to reverse it. And the ways that community can force those efforts to be made.

My only critique is that the story goes to far before we finally learn the WHY as it pertains to how Nikki's mother treats her.

Outside of that, I thought this was a dope read and I enjoyed the messaging of it overall.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

this was a very sweet ya romance with deeper themes. i appreciate the way joya writes about complex family relationships, it felt real. i liked the 2 mc & thought their romance was cute. this isn't my favorite joya novel but I still enjoyed it

what i love most about joya goffney's YA novels is that they all feel incredibly well-rounded, and this is no different. the plot is instantly engaging, the romance gives you all the feels, and the coming of age elements really push the story forward.

nikki is such a compelling character to follow. you're dropped right into the action with her and can immediately start to develop a clear picture of who she is and what she wants out of her life. the relationships she has are all incredibly complicated and layered, and joya did an amazing job fleshing each one out. mal is such a great partner to her; i loved them together! i think i could've done with it being a smidge longer, so we could have more time developing the romance part of the story, but overall, i really enjoyed this!

*thank you netgalley & harper teen for the arc!

This was a quick and easy read/listen about a young woman wanting more herself despite her shortcomings. As an educator, I am always looking for books that my students will enjoy to get them into reading more books. This book is one that they would devour because while it does have some romantic aspects, it discusses mother-daughter relationships in which quite a few can relate. I was rooting for Nikki to be successful while literally screaming at her toxic mother. It was great to see things get better in the end.

My Week with Him was such a fun read. I love the conversational language the teens used in the book and their level of awareness and emotional intelligence. I think Joya did a wonderful job keeping them teenagers, but making them very current and relevant to teens of today. Watching the two main characters fall in love through their friendship was refreshing and beautiful to read. I loved the support Malachai had for Nikki and how his family supported her as well. The ending was rather vague but their is so much promise in where they are in their life and it felt like though we didn't know specifics about their next steps...we know they're headed toward greatness!! I will absolutely be buying this for the teens and tweens in my life and urge reader friends to get it for theirs!!

This book was adorable. We follow Nikki and Mal best friends who have grown up together. After Nikki gets kicked out she decides to head to California to pursue her dream of becoming a singer. Mal decides to accompany her n her trip in an attempt to convince her to stay. I loved the sweet romance and all of the cute moments that we saw on their road trip together. overall this book was so much fun and super cute.

great young adult / teen read, I enjoyed this even of a mom of young adults as I grew up being the black sheep middle child of the family I could even relate to this story line and very much recommend it for my daughters to read. Beautiful written book about growing up and healing.. friends to lover (first love) fast paced read.

I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. This was requested when I first found out about NetGalley and I had requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before they were archived. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it!

My week with him is coming-of age ya fiction that explores different relationships, romantic relationships, and family relationships.

This book was great; I just didn’t get too invested in it, and I honestly don’t know why. In some parts where you’re supposed to feel super happy about these characters, I wanted to but I just couldn't.

The main plot of the book revolves around her and her mother. There was romance, but it was less than what there usually is with other romance books.

This book deals with heavy topics, including childhood trauma, emotional abuse, etc. Whenever any heavy topic was brought up in the story, it was done very well. Joya knows how to write.

Overall I do recommend if you’re looking for something that has road trip elements, romance and a book that deals with heavier topics. I would definitely be reading her other books..

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperTeen for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, to the publisher, for this eARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion! This isn’t my first Joya Goffney novel, and I was not disappointed. I quite literally will read anything by Joya Goffney. The story touches on Black love, complex parental relationships and difficult and emotional conversations. I would definitely recommend it to those who enjoy reading YA romance novels.

This book follows a teen girl who is a musical artist. She is trying to get to California from Texas to audition for a musical group and get away from her family dynamics. However, when things come up with her mom and sister, she ends up having to stay in her town longer than anticipated at her best friend’s house. He does his best to convince her in the week leading to her audition to stay.

The chapters are organized by date and time so the reader is feeling a countdown to the audition, just as the main character is. She has to grapple with a lot of tough things in only one week: trauma, love, poverty, and purpose.

While I really enjoyed how Goffney handled each issue with such care and complexity, overall I think having so much going on in only a week was too fast for me. One could argue that things happen in life that way sometimes. But with the time at the start of each chapter and all the challenges she faced, it was hard to fully keep up.

I love the writing style and how Goffney shapes and portrays each of her characters. I would love to read more from her in the future.

This was an angsty book that follows family ties, mothers daughter relationships and the trauma that can thread itself through future generations while trying to find yourself and finding first love. It took me on an emotional rollercoaster of a ride.

Thsi was an intense YA book and romance, and it was real about what young folks are going through as well.

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- a story of discovering your own voice and finding what you want in life. Goffney is known for writing powerful contemporary stories, and this is exactly like the others books under Goffney's name. for those who enjoy contemporary or romance stories, this is for you.

Thanks Netgally for the Arc . Great Book. ! Really Emotional. The friends to lovers arc was good. Can’t wait for the next book.

I mean, it's Joya Gofney!!!!

Another great novel by thee Joya Goffney. I have enjoyed all novels by this author. A very quick read, I hated for it to end.

The mother daughter relationship in this one is tough and maybe triggering for some, heavy on the emotional abuse.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book juggles a lot of different aspects, including complex family dynamics, career dreams, and a best-friends-to-lovers romance. Unfortunately, I was not very interested in the story, but I found the chapter titles of time stamps to make for an engaging read. I would recommend this to readers who are looking for a more serious story that touches on these topics.