Reena narrates the two segments of the book. Not much changes in this book even though it is told in alternating chapters two years apart labeled “Before” and “After.”We begin with Reena (Serena) Mantero, 16, who finally captures the attention of 18-year-old Sawyer LeGrange. I highly recommend this book, and hopefully you will read it as it was written, from page one to the end, without splicing it as I did. I was angry at Reena's father and his narrow-thinking ways toward women, remembering how that generation had a hard time accepting unwed mothers.This novel should be read by all who have endured growing up by having to give up their plans made before bad choices interrupted that pathway. I understood the emotions of Sawyer and his need to be loved andhis struggle for sobriety. I felt the emotions of Reena, as she raised her child, Hannah, in the midst of criticism. Not what the author intended, I'm sure, but it allowed me to hear the voices of the characters. I like to read from page one to the end without my brain having to back track, or to have to remember each segment.That said, I loved this book because I chose to read the after and then the before and my brain combined the two into one great novel. I dislike a before and after split style of writing. How to Love, a debut novel by Katie Cotugo, was at first a turn-off for me.
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