He immediately works to make Ben comfortable, gain their trust, and get them into school. He's thrown into a weird place taking in his wife's sibling he's never met. As much as we'd like to forget it and move on, you have to go back to what's broken if you're really invested in fixing relationships. Even though Ben and Hannah understand where the other was coming from, voicing it in a mediated therapy session and openly addressing the past was so important. Family relationships can't be fixed with bandaids. I loved this plot point and how it unfolded over the course of the book. Through therapy, they also address their lingering resentments and issues with each other despite the fact that they're immediately in a better place when Ben and Hannah come together again as adults. It also explores a sibling relationship on a far deeper level. It's so heartwarming and beautiful to see a family that forms in a different way. They both try incredibly hard to make Ben feel comfortable and loved.

I loved Hannah and Thomas's role in the story. They meet their brother-in-law for the first time the night they get picked up from the CVS they went to after getting kicked out. Then there's their sister Hannah who they barely know before they start living together again. Anyway, Ben was a joy to follow through the book. I think it's Ben's combination of complete fear with the world and the small rays of optimism that I find so appealing. It's proof that you can really connect with people who aren't necessarily like you. We have a ton of similar thoughts and reactions and just life philosophies, which was really fun to read about. Overall: 5Ĭharacters: 5 Ben and I have honestly nothing in common yet I found them so incredibly relatable on a minute detail level. While it's a lot to process, Ben comes out stronger, healthier, and happier on the other side. As Ben transitions to living with their sister and her husband, they have to navigate a brand new school, a new family situation, and a new therapist all at once. Ben calls their older sister who they haven't seen in ten years, but she shows up right away. Instead of love and support, they get thrown out of the house.

They want their parents to know them fully. Mostly, they feel like they can't keep living with a secret that big. Even though his parents are religious and conservative, Ben feels like it might be okay. The book opens with them working up the courage to finally come out to their parents.

I wish you all the best mason deaver