A realistic, impassioned portrait of young women coming into their own in all their messy glory.” — Kirkus Reviews
“This is a story with a diverse cast of young women taking charge of their own destinies... A fun girl-power novel for teens who like their rock hard and their main characters tough.” — School Library Journal
“This Is What It Feels Like is real, raw, and explores a much-needed narrative: black girls who rock. Rebecca Barrow is a writer to watch.” — Brandy Colbert, author of Little & Lion
“Bold and bighearted and so much fun, This is What it Feels Like is the smartest, most honest look at female friendship that I’ve read in a long, long time. This book made me want to call all my best girls and tell them how much I love them.” — Katie Cotugno, New York Times bestselling author of 99 Days and How to Love
“This is What it Feels Like is a poignant and heartfelt exploration of friendship and love. Rebecca Barrow perfectly—and poetically—captures that spark inside that challenges us to be brave and dares us to be happy.” — Courtney Summers, author of All the Rage
“A luminous story about friendship, first love, and learning how to stand on your own. Rebecca Barrow’s This is What it Feels Like left me not only inspired but empowered to dream boldly and love deeply.” — Ashley Herring Blake, author of Suffer Love and How to Make a Wish
Praise for YOU DON’T KNOW ME BUT I KNOW YOU: “[Barrow] steadily resists cliché and tired tropes all the way to the novel’s deeply felt, unflinching conclusion. This compelling, closely observed debut charts its appealing characters’ difficult journey with clarity and honesty.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“It’s unfair to call this simply a book about teen pregnancy... Barrow has crafted soulful, complex characters who will resonate with readers who’ve had to contemplate the weight of their decisions upon their futures and themselves.” — Booklist
“Audrey’s emotions swing wildly; she candidly portrays the all-consuming and delicate nature of her situation and the choice she faces. Debut author Barrow opts for realism over a scared-straight approach to teen pregnancy, which readers will appreciate.” — Publishers Weekly
“In both its humor and in its aching, You Don’t Know Me but I Know You is the most honest book I’ve read in ages.” — Emery Lord, author of The Start of Me and You and When We Collided
“Both relentlessly honest and relentlessly hopeful, You Don’t Know Me but I Know You stands out as a book that cares profoundly about the power of friendship and the thrill of getting to know yourself. Above all else, it’s a testament to the bravery, brightness, and beauty of teenaged girls.” — Corey Ann Haydu, author of OCD Love Story and Life by Committee
“You Don’t Know Me but I Know You is a heartfelt, powerful examination of family: the one we’re born to, the one we choose, and the one that chooses us. Rebecca Barrow’s novel feels all at once heartbreaking, hopeful, and true.” — Janet McNally, author of Girls in the Moon
“Honest, nuanced, and achingly authentic, You Don’t Know Me but I Know You is both sensitive and unflinching in its portrayal of life-shattering choices and their aftermaths. It’s populated with strong female friendships that feel more like a sisterhood.” — Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, author of Firsts
In both its humor and in its aching, You Don’t Know Me but I Know You is the most honest book I’ve read in ages.
Bold and bighearted and so much fun, This is What it Feels Like is the smartest, most honest look at female friendship that I’ve read in a long, long time. This book made me want to call all my best girls and tell them how much I love them.
A luminous story about friendship, first love, and learning how to stand on your own. Rebecca Barrow’s This is What it Feels Like left me not only inspired but empowered to dream boldly and love deeply.
This is What it Feels Like is a poignant and heartfelt exploration of friendship and love. Rebecca Barrow perfectly—and poetically—captures that spark inside that challenges us to be brave and dares us to be happy.
This Is What It Feels Like is real, raw, and explores a much-needed narrative: black girls who rock. Rebecca Barrow is a writer to watch.
It’s unfair to call this simply a book about teen pregnancy... Barrow has crafted soulful, complex characters who will resonate with readers who’ve had to contemplate the weight of their decisions upon their futures and themselves.
Honest, nuanced, and achingly authentic, You Don’t Know Me but I Know You is both sensitive and unflinching in its portrayal of life-shattering choices and their aftermaths. It’s populated with strong female friendships that feel more like a sisterhood.
“You Don’t Know Me but I Know You is a heartfelt, powerful examination of family: the one we’re born to, the one we choose, and the one that chooses us. Rebecca Barrow’s novel feels all at once heartbreaking, hopeful, and true.
Both relentlessly honest and relentlessly hopeful, You Don’t Know Me but I Know You stands out as a book that cares profoundly about the power of friendship and the thrill of getting to know yourself. Above all else, it’s a testament to the bravery, brightness, and beauty of teenaged girls.
It’s unfair to call this simply a book about teen pregnancy... Barrow has crafted soulful, complex characters who will resonate with readers who’ve had to contemplate the weight of their decisions upon their futures and themselves.
10/01/2018
Gr 8 Up–Dia, Jules, and Hanna just graduated from high school. They were in a band together when they were sophomores, but they had a falling out. In the meantime, Dia has had a baby and Hanna has gone to rehab. When a local band competition announces a juicy prize, they decide to get the band back together. In order to make this happen, they need to deal with some of the issues that made them break up in the first place, especially Hanna's past self-destructive behavior. Each of the three young women has a subplot on their way to the band competition: Dia is in love with Jesse but is terrified that he will die (like her daughter's father did); Jules has just ended an unhealthy first relationship and is finding new love with Autumn; and Hanna is working to earn trust back that she lost while she was drinking. Music becomes the catalyst for them to focus on what is most important in their lives. The conclusion is happy but realistic. Ultimately, this is a story with a diverse cast of young women taking charge of their own destinies and taking risks when they are ready to take them, without compromising to those who might not understand. VERDICT A fun girl-power novel for teens who like their rock hard and their main characters tough. A good choice for YA collections.—Kristin Lee Anderson, Jackson County Library Services, OR
2018-08-20
Three indomitable young Californian women graduate high school while grappling with friendship, love, and living authentically.
They were best friends and they made music together, a "weird mix of punk and grunge and R&B": Hanna, who is white; Juliana, a brown-skinned Bajan lesbian; and Dia, a copper-skinned girl with natural curly hair who has a baby. The prologue offers a taste of their former life, but by Chapter 1, the band is no longer, and Jules and Dia are estranged from Hanna, whose excessive drinking made her family and friends lose faith in her. Jules and Dia don't know that Hanna went to rehab and has been sober for over a year. So when the Sun City talent search contest announces prizes that would mean the world to all three of them, Dia is reluctant to agree with Jules that they can only enter with Hanna. Will they be able to rebuild trust, put their resentment from past mistakes to rest, and make the music they know is in their hearts? While the action builds slowly at first, readers will root for all three characters, who are featured in alternating chapters, as they navigate complex relationships—Hanna's guilt and anger at home, Jules' budding romance, and Dia's resistance to love because of past tragedy.
A realistic, impassioned portrait of young women coming into their own in all their messy glory. (Fiction. 15-18)
