On some level, I’m sure we’re all looking for a book that captures the highs, lows, and uncertainties of university life. It seems a fairly underrepresented age range in publishing, so I’m happy to be able to say that, if that’s what you’re on the lookout for, look no longer! I have one right here for you today. Take a read of our review and then get yourselves to a bookshop, because this book is out right now.
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Rosie is ready for her life to begin, because nothing says new life like going to university. After years of waiting and working hard, she’s finally on the road that will secure her future.
Except university turns out to be not what she hoped or imagined, and although she’s not exactly unhappy – really! – she might be a little bit worried that she doesn’t really like her course much. Or her flatmates. Or really… anything? But it’s normal to be homesick (right?) and everything will have settled in a month or two, and it’s totally fine that her friends seem so much happier than she is, and that the doctors don’t seem to know what’s wrong with her mother.
But then she meets Jade, and everything starts to look a little brighter. At least, it does if she’s only looking at Jade. But is first love enough when everything else is falling apart?
Something Certain, Maybe
Sara Barnard
Rep: bi mc, British Iranian Spanish lesbian li
CWs: mentions of past attempted suicide
Release: 7th July 2022
Five Reasons to Read This Book
One. If you’re looking for more LGBT books which contend with that age when characters have become adults and are heading out into the world, whether it be going to uni or otherwise, then this is a book for you. Based on character ages alone, this is possibly just about new adult as an age range, but it’s a book that’d suit young adults as well, especially with what it discusses.
Two. So my next point has to be that. When you think of books about characters of the age where they’re about to go to uni, or have just started, they’re very certain in their choices. Sure, they might have doubts, they might have moments where they feel overwhelmed by it all, but at the end of the day, they’re certain of their decision to go to university and they enjoy it. This book is a counter to that, and I think a very important one, because university isn’t for everyone and it’s okay to admit that. That’s why this book is great: because it has the sympathy for its characters in choosing not to continue, even when they don’t have it for themselves.
Three. Technically, this is the third book in a series that follows a group of friends over a period of a couple of years (although you can read it as a standalone). As such, that friendship is a central part of the book, particularly how it comes under strain when two of those friends move away to university. I think it was a very realistic portrayal of everything, really, but most especially the changes that can occur when friends are split apart and how that can add tension to a relationship. At the end of the day, though, it’s so clear that these three girls love each other wholeheartedly.
Four. The romance isn’t central to the book (although the relationship itself is). You might think this a strange point but. Hear me out. If you’re looking for more YA contemporary novels with LGBT mains that don’t only centre on a romance, where that romance is not the magic problem-solver, and especially where that relationship is a support system for what the main character is going through, then this is the book for you!
Five. It would be remiss of me not to end this review with a mention of the f/f relationship in this book, no? So let me do that just now. Rosie and Jade have a very sweet relationship and one that’s very well-paced within the context of the book. It’s not perfect—they do argue a few times—but they work together on it, and do communicate well too. Basically, a relationship that’s very easy to root for.
So, have we convinced you that you want to read this book?
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