Amanda Vink

Clare and Zari are best friends. They write music together, go everywhere together, and they know everything about the other. At least they did before Zari started dating Dion. The more Zari falls for Dion, the less she has time for anything else. At first, Clare chalks it up to a new and exciting relationship, and she tries to be happy for her friend despite her loneliness. When Zari starts to show up to school with half-hidden bruises, Clare knows there's something darker about this relationship that has to be stopped.

And We Call It Love

Gabriel Noel 

ARC Given by NetGalley for Honest Review

"And We Call It Love" is a story written in poetry/prose about two best-friends Zari and Clare. The main theme of the book is about what happens when a friendship is tested by families and significant others. I found the bond between the two girls was very authentic and heartwarming. Both girls have hardships and tough situations throughout the story. 
(view spoiler)[Clare struggles with the loss of her father as well as trying to help her mother make ends meet, and Zari also deals with the pressure of upholding the "perfect daughter" title her parents have pushed upon her... and an abusive boyfriend during the end of the book!  (hide spoiler)]

The story is told through the girls points of view and switches back and forth. At first, this was a little confusing...but once I was able to get into it the rest flowed very easily. This was a really touching and honest look at some of the pressures teens can face from the people they hold most dear.

Jelke Lenaerts

I received a galley of this book through Netgalley
This books has a trigger warning for an abusive relationship.

This book sounded very promising to me and I really enjoyed reading it but I expected it to pack a bigger punch than it did, considering the subject matter that this book deals with. I did really like that it was told in a verse format. It made this stand out a bit more from all the other books about abusive relationships I've read. I also really liked that this was told through two perspectives but they were a bit hard to distinguise at times. I've had problems with the file for this galley so I don't know if there's something that indicates which poem is from the perspective of which character in the final copy but in my galley there wasn't and it took me a while to distinguise the two characters.

And We Call It Love

Reviews