Book Talk: Girl Against The Universe by Paula Stokes

Want an “at a glance” look at what I thought? Check out my Review On A Post-It or my “Final Thought”

Maguire considers herself unlucky and a danger to be around after she survives, without a scratch, a fatal car accident that kills her brother and father and then a few more incidents happen in the following years that has her coming to this conclusion. To keep others safe, she stays at home a lot and tries to be around the least amount of people — all the while constantly checking for things that could be a potential hazard. When she meets Jordy at her therapist’s office he’s determined to help her see that she’s not actually unlucky and helps her to complete the tasks her therapist has helped her come up with but everything within Maguire tells her to not let Jordy get to close and risk something bad happening to him.

This book was just sooooo delightful! There needs to be a proper word for something that makes your heart a little sad but equally giddy. Maybe there is a word for it? I don’t know but this book is whatever that word is. I’m sad I made my YA contemporary beach read list already because this one would have definitely been at the top — compulsively readable and just heart-melting. And YOU GUYS…one of the sweetest, swooniest dudes in YA.

I LOVED the relationship between Maguire and Jordy. So banter-y. So cute. I want you to discover it for yourself so I don’t want to say too much about it. I just loved how they met and how they opened up to each other and helped each other.

I love books that deal with grief/loss and read a lot of them but I actually really loved that this one wasn’t directly dealing with the grief and loss of losing her father and brother. I loved that it was still showing the lasting effects of losing someone especially so tragically as well as some of the other things she went through. While on the surface it seems silly that she would really think she’s cursed and live her life in the careful manner she does, it’s actually amazing what your brain convince you. I really felt for Maguire especially because I could relate. After my mom passed away from brain cancer in 2006 I convinced myself I was dying or that I was going to die. Like some days I just laid in bed so scared of dying. It really hit pretty personally how one can hold themselves back from living because of a fear and belief so tight within your gut that no matter the logic people try to use on you you just can’t shake it.

I think the shining star of this novel is how positively therapy is portrayed. Honestly I wish I had this book after my mom passed away because maybe I would have gotten the help that I needed to deal with my issues. Watching Maguire put in that work and do these scary assignments, that to others would seem easy, was just wonderful. I really enjoyed watching her (and Jordy) tackle them even though they were hard. I really loved that therapy wasn’t just a convenient plot thing for her and Jordy but I really felt like the author showed how important it was for her.

+ characters, romance, positive therapy representation, mix of fun fluffy goodness and ~serious issues~
–  Nothing really.

Should you read it? If you love contemporary YA, it’s definitely a must read of 2016 for me!

Should you buy it or borrow it? I think if you are likely to reread feel good type books when you get in a reading rut or when you are in a bad mood, you will totally want to own this one.

contemporary YA lovers, fans of books from Sarah Dessen or Morgan Matson, people looking for a cute YA beach read

Girl Against The Universe is a perfect summer read (or a perfect read anytime you want a good contemporary YA). It’s absolutely just as delightful and smile-inducing as it is inspiring to watch a character work to face some pretty serious fears.

* Have you read this one? What did you think? Similar or different from me? I would LOVE to hear regardless!
*If you haven’t read it, does it feel like something you’d be into?
DID YOU LOVE JORDY?
Also, any other books with positive therapy rep?