Bookish Reviews

You Know Me Well by: Nina LaCour and David Levithan

You Know Me Well is a story about love and friendship.

You Know Me Well revolves around Kate and Mark. They have both sat next to each other in Calculus for a year but never spoken a word to one another. However, that all changes in one night. Mark decides to go out of his comfort zone in an attempt to get his best friend Ryan to see him as more than a friend. Kate has just ran away from a chance of meeting the girl she has been in love with from afar. Both unexpected spot one another and from there their friendship blooms. Unknowing to how important they will become to one another, they get to know each other better than anyone else.

You Know Me Well is such a beautifully written novel that I couldn't help but adore this novel. I have read a few LGBT novels in my life on Wattpad but I have never read a novel where both characters are officially out as gay and are not romantically involved in any way. The fact that Kate and Mark both respected and cared for each other was a realistic portrayal. I felt a ton of emotions while reading this novel. I was sad, frustrated, happy, and at times disappointed. Kate runs when anything good happens because she doesn't believe she deserves it while Mark is heartbroken over the fact that the guy he loves likes someone else. The fact that this novel only is covered in a matter of days is both unbelievably delightful but also enchanting. The characters face challenges, grow, and become changed by the end of the novel.

The only negative thing that I have to say is that the society in which they are living is unrealistic. Everyone is so accepting and inviting. I just didn't believe that part of the novel at all, especially when it comes to high school students. They can be mean, harsh, and just plain old cruel. However, Kate and Mark were never ridiculed, bullied, or isolated from anyone. Don't get me wrong, I liked the positive outlook but I wished it had been a bit more real when it came to that aspect of the novel.

With that being said, I definitely recommend you read this novel as soon as it hits shelves. 

Expected Publication:

June 7 2016

Rating:

★★★★

Summary from Goodreads:

Who knows you well? Your best friend? Your boyfriend or girlfriend? A stranger you meet on a crazy night? No one, really?

Mark and Kate have sat next to each other for an entire year, but have never spoken. For whatever reason, their paths outside of class have never crossed.

That is until Kate spots Mark miles away from home, out in the city for a wild, unexpected night. Kate is lost, having just run away from a chance to finally meet the girl she has been in love with from afar. Mark, meanwhile, is in love with his best friend Ryan, who may or may not feel the same way.

When Kate and Mark meet up, little do they know how important they will become to each other -- and how, in a very short time, they will know each other better than any of the people who are supposed to know them more.

Told in alternating points of view by Nina LaCour, the award-winning author of Hold Still and The Disenchantments, and David Levithan, the best-selling author of Every Day and co-author of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (with Rachel Cohn) and Will Grayson, Will Grayson (with John Green), You Know Me Well is a deeply honest story about navigating the joys and heartaches of first love, one truth at a time.

Special Thanks:

ARC was kindly provided by publisher, St. Martin's Griffin, via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

About The Authors:

Nina LaCour grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her first job was at fourteen in an independent bookstore, and she has since worked in two others. She has tutored and taught in various places, from a juvenile hall to a private college. She now teaches English at an independent high school.

David Levithan (born 1972) is an American children's book editor and award-winning author. He published his first YA book, Boy Meets Boy, in 2003. Levithan is also the founding editor of PUSH, a Young Adult imprint of Scholastic Press.