Review: You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and David Levithan

Title: You Know Me Well
Author: Nina LaCour and David Levithan
Publisher: Macmillan

Release date: June 2nd 2016
Source: I received an ARC from My Kinda Book.

What it's about: Goodreads: Who knows you well? Your best friend? Your boyfriend or girlfriend? A stranger you meet on a crazy night? No one, really?

Mark and Kate have sat next to each other for an entire year, but have never spoken. For whatever reason, their paths outside of class have never crossed.

That is, until Kate spots Mark miles away from home, out in the city for a wild, unexpected night. Kate is lost, having just run away from a chance to finally meet the girl she has been in love with from afar. Mark, meanwhile, is in love with his best friend Ryan, who may or may not feel the same way.

When Kate and Mark meet up, little do they know how important they will become to each other—and how, in a very short time, they will know each other better than any of the people who are supposed to know them more.

Told in alternating points of view by Nina LaCour and David Levithan, You Know Me Well is a story about navigating the joys and heartaches of first love, one truth at a time.

What I thought: I must say that I enjoyed this novel immensely. The two main characters, Mark and Kate, are part of the LGBT community, so I really enjoyed that as I haven't read very many books with gay people as the main characters. This novel follows the characters in their final year of high school, so it deals with themes such as friendship, family, responsibility, love and heartbreak.

I loved reading from Mark's point of view. Before he befriends Kate, he only really has one true friend called Ryan, who breaks Mark's heart at the beginning of the novel when he learns that the love he feels for him is unrequited. I loved his friendship with Kate and how he supports her and his character growth over the course of the novel.

I adored Kate. Kate has a crush on her friend's cousin Violet, who she has only met online. Kate is nervous about what their relationship holds so on the day they meet for the first time in real life, she takes off and heads to a bar, where she sees Mark dancing on the countertop and their friendship  blossoms from there. I loved Kate's passion for art and I also enjoyed reading about her growing away from her best friend, because at that age it is common to outgrow your childhood friends.

I couldn't out this down! It was very well written and the transition between the perspectives was flawless. I have read and enjoyed many of David Levithan's books already, so I shall definitely pick up some of Nina LaCour's books in the future.

Rating: 5/5

The picture is from Goodreads.