A review by illstoptheworldandreadwithyou
You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon

3.0

 

In this debut, late twenty-something Leigh enters a poetry MFA program in North Carolina, only to discover that her high school crush-turned-rival is also in the program. 

 

Strap in for plenty of poetry, the pretentiousness that can be found in academia—the characters even admit to this, issues stemming from parental and parent-child relationships, longstanding grudges, fear of commitment, and imposter syndrome. 

 

This is told in single POV, so we get lots of Leigh telling us that she can’t be with Will. 

 

Throw in a highly coveted fellowship position that they both want, and Leigh’s distrust of Will grows even more. 

 

I did like the notes they make for each other in the margins on poems and appreciated that, in the end, Leigh does show growth and Will opens up more. Ultimately, though, this seems like a case of a book just not being right for my mood when I read it. 

 

Sarah Beth Goer narrates the audiobook, and I feel like she was well-cast for the character. Since this book is written in single POV, we have a single narrator situation here. 

 

I received an advance copy of the ebook from Forever and an advance copy of the audiobook from Hachette Audio. All review opinions are my own.