Author: mercedeshelnwein

“Helnwein debuts in striking fashion… The writing, especially the dialogue, is magnetic, honest, and brimming with caustic wit… [an] enrapturing take on the intense highs and lows of teenage love.” —Booklist (Starred Review)“Wildly real and bursting with all the romance and pain of coming into oneself.” —Kirkus (Starred Review) “Helnwein frankly conveys the joy, fear, and awkwardness of an … “Helnwein frankly conveys the joy, fear, and awkwardness of an all-consuming first love, poignantly depicting Gracie’s growth: particularly the hard-won knowledge that she can exist ‘just by the sheer force of herself,’ and the grace she learns to show herself…