First and foremost, a huge thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this breathtaking novel.

Warning: this book is not for the faint of heart. As a mom, certain parts of this book broke my heart and took me to dark places I really didn’t want to think about. I cried while my husband grabbed my Starbucks. I cried on the way back from Target. It really got inside my heart and made me feel more than I wanted to feel.

The premise of the book was such that I knew there’d be very little chance of mediocrity with this book: it would either be insightful and lovely or stupid and ridiculous. Luckily, I found it more the former than the latter.

There were things I didn’t like: I thought Astrid’s boyfriend was a bit terrible, going back and forth between controlling and selfish. Actually, you know what? That’s the only thing.

One thing I don’t tend to focus on tons that really stood out to me on Kate McGovern’s Fear of Missing Out was pacing. I liked the way things built in intensity and then slowed down as we waited at the end. I liked how McGovern wasn’t scared to steer the text away from our expectations as she reached the end. I miss won’t go into that more because there’s no way to really explore what I’m saying without giving spoilers and it’s not exactly what you’d call a plot twist, but things definitely don’t end the way you expect they will. The book, to some extent, reads in a way that has you believing there are two possibilities for the ending and the actual ending was a third option.

None of this would work without Astrid. I really liked Astrid and I don’t mean liked her as in thought she was cool  and would like to be friends with her. I mean she was a really great character. Her voice felt so authentic; she had the snark of a witty, bright girl, but without that unrealistic precocious tone that some writers give their teens. The perfect mix of bright, but also deliciously imperfect. Stubborn and impetuous, she’s the perfect girl for what feels more like a Bildungsroman than just another YA cancer story.

This is a beautiful read that will stay with me for a long while. Read it.