Jessica Paige (Exercise_Read_Repeat)'s Reviews > Be the Girl

I LOVE KA Tucker. This book had so much greatness to it, and I literally want to recommend it to everyone! While it is a YA romance novel, as the main character is in high school, I’d compare it more to a Coho YA (Slammed, Heart Bones) where the characters are mature and the is story relatable for any age.

After her parents divorce, Aria and her mother move across Canada to live with her great uncle (an amazing person) and start fresh. Aria immediately connects with her new next door neighbors Emmett and Cassie. Emmett, is the town hockey star and the full package: attractive, trustworthy, kind and smart. Cassie, is Emmet’s younger sister and on the autism spectrum. Her larger than life personality brings a lot of smiles to the story. While Aria quickly adjusts to her new life, you learn from journal entries and glimpses of conversations with her mom that some events happened at her old school that she is tying to bury and put behind.

This story touches on so many important themes: bullying, mother/ daughter dynamics and trust, young love, acceptance for being different and forgiveness. KA Tucker’s inclusion of Cassie brought such a neat perspective to the story. As an SLP, I’m always a huge fan of neurodiverse characters. I think what makes this book a little different was that Cassie was lower functioning and not only struggled with nuanced social situations but also understanding language. It warmed my heart to see Aria let Cassie into her life with open arms and willingly include her because she wanted to not because she had to.

This book was soo much more meaningful than I expected. It will really make you think!! Also, it is super quick. You can easily finish it in one sitting.

Read if you’re interested in:
🔸First love romance
🔹Autism spectrum representation
🔸Stories that she’s light on relevant topics such as bullying and social media
🔹Mother/ daughter dynamics
🔸High school sports teams (track and hockey)
🔹Canada setting
🔸Amazing epilogues