I love the ways in which she went into this serious subject matter, and also managed to bring it all together with her endearing cast of characters and adorable romance. Additionally, I know that as a society we are much more open and transparent about topics previously considered scandalous or taboo. I grew up hearing that I must do something "because [I] said so" or "I know better because im the mother", etc, and this book explores what can happen when youth are raised with these antiquated and rigid rules. The second novel about a preacher's daughter in small-town Texas and her journey toward loving herself and her body. This is going to be so pivotal for so many young women who are going to finally understand themselves and their bodies for the first time, but also a myriad of other young people who have most likely never been told about the condition.

I deeply related to Monique's feelings about her body seeming broken, and her intense discomfort with anything explicitly sexual. The storyline also couples this with purity culture, and growing up in a household dominated by standards set by the Church.

I quite literally just finished reading this maybe five minutes ago so this is me rambling, but wow, what a lovely book! Given that Monique’s Daddy is a pastor at a Black Baptist church in the south, that’s quite some conflict, but church is where she gets to spend time with Dom, her “dream boy”, who also happens to be her “daddy’s protégé”.

Especially not because some power-hungry man thinks he knows what’s best, when he doesn’t know diddly-squat about women’s bodies”, this is a dazzlingly refreshing charmer. I almost wanted to annotate it as I was reading because there were so many hard hitting lines, but I couldn't bring myself to ruin such a perfect book!At seventeen, she was just scratching the surface about making adult decisions and learning the consequences. A compassionate novel that encourages teens to prioritize the control, safety, and comfort of their own bodies. I first fell in love with her writing in Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry which became my favourite book, and now I fell in love all over again. One of the characters I didn’t particularly like in the beginning does get a redemption arc that I enjoyed (don’t worry it’s not who you think) and I really appreciated that they owned up to their mistakes in the end and sought to actively help.