A review by craftshley
In the Orbit of You by Ashley Schumacher

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

In the Orbit of You is about chance meetings and possibilities. Finding yourself when you have no idea who you are or what you want. And sometimes, making that choice between what you want and what you don’t, and how that messes things up. Not everyone gets a happy ending but there’s a possibility of happiness that is somehow better than that perfect happily ever after. 

I enjoyed Nova’s lack of direction. Her mom’s job keeps them moving around the country, Nova dragged along for the ride. She tries new personalities and preferences at each school she goes to and still can’t figure out who she is or what she wants. It’s kind of amazing, because she gets opportunities not many other teens get. A chance at a new start every few months. But trying on endless personalities has caused her to lose herself beneath it all. Sam wants to please his mom and dad, who aren’t his biological parents but his aunt and uncle who took him in when they took him away from an abusive father. He doesn’t know who he is either, embracing what he thinks his parents want him to be so he can make them happy. When Nova comes back into his life through a random happenstance, and matches with him because of a personality test, they both begin to question who they really are and what they want. And what that will cost. 

The pacing made the book easy to read and I finished it in less than two hours. I was engaged the whole time, with how fast paced everything was and how easy it was to empathize with Sam and Nova. The characters were incredibly engaging and the side characters added depth to the story and interacted well with Sam and Nova. Nova, with no friends of her own, didn’t really get a chance to shine when interacting with others in the same way Sam did.

I recommend this book for young adult readers. While the topics of abuse and the aftermath thereof could be triggering, they fit into the story well and are handled logically and with compassion. Because the story is told from dual points of view, we get insight into two different ways a person can struggle with finding themselves and making choices about their future. I’ve read all of Ashley Schumacher’s books and it’s neat to see how her writing has developed over time. I very much enjoyed Sam and Nova, and hope to read more of Schumacher’s character-driven books in the future. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for sharing this ARC with me. 

 
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