Not in My Book

I experienced this rivalry in high school, except there wasn't any romantic tension beneath it. At least, not on my side. I still refer to him as “my bully” to people today. I'll never know what was going on in his head. Anyway, that made the first section of this book so hard to read. It was so real. I had flashbacks to the cruel things that were said to me, making me the class entertainment when I just wanted to be left alone. And I got so angry thinking about all the people in high school who thought it would be such a riot if we showed up at a reunion married with kids.

I was determined to hate this book. But it made me cry. Their vulnerability, taking the chance on each other. It felt real in the right way, and I stopped projecting my trauma on them. Genuinely enjoyed this one.