Review: You Know Me Well

Review:

I received a copy from Netgalley. A delightful story focusing on two teens during Pride week in San Francisco. Mark is in love with his best friend Ryan while Kate's best friend has set her up with a girl who she's built up in her mind and finally gets to meet after hearing about her from other people. Only instead of going to the meeting Kate chickens out and winds up at the same club where Mark and Ryan are hanging out. A chance meeting and somehow a friendship forms as the night progresses between Kate and Mark. Mark is trying not to be jealous while Ryan is out on the dance floor and having fun, Kate is trying not to freak over ditching out on meeting Violet, the girl she's supposed to be meeting. Each chapter is told in a viewpoint of either Kate or Mark, both voices are likeable, and very believable. Mark as he tries to convince Ryan they should be together, and the effects this has on him when trying to work through as Ryan meets someone else. While Kate is struggling to understand why she's friends with her best friend Lehna. She's known Lehna forever, they're both out and proud and a beacon for other gay kids at their school. Yet Lehna's personality is very forward and brash and I found her character irritating and obnoxious. Violet, the girl Kate is supposed to be meeting is actually Lehna's cousin, and Lehna has told her things about Kate that aren't exactly true. Though through meeting Mark at a club in San Francisco and winding up at a glamerous party somewhere later, Kate finds the stories Lehna told about her are actually, in a kind of unexpected way, turning out to come true. Out of the two storylines, Kate's I found was more interesting when Violet finally turns up, Kate's story I found as a reader I was able to identify with much more and therefore liked her character a lot more. And there was some pretty swoony romance. While I liked Mark, his story was more angsty, and seemed to just be focused on I love Ryan, does he love me or this other guy he's started seeing and wouldn't have started seeing him if I hadn't convinced him to go out that night? It does get a bit emotional, but I did find it kind of repetitive. Though together, the two stories actually did work pretty well. There was one bit towards the end where Mark and Kate go to a poetry slam and some of their other friends are there, some of the poetry was a little lost on me, some of it was awful, while other pieces were incredibly powerful and very moving. All in all a very good read that managed to smoothly go from quirky and funny to angst to emotional and switch back and forth provoking a range of different emotions. I liked this so much I bought a finished copy. Thank you Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for approving my request to view the title.

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