A review by teagzreads
Catch the Sun by Jennifer Hartmann

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

4.5

I was so excited to receive this ARC from one of my favourite authors. Catch The Sun was such an intense, emotional, heartbreaking and healing read. Which is exactly what I’ve come to expect from Jennifer Hartmann’s books! Her writing is beautiful, there were so many quotes I highlighted. It made me cry more than once😢🥲

I think she did an amazing job of presenting us with realistic YA characters. Both Ella and Max are innocent and inexperienced in some ways, but also mature and aged beyond their years because of their circumstances. They are both prone to keeping others at a distance, facing all their challenges alone and dealing with their pain (or not dealing with it) internally. They initially are friends as children until Ella moves away. When they are reunited as teens, they slowly and reluctantly begin to open up again and discover that they might understand each other more than they realize. In between all the chaos of their lives, Hartmann captured the pure innocence, intensity and romance of first love so well with Max and Ella💕

The first half was slower, but had a lot of mystery to keep you reading. The second half was much faster paced. If I had any notes I’d say it could have been just a little shorter. 

While they are children and teens for the majority of the book, this does end in their adult years. It definitely deals with a lot of heavy topics and mature themes, I’d probably recommend it for the older YA readers and adults. **Please check trigger warnings if you have any**
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