“At a certain point you live with something so long it becomes your whole world.”
No one expects a Spence and an Ellis to be friends. In Samsboro, Kentucky a murder has fueled the small-town with hate that’s been passed down from generation to generation. Crass and loud Kalyn Spence isn’t afraid to tell things how they are – but when she moves back to the small town where her dad was accused of murder before she was born, Kalyn assumes a pseudonym and tries to stay under the radar. It’s only with Gus Peake, a fellow student at Samsboro High, that she feels like she can be herself. Gus Peake is tired of being defined as “the disabled kid” – on top of being the kid whose dad was murdered. He just wants to be Gus. When the truth comes to light about their families’ histories, Kalyn and gus struggle to piece together what really happened so long together while holding on to their identities and each other.
This book diverged from what I expected it to be in the best ways possible. Given the premise, I expected a sort of Montague and Capulet type of story. However, Kalyn is a lesbian and Gus is still questioning his identity. The LGBT+ and disabled representations throughout the story are well-crafted and respectable. Their sexualities aren’t the focal point of the story nor is Gus’s disability. Instead, the exploration of their identities rests in trying to decide who they want to be as people and whether or not how the world defines them has to carry any weight personally. The people in Samsboro expect Kalyn to be just like the rest of her family – unrelenting, problematic, and a hassle – while they dote on Gus. I found Kalyn’s family to be relatable, but I wish we’d gotten to explore Kalyn’s mom more as a character. The contrasting dynamic between Kalyn’s family and Gus’s added depth to the story and was well-written without giving necessary stereotypes or biases to either side.
Told from two point of views, and later three, all perspectives had unique and distinguishable voices. I enjoyed getting to read both Kalyn and Gus’s narratives. However, the first quarter of the book dragged and it took me a while to get back into. Once Kalyn and Gus decided to start exploring the mystery of their families, I was able to get invested in the story. I loved seeing how each character evolved throughout the course of the story. Overall, a good story with a good plot and funny, relatable characters. I’m looking forward to reading more of Leah Thomas’s work.
Kaitlin S