Tellulah Darling

I fell hard for Fitzpatrick's debut My Life Next Door. It had everything to recommend it. So when I learned that this book had come out featuring Tim, the alcoholic best friend from the first book, I was in. Once again, Fitzpatrick gives the reader all the feels for the young couple. Given the struggles and issues her characters face, her stories could so easy veer into after school special territory but under her brilliance, become a heartfelt journey navigating the minefields of family, coming of age, bad luck, and bad decisions.

Not only Tim and Alice, but all the characters are incredibly layered and nuanced with none of the character dynamics going the way I expect. Be warned - there is heartbreak. But this is also so much hope. In the end, after all the struggles, Fitzpatrick presents us with the joys of life, sometimes small, sometimes profound, sometimes unexpected but always reminding her characters–and us–where to find meaning.