Name: Sydne Ware's review of Through to You by Lauren Barnholdt
Item: Through to You
Rating: 3
Author: Sydne Ware

Lauren Barnholdt

“Fans of Sarah Dessen, Lauren Myracle, Morgan Matson, and Simone Elkeles will enjoy this story told from both Harper and Penn’s points of view, widening the appeal to all teens, not just females” (VOYA). It starts with a scribbled note in class: I like your sparkle. Harper had casually threaded a piece of blue and silver tinsel through her ponytail in honor of school spirit day. And that carefree, corny gesture is what grabs Penn Mattingly’s eye. Penn—resident heartbreaker of the senior class. Reliably unreliable. Trouble with a capital “T.” And okay, smolderingly sexy. Harper’s surprised by Penn’s attention—and so is Penn. The last thing he needs is a girlfriend. Or even a friend-with-benefits. The note is not supposed to lead to anything. Oh, but it does. They hang out. They have fun. They talk. They make out. And after a while, it seems like they just click. But Penn and Harper have very different ideas about what relationships look like, in no small part because of their very different family backgrounds. Of course they could talk about these differences—if Penn knew how to talk about his feelings. Harper and Penn understand their attraction is illogical, yet something keeps pulling them together. It’s like a crazy roller coaster—exhilarating,terrifying, and amazing all at once. And neither knows how to stop the ride…

Through to You

Sydne Ware

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

I first fell in love with Lauren Barnholdt’s writing in Two-Way Street. Her fun and quicky style of young romance is what I love so much. Her books are thoroughly enjoyable and always entertaining. Through to You was exactly the same. It was sweet, fun, and silly… a perfect combination for a wonderful beach read.

Harper is the good girl. She’s doing what she needs to do to succeed. She’s never skipped school, doesn’t focus on boys or regular teenage drama, and gets good grades in school. Then Penn, the handsome enigma, writes her a letter, “I like your sparkle.” And from there, everything changes.

They start to hang out, somewhat awkwardly, and find out that they actually have a bit in common, though at first glance they’re complete opposites. At times their relationship seemed all-out crazy to me. They didn’t talk much, didn’t enjoy the same things, and really seemed uncomfortable the entire time they were together… yet when they were apart, they were constantly thinking of each other and wondering when they would be together again. After a while though, once I was able to believe their feelings for each other were genuine, I really got into the story.

The alternating POV’s helped me get to know Harper and Penn on more of an intimate level as well. Their thoughts, fears, and hopes all were revealed throughout this story. They each had different things they were dealing with. Especially Penn, who had a very difficult home life that was revealed bit by bit as the story progressed. Penn, though cocky and overly self-confident in the beginning, really had a lot going on and was dealing with it the best way he knew how.

Another great book from Lauren Barnholdt! I keep thinking this one would probably be a lot of fun on audio. Maybe I’ll have to download the audiobook and give this one a re-read in the near future. Since it’s summertime here, all I keep thinking is what a great beach read this was. It’s was quick, it was sweet, and it was a lot of fun!

(Thanks to Simon Pulse for the review copy!)

Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!

Ella Zegarra

Jasmine Patel

Rosy 

Megan Clark

Samantha Chavez 

"When bad-boy Penn reaches out to cautious Harper, a tumultuous relationship blossoms, and the two learn that their bond may not be strong enough to overcome their obvious differences"--

Sydne Ware &
Through to You by Lauren Barnholdt

Reviews

Join the club

Sydne Ware &Through to You by Lauren Barnholdt

Reviews

Join the club

Sydne Ware &
Through to You by Lauren Barnholdt