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timetotalkbeauty 's review for:
This is me trying
by Jenna Adams
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Jenna Adams’ This Is Me Trying is a raw and deeply introspective novel that lingers long after the final page.
Told through dual perspectives, it follows Brooke and Matt across years of their lives, tracing their complicated relationship, individual traumas, and the uneven paths they take toward (or away from) healing.
Told through dual perspectives, it follows Brooke and Matt across years of their lives, tracing their complicated relationship, individual traumas, and the uneven paths they take toward (or away from) healing.
From the outset, the emotional weight of the story is palpable. Adams excels in portraying characters who are flawed, introspective, and painfully human. Brooke’s journey through therapy and personal growth feels genuine (but poor Charlie), while Matt’s character remains tethered to the past, burdened by regret and nostalgia without clear direction or development. This contrast makes their dynamic both compelling and troubling, raising powerful questions about responsibility, consent, and emotional maturity.
What stands out most is the moral ambiguity that pulses throughout the novel. Rather than offering easy answers, Adams invites readers to sit with discomfort. Who is at fault? Who should be forgiven? Can love survive trauma — and should it? These are not questions the book answers neatly, but rather themes it explores with nuance and sensitivity.
Though the confrontation between Brooke and Matt arrives more abruptly than expected, the emotional fallout remains potent. The ending, while not conventionally satisfying does acknowledges that healing doesn't always come with closure, and that sometimes, personal growth is the only resolution we get.
Readers drawn to character-driven narratives with emotional complexity — à la Sally Rooney — will likely find this book arresting. Although it may be less a YA as pitched (it would benefit from an adult being on hand to support younger readers through these topics), and more an adult book.
This Is Me Trying doesn’t promise a fairytale, but instead offers something rarer: a reflection of life’s messiness, and the fragile hope that comes from trying, however imperfectly, to move forward.
This Is Me Trying doesn’t promise a fairytale, but instead offers something rarer: a reflection of life’s messiness, and the fragile hope that comes from trying, however imperfectly, to move forward.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Death of parent