The Hiding Spot

My feelings about Deb Caletti's newest offering, The Story of Us, are divided. On one hand, I really enjoyed the story as I read it... and related to it on a very personal level, having done something very similar to Cricket a year or two ago. On the other hand, there are aspects of this novel that are a bit blurry to me after having only read it a couple days ago. While some aspects of the novel resonated deeply with me, I didn't feel a deep connection to any of the characters, including the main character, Cricket. This is a definite issue and I think it's why the details of the novel failed to stick. The overall story - Cricket's confusion regarding her relationships and her search for herself - was wonderfully done. I truly enjoyed the themes of the novel. The characters and setting, for whatever reason, didn't do it for me. There wasn't an actual event that caused a deeper connection to form between myself and the characters.Caletti is a must-buy author for me, so I now own a copy of The Story of Us... and I don't regret buying it. The writing in this novel is fantastic and I don't feel like reading it was time well spent, but this book isn't one that I'll reread, like Caletti's Stay or The Secret Life of Prince Charming. If you're a Caletti fan or simply a fan of contemporary YA, give The Story of Us a chance, it's worth a read and you may end up loving it!