A review by divineauthor
You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon

emotional medium-paced

2.75

“I love everything you’ve been, everything you are, everything you could be.” —Leigh Simon, page 335

okay, buckle in folks. i’m going to ramble about why i rated YOU BETWEEN THE LINES 2.75 stars. 

let’s start off with the good things, yeah? i’m always fond of relationships where there’s a past history, and rivalries, and girls who give too much of themselves to ever be their own person. will and leigh are the highlight of this book—their complicated back-and-forth miscommunication. it’s dramatic, it’s messy, and, most importantly, it’s sexy! will being a pathetic pussywhipped pretentious poet is also a plus. you’re welcome for the alliteration, by the way. i liked the inclusions of the bits of their writing embedded in the novel (will’s first line of nonfiction, “I was born eight pounds, eight ounces, and eighteen inches long—which is to say, both too much and not enough,” is still so striking). there’s an ease to the prose, and the relationships are dynamic enough to make me want them to get together. what else? oh, the ending was sweet, a little reminiscent of emily henry’s US edition ending of BEACH READ. will and leigh deserve that cuteness. it’s been a long time coming for them—ten years in the making. yeah! good moments! 

and now for my list of grievances (of which there are too many): sigh. SIGHHHHHHH. i find it funny that, for a character’s main flaw on-page is trying to be like other girls and trying to fit in, naymon manages to not-like-other-girls leigh. leigh’s an mfa poetry student who likes beer and joined a sorority in undergrad and likes pink and skirts and makeup . . . okay? many such cases with women everywhere, actually. leigh being so annoying to the point of DNF’ing is just so bad, guys. i’m sorry, but what the hell is her problem? scratch that. i know what her problem is. she’s a chronic people pleaser whose parents’ separation made her life oh-so-hard. okay! great! is she interesting though? is she a well-crafted character? did her flaws and her background help make her likable? no. ugh. moving on. here are quickfire qualms: 

  • this weird image of english majors leigh has. girl what the hell are you on? 
  • why is leigh an mfa poetry student who DOESN’T READ POETRY???
  • the fucking taylor swift poemS. not just one. MULTIPLE. and a one direction poem. jesus christ. can you please put a gun in between my eyes? 
  • i’m still stuck on her not reading anything. what the hell is your problem. 
  • all right, fine, something else. the pacing’s off. it’s not as believable to me that a year has passed. it felt like we’re watching things happen day-by-day which means in my head it felt like a good solid month. 
  • there were moments between leigh and will where their dialogue just felt too disjointed, like i’m not following the conversation correctly. 
  • i’m not the Biggest fan of slang / dated terms for the “current” era because most of the time . . . it already feels outdated, and not in a way that enhances the narrative. this is touched on with the celebrity-poems but idk. it felt like Too Much. 
  • page 23 (WHY DOESN’T SHE READ!!!!!!!! i’m never getting over this i fear). 

yeah. so maybe i need to take another break from romance again. or maybe valentine’s day was a fluke, who knows. whatever. i need a smoke break. love n light, guys.