Review: Keep the tissues close!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 25, 2013
***ARC provided for honest review*** - originally posted at [...]This book was non-stop from the first page! Alex Hart is getting ready for deployment and has come back to her grandparents small South Carolina town to visit just in case. Then, the book reverts back to 1996 and the events that lead to where she's at now. Throughout the course of the book, we span a 15 year timeframe (1996-2011) starting when Alex is 15 and meets Drew for the first time. It's very hard to talk about things that happened in the book, because there are so many twists and turns and heartbreaking events that could easily be given away!The book begins with Alex getting ready to spend the summer with her grandparents while her parents go on a European vacation (I'd have been all over that! Trip to Europe? Yes please!). Alex has a very close relationship with her grandparents, which makes things a little easier on her when tragedy strikes early on in the book. Alex faces a lot of struggles - struggles that no 15 year old should have to face. My heart hurt for her so many times while reading the book.Alex and Drew meet right after Alex's life changes drastically. She meets him when she goes down to the creek to be alone and Drew is immediately drawn to her. He can tell she's sad, and just a little broken and wants to make things better for her. Trying to cheer her up, he starts teaching her how to skip stones. And some of the incentives he comes up with would definitely prompt me to put forward my best effort! They spend a large amount of time together and end up falling in love. Everything changes when Alex visits her old house and Drew stays at home. Alex is left devastated, and confused, not to mention completely pissed off.The book then fast-forwards back to 2011 with Alex preparing for her deployment to Afghanistan.  Once again, Alex has to deal with heartbreaking situations, and finds herself searching for Drew once again. To be honest, there were a few times I was sure Drew was a ghost, or a figment of Alex's imagination! After the events in Afghanistan, Alex travels home to deal with more difficult circumstances and hopefully a few revelations.J.B. McGee does an amazing job building up the characters in this book. She has a gift for drawing you into the characters and making you feel invested in their stories. She did the same in the `This' series with Gabby and Bradley. The events throughout the book were very realistic and well written, making me feel as if I was there with Alex and Drew. My heart broke for Alex so many times while I was reading, and I spent a large majority of the book in tears. This is an outstanding coming-of-age novel!I give the book 5 HUGE stars!