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Her Name in the Sky
Hannah wants to spend her senior year of high school going to football games and Mardi Gras parties with her tight-knit group of friends.
The last thing she wants is to fall in love with a girl--especially when that girl is her best friend, Baker.
Hannah knows she should like Wally, the kind, earnest boy who asks her to prom. She should cheer on her friend Clay when he asks Baker to be his girlfriend. She should follow the rules of her conservative Louisiana community--the rules that have been ingrained in her since she was a child.
But Hannah longs to be with Baker, who cooks macaroni and cheese with Hannah late at night, who believes in the magic of books as much as Hannah does, and who challenges Hannah to be the best version of herself.
And Baker might want to be with Hannah, too--if both girls can embrace that world-shaking, yet wondrous, possibility.
The last thing she wants is to fall in love with a girl--especially when that girl is her best friend, Baker.
Hannah knows she should like Wally, the kind, earnest boy who asks her to prom. She should cheer on her friend Clay when he asks Baker to be his girlfriend. She should follow the rules of her conservative Louisiana community--the rules that have been ingrained in her since she was a child.
But Hannah longs to be with Baker, who cooks macaroni and cheese with Hannah late at night, who believes in the magic of books as much as Hannah does, and who challenges Hannah to be the best version of herself.
And Baker might want to be with Hannah, too--if both girls can embrace that world-shaking, yet wondrous, possibility.
12 pages, Audio CD
First published February 23, 2014
567 people are currently reading
48033 people want to read
About the author
Kelly Quindlen
5 books2,663 followersKelly Quindlen is the bestselling author of YA novels She Drives Me Crazy, which was a 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards nominee, and Late to the Party. She is also the author of the self-published novel Her Name in the Sky, which has sold over 30,000 copies through word-of-mouth in the queer community.
Kelly graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in English Literature and American Studies. She spent two years teaching middle school math with Teach for America in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She currently lives in Atlanta, where she is on the leadership team of a non-profit for Catholic parents with LGBTQ children.
Kelly graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in English Literature and American Studies. She spent two years teaching middle school math with Teach for America in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She currently lives in Atlanta, where she is on the leadership team of a non-profit for Catholic parents with LGBTQ children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,617 reviews
June 5, 2016
I was initially very hesitant to read this novel. My past experience with religion was an unpleasant one, and I steered clear of most literature that made any reference to Catholicism/Christianity. But... this book did come highly recommended, so I decided to give it a shot.
Holy Moly…
I am humbled by this book. It’s difficult for me to write a review that does this literary work any justice because it’s extraordinary. As with any review, I can only draw from my own personal reading experience and hope that my words won’t diminish its value.
Her Name in the Sky is the perfect illustration of truth in fiction. It delves deeply into important coming-of-age issues such as love, religion, family, friendship, depression, bullying, and discrimination. I’m sure that for some of us, it’ll bring back painful memories of high school that we don’t care to relive again. It did for me. But it’s important for us (not-so-young) adults to remember and reflect on that time period in our lives, so that we understand and acknowledge that there are teens going through this today, and teens that will go through this tomorrow. Sometimes, we grow so distant from our past that it becomes more and more difficult for us to relate to the future. Our human experiences are what bind us together... and our world can use a little more compassion.
Her Name in the Sky captures the innocence of first love, and all the complications that follow when girl loves girl in a "girl is supposed to love boy" world. Hannah and Baker are admirable in their bravery, and in the way that they each weather the storm both separately and together.
You’ll get to experience a myriad of emotions when you read this novel. This book literally broke my literary heart and pieced it back together at the end. You’ll feel like you’ve gone through a very long crying session, but trust me, it’s well worth it.
My hope is that anyone that has taken the time to read through this review… If you know someone who's isolated or feels alone that can benefit from this book, please pay it forward and pass it along.
http://lesreadoutloud.com/2015/11/11/...
Holy Moly…
I am humbled by this book. It’s difficult for me to write a review that does this literary work any justice because it’s extraordinary. As with any review, I can only draw from my own personal reading experience and hope that my words won’t diminish its value.
Her Name in the Sky is the perfect illustration of truth in fiction. It delves deeply into important coming-of-age issues such as love, religion, family, friendship, depression, bullying, and discrimination. I’m sure that for some of us, it’ll bring back painful memories of high school that we don’t care to relive again. It did for me. But it’s important for us (not-so-young) adults to remember and reflect on that time period in our lives, so that we understand and acknowledge that there are teens going through this today, and teens that will go through this tomorrow. Sometimes, we grow so distant from our past that it becomes more and more difficult for us to relate to the future. Our human experiences are what bind us together... and our world can use a little more compassion.
Her Name in the Sky captures the innocence of first love, and all the complications that follow when girl loves girl in a "girl is supposed to love boy" world. Hannah and Baker are admirable in their bravery, and in the way that they each weather the storm both separately and together.
You’ll get to experience a myriad of emotions when you read this novel. This book literally broke my literary heart and pieced it back together at the end. You’ll feel like you’ve gone through a very long crying session, but trust me, it’s well worth it.
My hope is that anyone that has taken the time to read through this review… If you know someone who's isolated or feels alone that can benefit from this book, please pay it forward and pass it along.
http://lesreadoutloud.com/2015/11/11/...
July 13, 2017
I usually cry a little when reading books, but this... This had me shedding tears in agony all the way through, some parts of it was so gut wrenching I almost barfed. I love the way the struggles in a catholic community is portrayed, but beyond that it's just a huge horror show all together.
Her Name in the Sky is as cruel to our main protagonist Hanna as to the reader. There is too much angst and pain, with no pressure valve to release some of the bad feelings it conjures, all the bad clogs up and it clenched up so tight in my chest it became tough to read.
There is no fluff that isn't lined with shame or tainted otherwise. I even despise the love interest Baker, she doesn't care for Hanna, she doesn't even mind hurting her horribly, she doesn't care for her other friends either, or that she destroys their circle of friends altogether. Baker is despicably self centered and a spineless coward who wont stand up for anyone. A terrible love interest all together. Hanna is strong, despite the horrors she has to face day to day all due Baker, I hoped she'd break free and realize this isn't a thing friends do to each other, much less lovers. On another note, the (supposed friend) character Clay is(knowingly) a friggin asshole and Hanna is unnaturally forgiving, like she lacks any sort of self. She harbors no teenage emotions... Anger, hurt, jealousy, greed? None. Barely hurt, all forgotten.
I was battered by bad emotions all the way through this book; so much that by the end my hearth had hardened to stone and whatever patchwork the author threw in "to make it all okey," it did nothing to soften me. I even had a sense of dread as the ending was worse than the rest. I didn't feel it's a happy ending, I felt Hanna had lost all her self respect, being toyed with like that, sidelined to suffer and then accepting the first bone thrown to her. Who lacks all self respect? Abuse victims, that's who.
I wish I never forced myself to finish this, feeling so horribly down.
Her Name in the Sky is as cruel to our main protagonist Hanna as to the reader. There is too much angst and pain, with no pressure valve to release some of the bad feelings it conjures, all the bad clogs up and it clenched up so tight in my chest it became tough to read.
There is no fluff that isn't lined with shame or tainted otherwise. I even despise the love interest Baker, she doesn't care for Hanna, she doesn't even mind hurting her horribly, she doesn't care for her other friends either, or that she destroys their circle of friends altogether. Baker is despicably self centered and a spineless coward who wont stand up for anyone. A terrible love interest all together. Hanna is strong, despite the horrors she has to face day to day all due Baker, I hoped she'd break free and realize this isn't a thing friends do to each other, much less lovers. On another note, the (supposed friend) character Clay is(knowingly) a friggin asshole and Hanna is unnaturally forgiving, like she lacks any sort of self. She harbors no teenage emotions... Anger, hurt, jealousy, greed? None. Barely hurt, all forgotten.
I was battered by bad emotions all the way through this book; so much that by the end my hearth had hardened to stone and whatever patchwork the author threw in "to make it all okey," it did nothing to soften me. I even had a sense of dread as the ending was worse than the rest. I didn't feel it's a happy ending, I felt Hanna had lost all her self respect, being toyed with like that, sidelined to suffer and then accepting the first bone thrown to her. Who lacks all self respect? Abuse victims, that's who.
I wish I never forced myself to finish this, feeling so horribly down.
April 16, 2015
q, is for Quindlen
4 Stars
**This whole review is one big story from my life**
When I was in tenth grade I transferred high schools. Same relatively small town, different schools. So here's 15 year old Karly (shy, timid and full of self-loathing) starting a new school, sans her best friend and small social circle but now, once again, surrounded by her bullies from elementary school. It was terrible; my first month and a half there were a living hell. A funny thing happened though, I started to make friends! Mostly with the outcast kids, and with one girl in particular, we’ll call her "Jane" (that's not actually her name, of course).
"Jane" was the first girl I had ever met who was out as a lesbian. She was proud, she was strong, she was UNAPOLOGETIC! "Jane" awed me. She seemed so comfortable in her own skin (I would learn in years to come that most of this was an act she played to keep herself segregated from the hate that bombarded her), so unafraid to openly prefer women. We became fast friends, she nicknamed me "Skittlette"; a name which stuck with me for the rest of high school. "Jane" was a talented photographer, incredibly artistic, and BEAUTIFUL; jaw-droppingly beautiful. Entirely unique. She was the first girl with a shaved head that I ever met; and she rocked it!
Why am I telling you this, you may ask? I’m getting to that.
After about a year of friendship with "Jane" her friend told me she had a crush on me. I was, am, straight. I had no idea what to do with this information. So I did nothing. I tried to contain my innately flirty nature, but every time I did "Jane" would ask me if I was okay in that way she had of knowing whenever something was bothering me. Time moved forward, "Jane" asks me in a letter (you know the kind, on paper, that teenagers used to pass around): "which way does your door swing?" What was I supposed to do? I told her I was straight, flattered but that doesn’t change the end result. She liked me one way, and I liked her another. Stalemate. We stayed friends, but it wasn’t the same, how could it be?
Moving forward several years, and relationships, later. "Jane" and I end up at a party together. Things are all good, we hug and yammer about our lives, then someone dares me to kiss her... I shouldn’t have done it! I KNOW I SHOULDN’T HAVE! It was cruel, to this day this is the cruelest thing I’ve ever done. (This is my confession, ladies & gents, bear with me.) I forgot! I forgot what it was like to have someone you like one way taunt you with what you can't have. I forgot that just because you feel one way about something doesn’t mean the other party doesn’t feel something different entirely. I forgot. And the look on her face, that devastation and betrayal, haunts me. To this day. In fact, at a party not long afterwards I was again dared (not terribly imaginative, my hometown) to kiss a girl and I ripped into the guy, screaming at him "That lesbianism is not a fucking freakshow", I lost my ish on him. LOST IT. This is why Her Name in the Sky made me cry. It made me cry for "Jane" and what I put her through. For what it is to be different and just wish to be accepted. Or different than you are. To just wish the pain away. I cried for that look in her eyes, the look that said of all the things I could have done this, THIS, was the lowest.
Her Name in the Sky is a story about friendship, about how sexuality can cause fissures in any relationship. It is a beautiful f/f questioning story that deeply explores what it means to be different in a small religious town. My heart soared and broke, in turns, and it was exquisite.
June 4, 2019
This book was really - what do the French call it? - absolutely fucking terrible. I loved the first 25% of it. I was expecting a sweet romance with the delectable angst that accompanies best friends to lovers. However, the remainder of the book delivered me a pile of shit, for lack of a better term. Also, this isn't best friends to lovers. No one can be considered your best friend if they treat you the way B*ker treated Hannah.
Hannah and B*ker have been best friends for four years. However, recently Hannah has started to experience newfound feelings in relation to her best friend, and she suspects they may be reciprocated. After sharing a few kisses on the beach, Hannah and B*ker's relationship shifts. Hannah finds herself more alone than ever, after her "best friend" ditches her friend group, starts dating their mutual friend, purposefully displays affection for the boyfriend she doesn't even like in front of her, and ignores all attempts at communication from the other girl. Sounded cute, didn't it?
The start? With a bunch of happy teens having fun in their senior year together, drinking and partying together? Amazing. The rest? With a manipulative, repulsive love interest breaking apart that group for her own selfish reasons, using another human being for her own gain - including in a sexual matter - making her "best friend" despise herself and feel alone in the world? Absolutely fucking disgusting.
I feel like the majority of my hate stems from B*ker and her actions, so let's discuss why she's a trash fire human being and deserves to rot in hell ✨. Here's the thing: I understand that some people aren't comfortable in their sexuality, but that's never an excuse to treat others horribly. Just because you feel disgusted when you kiss your "best friend", doesn't mean you 1) make her feel insignificant, lonely, worthless, useless, any other synonym relating to these words. 2) purposefully start using other people and make out, dance, have sex with them to shove it in their face. 3) ACT LIKE YOU'RE THE FUCKING VICTIM. Sure, you slept with your best friend and now you hate yourself, but you also pushed another human being to their lowest point, made them question whether they're allowed to feel safe in their sexuality, and caused a dramatic shift in your close friend group. I cannot possibly understand how people read this, then think it's angsty, romantic, and dramatic, not manipulative and toxic.
My favourite part of this entire book was when B*ker fell down the hill and almost died ✨
Of course, Hannah made mistakes. But, I think most of her character flaws were literally a result of the dark place B*ker put her in. She only kisses Wally because B*ker makes her feel like loving another girl is an abomination, she pushes her sister away because she's afraid no one will accept her because of her sexual orientation after she was treated in the way she was by B*ker.
Overall, I never want to think about this book again. I would never recommend it to anyone, let alone an actual sapphic person like myself that has to read about such a repulsive love interest and have it be presented to us as romance.
That's all. I hate B*ker ✨.
Hannah and B*ker have been best friends for four years. However, recently Hannah has started to experience newfound feelings in relation to her best friend, and she suspects they may be reciprocated. After sharing a few kisses on the beach, Hannah and B*ker's relationship shifts. Hannah finds herself more alone than ever, after her "best friend" ditches her friend group, starts dating their mutual friend, purposefully displays affection for the boyfriend she doesn't even like in front of her, and ignores all attempts at communication from the other girl. Sounded cute, didn't it?
The start? With a bunch of happy teens having fun in their senior year together, drinking and partying together? Amazing. The rest? With a manipulative, repulsive love interest breaking apart that group for her own selfish reasons, using another human being for her own gain - including in a sexual matter - making her "best friend" despise herself and feel alone in the world? Absolutely fucking disgusting.
I feel like the majority of my hate stems from B*ker and her actions, so let's discuss why she's a trash fire human being and deserves to rot in hell ✨. Here's the thing: I understand that some people aren't comfortable in their sexuality, but that's never an excuse to treat others horribly. Just because you feel disgusted when you kiss your "best friend", doesn't mean you 1) make her feel insignificant, lonely, worthless, useless, any other synonym relating to these words. 2) purposefully start using other people and make out, dance, have sex with them to shove it in their face. 3) ACT LIKE YOU'RE THE FUCKING VICTIM. Sure, you slept with your best friend and now you hate yourself, but you also pushed another human being to their lowest point, made them question whether they're allowed to feel safe in their sexuality, and caused a dramatic shift in your close friend group. I cannot possibly understand how people read this, then think it's angsty, romantic, and dramatic, not manipulative and toxic.
My favourite part of this entire book was when B*ker fell down the hill and almost died ✨
Of course, Hannah made mistakes. But, I think most of her character flaws were literally a result of the dark place B*ker put her in. She only kisses Wally because B*ker makes her feel like loving another girl is an abomination, she pushes her sister away because she's afraid no one will accept her because of her sexual orientation after she was treated in the way she was by B*ker.
Overall, I never want to think about this book again. I would never recommend it to anyone, let alone an actual sapphic person like myself that has to read about such a repulsive love interest and have it be presented to us as romance.
That's all. I hate B*ker ✨.
July 15, 2022
4.5 ⭐️
My therapist will be hearing about this
My therapist will be hearing about this
July 26, 2021
I have found a new favorite book!
July 17, 2021
tears have been shed time to join the bakerhannah brainrot club
check out my reading vlog for kelly quindlen's books here!
check out my reading vlog for kelly quindlen's books here!
January 5, 2025
This was such an incredible book. The emotions and angst were next level and it just floored me.
This is a coming out story set in Louisiana and deals with accepting your queerness while also being religious. It really resonated with me as I was raised in a Christian church where I was told over and over that homosexuality is a sin that would send me straight to hell. This took me right back to being a teenager in a small town and dealing with my internalized homophobia.
This is also a book about best friends realizing their feelings for one another are not purely friendly. Most of the time this isn't an angsty time, just a surprising one. Here, it was devastating for Hannah and Baker to realize their feelings and it ends up not only affecting them but their friend group. I did like the different spin, even if it was such a painful reading experience lol.
This book was written in 2014 and while a lot has changed since then, so much is still the same for a lot of small towns here in the U.S. Unfortunately, for that reason, this really doesn't feel dated.
I don't know what else to say about it. I loved it and can't imagine reading anything else right now.
Thanks to Angie for recommending this!
This is a coming out story set in Louisiana and deals with accepting your queerness while also being religious. It really resonated with me as I was raised in a Christian church where I was told over and over that homosexuality is a sin that would send me straight to hell. This took me right back to being a teenager in a small town and dealing with my internalized homophobia.
This is also a book about best friends realizing their feelings for one another are not purely friendly. Most of the time this isn't an angsty time, just a surprising one. Here, it was devastating for Hannah and Baker to realize their feelings and it ends up not only affecting them but their friend group. I did like the different spin, even if it was such a painful reading experience lol.
This book was written in 2014 and while a lot has changed since then, so much is still the same for a lot of small towns here in the U.S. Unfortunately, for that reason, this really doesn't feel dated.
I don't know what else to say about it. I loved it and can't imagine reading anything else right now.
Thanks to Angie for recommending this!
May 5, 2020
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I picked this up because I loved Kelly Quindlen's traditional debut, Late to the Party, but this book completely surpassed my expectations with how good it was. Her Name in the Sky made me feel like my heart got turned inside out and ripped apart. It's a heartrending story of self-discovery and love and fear, and it blew me out of the water at every page.
Her Name in the Sky high school senior Hannah Eaden and her group of friends in a Louisana Catholic school when Hannah realizes she has feelings for her best friend, Baker, and that Baker likes her back. Hannah and Baker are both fairly average teenagers, albeit on the popular side of their school, which really does screw things up when things get going. Really, Hannah and her friend group live the life that I wanted to live as a teenager, and Kelly Quindlen is so good at prying that aching nostalgia from me with beautiful writing and relatable characters.
If you're expecting a fluffy romance in this book, you'll be disappointed; Her Name in the Sky is more of a coming-of-age mixed with difficult themes of religion and homophobia. There is a lot of angst, and a lot of the moments between Hannah and Baker are bittersweet. Both Hannah and Baker go through a lot in this book, and both of them do hurtful things to each other because of it. It doesn't make them bad people; they're scared teenagers who lash out or keep everything in. Both of them seem so real to me. Hannah is impulsive and rash a lot of the time, and she definitely lashes out. Baker is more timid, and Hannah has such a drive to protect her, and I understand that makes Baker seem unsympathetic, but I could emphasize with her and understand why she did what she did. Faith is difficult. Religion is difficult. Especially as a teenager, in such a tight-knit, prejudiced community, there's so much fear there.
As a bisexual Christian, this book really hit me, and I cried a fair bit towards the end. I'm lucky to have never struggled as much with my sexuality as Hannah and Baker did, but I grew up with casual homophobia. I think this is the book that has rung most true with me about how it feels to struggle with your faith, whether it's because of sexuality or trauma or other things. There were so many passages of this book that took my breath away, formed my jumbled thoughts into words and put it on a page. This book holds up forgiveness and love--whether romantic, or platonic, as familial--as what it is to know God, which is something that speaks very deeply to me.
It is, I think, important to note that despite all the difficulties and angsty and hardship that Hannah and Baker face during the story, things end happily: not bittersweet, but happily.
I absolutely loved reading Her Name in the Sky--it was painful, but in a good way. Kelly Quindlen is definitely on my list for books I will be watching out for in the future. I am going to deviate from the template and finish off with one of my favourite quotes from the book, because it's really what the book is about: "When we love, we automatically know God without even trying to, because God is love. If we love as He made us to love--if we love with our hearts instead of our criteria--then we simply are love."
content warnings | homophobia, religious-based homophobia
representation | lesbian main character and love interest
She thinks about Christ. How she'd like to lay everything down at his feet. "Here you go," she'd say, dropping everything down like a pile of wood. "You gave me this, and I have no idea what to do with it."
I picked this up because I loved Kelly Quindlen's traditional debut, Late to the Party, but this book completely surpassed my expectations with how good it was. Her Name in the Sky made me feel like my heart got turned inside out and ripped apart. It's a heartrending story of self-discovery and love and fear, and it blew me out of the water at every page.
Her Name in the Sky high school senior Hannah Eaden and her group of friends in a Louisana Catholic school when Hannah realizes she has feelings for her best friend, Baker, and that Baker likes her back. Hannah and Baker are both fairly average teenagers, albeit on the popular side of their school, which really does screw things up when things get going. Really, Hannah and her friend group live the life that I wanted to live as a teenager, and Kelly Quindlen is so good at prying that aching nostalgia from me with beautiful writing and relatable characters.
If you're expecting a fluffy romance in this book, you'll be disappointed; Her Name in the Sky is more of a coming-of-age mixed with difficult themes of religion and homophobia. There is a lot of angst, and a lot of the moments between Hannah and Baker are bittersweet. Both Hannah and Baker go through a lot in this book, and both of them do hurtful things to each other because of it. It doesn't make them bad people; they're scared teenagers who lash out or keep everything in. Both of them seem so real to me. Hannah is impulsive and rash a lot of the time, and she definitely lashes out. Baker is more timid, and Hannah has such a drive to protect her, and I understand that makes Baker seem unsympathetic, but I could emphasize with her and understand why she did what she did. Faith is difficult. Religion is difficult. Especially as a teenager, in such a tight-knit, prejudiced community, there's so much fear there.
As a bisexual Christian, this book really hit me, and I cried a fair bit towards the end. I'm lucky to have never struggled as much with my sexuality as Hannah and Baker did, but I grew up with casual homophobia. I think this is the book that has rung most true with me about how it feels to struggle with your faith, whether it's because of sexuality or trauma or other things. There were so many passages of this book that took my breath away, formed my jumbled thoughts into words and put it on a page. This book holds up forgiveness and love--whether romantic, or platonic, as familial--as what it is to know God, which is something that speaks very deeply to me.
It is, I think, important to note that despite all the difficulties and angsty and hardship that Hannah and Baker face during the story, things end happily: not bittersweet, but happily.
I absolutely loved reading Her Name in the Sky--it was painful, but in a good way. Kelly Quindlen is definitely on my list for books I will be watching out for in the future. I am going to deviate from the template and finish off with one of my favourite quotes from the book, because it's really what the book is about: "When we love, we automatically know God without even trying to, because God is love. If we love as He made us to love--if we love with our hearts instead of our criteria--then we simply are love."
content warnings | homophobia, religious-based homophobia
representation | lesbian main character and love interest
July 7, 2021
the intensities of the emotions this made me go through…! GAY!!!!!
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July 7, 2023
"Do you ever think about how crazy that is?—Our miraculous capacity to love? We don't know why, we don't know how, but our hearts and souls are drawn to others. We weren't made to be alone. We were made to love. And when we love, we automatically know God without even trying to, because God is love. If we love as he made us to love—if we love with our hearts instead of our criteria—then we simply are love."
— this scene between ms. carpenter and hannah was beautiful and probably my fav.
THE WAY THIS BOOK MADE ME FEEL ALL OVER THE PLACE?? i'm giving this four stars bc it gave me all the feels and emotions and it was angsty as fuck (which i had a feeling, but i didn't expect 90% angst 😭) and, even if a book isn't my favorite overall, if it could make me feel, sometimes that's enough. some characters frustrated me. some characters pissed me off. some characters made me sad. some characters i just wanted to hug. i wouldn't even say i loved the romance. hannah and baker had a connection, yes, and they were cute in the end, but i wasn't completely invested in them (i liked the book enough to keep reading, but that's it lol) ... but was i rooting for their happiness? definitely. like i said though, i'm all over the place with this book. 🤣 oh and ms. carpenter was the mvp for me. my favorite character in this book, no question. <3
also!! just wanted to give a heads up this book does focus a lot on religious talks and there are homophobic assholes - in case you're not comfortable with that!
(on a random note; the fact that both hs were hannah and baker and one of the side characters was clay?? it tripped me up in the beginning bc all i could think of was 13 reasons why lol)
— this scene between ms. carpenter and hannah was beautiful and probably my fav.
THE WAY THIS BOOK MADE ME FEEL ALL OVER THE PLACE?? i'm giving this four stars bc it gave me all the feels and emotions and it was angsty as fuck (which i had a feeling, but i didn't expect 90% angst 😭) and, even if a book isn't my favorite overall, if it could make me feel, sometimes that's enough. some characters frustrated me. some characters pissed me off. some characters made me sad. some characters i just wanted to hug. i wouldn't even say i loved the romance. hannah and baker had a connection, yes, and they were cute in the end, but i wasn't completely invested in them (i liked the book enough to keep reading, but that's it lol) ... but was i rooting for their happiness? definitely. like i said though, i'm all over the place with this book. 🤣 oh and ms. carpenter was the mvp for me. my favorite character in this book, no question. <3
also!! just wanted to give a heads up this book does focus a lot on religious talks and there are homophobic assholes - in case you're not comfortable with that!
(on a random note; the fact that both hs were hannah and baker and one of the side characters was clay?? it tripped me up in the beginning bc all i could think of was 13 reasons why lol)
May 18, 2021
update: 1 star and thats because im generous.
my friend was reading this and we got to discuss it, which made me remember even more things i dislike about the book. the writing is mediocre at best and, you'd think there's character development, but in reality, the author keeps changing their personalities to fit a certain narrative.
also adding a tigger warning for attempted hate crime because i wasn't sure at first if i should call it that or if i was exaggerating in my mind, but i got confirmation that's what it is.
---
initial review
i wont give it a rating for now because im very conflicted. this review contains spoilers but im not going to mark them because. because.
on one hand, i love some of these characters. i love hannah and joanie and luke and wally so much it almost hurts sometimes. but at the same time i hate clay and baker just as much. but not always, not at the beginning and not at the end. just during the everything in between, but that applies to this entire book.
the beginning was so cute that, even if i read some negative reviews, i still thought i will love the book. the ending was so sweet, it put a big smile on my face. but the middle was horrible. the author said she wanted to write a happy ending because all the wlw books she read had sad ending, and i get that. as someone who read far from you before starting this, i get it. but was the middle worth it?
throughout the book hannah keeps wondering if all the pain - and it's a lot of it - is worth it. i kept wondering that too. she suffered so much because of someone who was supposed to make her feel better, to make her feel safe. i understand baker's fear better than i would like, but that is literally no excuse, and she admits it too. the things she put hannah through, the pain... i might not read many books, but i've never seen a love interest that is so selfish... so so selfish. at first she reminded me of mina from far from you, but god. mina was a good person outside of whatever she was doing with sophie. then she reminded me of sebastian from autoboyography cause they deal with kind of the same thing, but again. sebastian never hurt tanner like that.
i'm not going to pretend hannah is perfect even though she is the love of my life, but i cannot for the sake of me wrap my head around the fact that she is the one who apologized the most in this book. she is the one who was hurt the most and still the one who tried to fix everything, with everyone. she deserves so much better than baker. maybe my opinion would be different if the book was from baker's pov. but guess what? it's not. so while i do understand her struggles and i'm not trying to imply she didn't get hurt, i also can't fully empathize with her, either.
so to answer my own question from before, no. the middle wasn't worth it. i know it most definitely wasn't the point of this book, but at times it even made me feel ashamed of myself and who i like. now, imagine how hannah must've felt. i don't usually cry while reading, but if i do it's either because of sadness or happiness. this time it was out of frustration. this time i cried for hannah, knowing how her story will end and how much more she deserves.
i'll end this - before i get mad again - by saying that it's on me, at the end of the day. i should've listened to my gut when it told me i won't like this, at the beginning. i should've listened to my own joke when i thought "a ship called bakerhannah is destined to suck". because i was right.
also clay sucks and a 5 minute heart to heart won't change my opinion, sorry.
trigger warnings: homophobia (especially internalized), religion (catholicism), vomiting, underage drinking, forced outing (kind of), divorce mention, attempted hate crime.
my friend was reading this and we got to discuss it, which made me remember even more things i dislike about the book. the writing is mediocre at best and, you'd think there's character development, but in reality, the author keeps changing their personalities to fit a certain narrative.
also adding a tigger warning for attempted hate crime because i wasn't sure at first if i should call it that or if i was exaggerating in my mind, but i got confirmation that's what it is.
---
initial review
i wont give it a rating for now because im very conflicted. this review contains spoilers but im not going to mark them because. because.
on one hand, i love some of these characters. i love hannah and joanie and luke and wally so much it almost hurts sometimes. but at the same time i hate clay and baker just as much. but not always, not at the beginning and not at the end. just during the everything in between, but that applies to this entire book.
the beginning was so cute that, even if i read some negative reviews, i still thought i will love the book. the ending was so sweet, it put a big smile on my face. but the middle was horrible. the author said she wanted to write a happy ending because all the wlw books she read had sad ending, and i get that. as someone who read far from you before starting this, i get it. but was the middle worth it?
throughout the book hannah keeps wondering if all the pain - and it's a lot of it - is worth it. i kept wondering that too. she suffered so much because of someone who was supposed to make her feel better, to make her feel safe. i understand baker's fear better than i would like, but that is literally no excuse, and she admits it too. the things she put hannah through, the pain... i might not read many books, but i've never seen a love interest that is so selfish... so so selfish. at first she reminded me of mina from far from you, but god. mina was a good person outside of whatever she was doing with sophie. then she reminded me of sebastian from autoboyography cause they deal with kind of the same thing, but again. sebastian never hurt tanner like that.
i'm not going to pretend hannah is perfect even though she is the love of my life, but i cannot for the sake of me wrap my head around the fact that she is the one who apologized the most in this book. she is the one who was hurt the most and still the one who tried to fix everything, with everyone. she deserves so much better than baker. maybe my opinion would be different if the book was from baker's pov. but guess what? it's not. so while i do understand her struggles and i'm not trying to imply she didn't get hurt, i also can't fully empathize with her, either.
so to answer my own question from before, no. the middle wasn't worth it. i know it most definitely wasn't the point of this book, but at times it even made me feel ashamed of myself and who i like. now, imagine how hannah must've felt. i don't usually cry while reading, but if i do it's either because of sadness or happiness. this time it was out of frustration. this time i cried for hannah, knowing how her story will end and how much more she deserves.
i'll end this - before i get mad again - by saying that it's on me, at the end of the day. i should've listened to my gut when it told me i won't like this, at the beginning. i should've listened to my own joke when i thought "a ship called bakerhannah is destined to suck". because i was right.
also clay sucks and a 5 minute heart to heart won't change my opinion, sorry.
trigger warnings: homophobia (especially internalized), religion (catholicism), vomiting, underage drinking, forced outing (kind of), divorce mention, attempted hate crime.
May 22, 2024
It's rare these days that I read a book and am blown away by it. It's even rarer that I read and book and then immediately go back to page one to start it again. And then, when I'm finished reading through a second time, go back reread moments of the book again and again because I don't want it to ever end. Her Name in the Sky embodies everything I know fiction can be: entertaining, edifying, painful and honest and real, and completely satisfying.
I'm always a little depressed after I finish a book I've really enjoyed. It's always hard to leave a carefully constructed world filled with people I wish I knew in real life and people, like so many relationships in real life, I'm only privy to a small moment of their lives. But when I finished HNITS, I was devastated, so devastated that I haven't wanted to read anything else because I don't want to say goodbye. I'm currently slogging through my next book—a result of my HNITS hangover.
So what's so special about this novel? Why has it left me in the best kind of emotional turmoil since I read it a few weeks ago? Kelly Quindlen doesn't reinvent the wheel here. Thematically, it's not a new story. It's the same coming-out narrative I've read again and again. It's another story about falling in love with your best friend and not knowing if your feelings are ever going to be returned or will ever really be okay or accepted or, more devastating, if you're ever going to confront the truth about yourself and live that truth.
But Quindlen must be a magician because she takes this story, these tropes I've so many times before and transforms them into something that feels groundbreaking and so phenomenally important. Maybe it's the way she writes about Hannah and Baker, who are flawed and confused and who aren't overly extraordinary or weird and who, sexuality aside, seem like normal teenagers who do normal teenager things. Maybe it's because it's set in the South, where the religious right has ensconced itself and reigns supreme. Maybe because, without making it overly dramatic, there's so much at stake for these girls. Or maybe it's because it hit a little too close to home.
Society tells us that religion and queerness are mutually exclusive ideas. You can either be religious or gay, but you can't be both. That pressure comes from both communities. And religion is a common obstacle in many coming-out stories, so, once again, Quindlen isn't doing anything new here. But what is new is the way she refuses to let her characters fall prey to that either/or dichotomy. In HNITS religion is treated as an institution that while causing a great amount of harm also matters deeply to Hannah and Baker. And regardless of where they end up—identifying as gay or lesbian and/or identifying as Catholic/Christian—Catholicism has had a major impact of their lives and is given that consideration and respect. And the way Quindlen handles their conflicting ideas about Catholicism sets this book apart from all the rest.
This is a story about truth, shame, sacrifice, redemption and, ultimately, love. And it's the best book I've read in a really long time.
I'm always a little depressed after I finish a book I've really enjoyed. It's always hard to leave a carefully constructed world filled with people I wish I knew in real life and people, like so many relationships in real life, I'm only privy to a small moment of their lives. But when I finished HNITS, I was devastated, so devastated that I haven't wanted to read anything else because I don't want to say goodbye. I'm currently slogging through my next book—a result of my HNITS hangover.
So what's so special about this novel? Why has it left me in the best kind of emotional turmoil since I read it a few weeks ago? Kelly Quindlen doesn't reinvent the wheel here. Thematically, it's not a new story. It's the same coming-out narrative I've read again and again. It's another story about falling in love with your best friend and not knowing if your feelings are ever going to be returned or will ever really be okay or accepted or, more devastating, if you're ever going to confront the truth about yourself and live that truth.
But Quindlen must be a magician because she takes this story, these tropes I've so many times before and transforms them into something that feels groundbreaking and so phenomenally important. Maybe it's the way she writes about Hannah and Baker, who are flawed and confused and who aren't overly extraordinary or weird and who, sexuality aside, seem like normal teenagers who do normal teenager things. Maybe it's because it's set in the South, where the religious right has ensconced itself and reigns supreme. Maybe because, without making it overly dramatic, there's so much at stake for these girls. Or maybe it's because it hit a little too close to home.
Society tells us that religion and queerness are mutually exclusive ideas. You can either be religious or gay, but you can't be both. That pressure comes from both communities. And religion is a common obstacle in many coming-out stories, so, once again, Quindlen isn't doing anything new here. But what is new is the way she refuses to let her characters fall prey to that either/or dichotomy. In HNITS religion is treated as an institution that while causing a great amount of harm also matters deeply to Hannah and Baker. And regardless of where they end up—identifying as gay or lesbian and/or identifying as Catholic/Christian—Catholicism has had a major impact of their lives and is given that consideration and respect. And the way Quindlen handles their conflicting ideas about Catholicism sets this book apart from all the rest.
This is a story about truth, shame, sacrifice, redemption and, ultimately, love. And it's the best book I've read in a really long time.
May 31, 2017
This book started out so slow for me. Maybe it’s because I’m getting old and crotchety but reading about a group of beautiful, popular, well to do, catholic high school students getting reading for parties, ditching classes to get beignets and hanging out and getting drunk was not my idea of a good time. Nah, who am I kidding, it wouldn’t have been a good time no matter my age. I’ve always found this kind of thing boring. Give me messed up people and sticky situations any day. Somewhere along the line, maybe about a third of the way in, feelings started getting complicated and messy and I was finally all in for the angst and I am glad I stuck with it.
Hannah and Baker have always been the best of friends but in-between the pep rallies and beignets, Hannah starts to develop feelings for Baker, feelings she doesn’t want and doesn’t know how to deal with. She’s supposed to grow up and marry a boy. She's not supposed to fall in love with a girl.
Stuff and sexy times happen and that’s when things get really messy. Neither Hannah nor Baker are ready to admit that they might be falling in love and start doing what is “normal” and expected and begin dating boys but that only makes things oh-so-much harder for all of them. Oh the angst. I loved it.
It’s a raw and painful read and there is a lot of God talk (so if that’s not your thing, be warned) and the kids, as kids will do, make terrible choices that cause them so much inner torment. But it’s honest and the characters always felt real. Hannah, especially, feels incredibly genuine as she lashes out at those closest to her because she is in such a state of anguish over her feelings. Feelings she can’t share with anyone out of fear of being looked at differently. She tries in vain to wish it all away but life is never that easy.
I’m glad I stuck with the story, despite the draggy beginning, because it turned out to be a beautifully written book.
Narration Notes: Piper Goodeve has a youthful voice that suited both the female and male characters which is quite a feat. I always knew who was who even though there were many characters in their little circle of friends. If you're into audio, this is a good one!
I received an ARC from Tantor Media. Thanks, Tantor!
Hannah and Baker have always been the best of friends but in-between the pep rallies and beignets, Hannah starts to develop feelings for Baker, feelings she doesn’t want and doesn’t know how to deal with. She’s supposed to grow up and marry a boy. She's not supposed to fall in love with a girl.
Stuff and sexy times happen and that’s when things get really messy. Neither Hannah nor Baker are ready to admit that they might be falling in love and start doing what is “normal” and expected and begin dating boys but that only makes things oh-so-much harder for all of them. Oh the angst. I loved it.
It’s a raw and painful read and there is a lot of God talk (so if that’s not your thing, be warned) and the kids, as kids will do, make terrible choices that cause them so much inner torment. But it’s honest and the characters always felt real. Hannah, especially, feels incredibly genuine as she lashes out at those closest to her because she is in such a state of anguish over her feelings. Feelings she can’t share with anyone out of fear of being looked at differently. She tries in vain to wish it all away but life is never that easy.
I’m glad I stuck with the story, despite the draggy beginning, because it turned out to be a beautifully written book.
Narration Notes: Piper Goodeve has a youthful voice that suited both the female and male characters which is quite a feat. I always knew who was who even though there were many characters in their little circle of friends. If you're into audio, this is a good one!
I received an ARC from Tantor Media. Thanks, Tantor!
May 29, 2022
WHAT I FELT THROUGHOUT THE BOOK
50% frustration & anger
23% satisfaction
27% me crying screaming because this book hit hard
50% frustration & anger
23% satisfaction
27% me crying screaming because this book hit hard
September 1, 2015
In her last year of high school, Hannah looks forward to the senior prom, the trepidation and excitement of college applications, spending time with her best friends before they go their separate ways, and of course, the parties. She lives in a conservative Catholic community and attends mass weekly. Even the school she goes to is steeped in all the Catholic traditions and teachings. Still, teenagers being teenagers, Hannah's friends find ways to go around parent and school restrictions to spice up their after school events. In one particularly wild Mardi Gras outing, Hannah and her bff, Baker find themselves alone and sharing an innocent kiss.
Convinced by beliefs ingrained for life that they are 'wrong' and seized with guilt, Hannah and Bake avoid each other at all costs and try to find 'normality' with other boys.
The first few chapters are a little meh for non-YA fans, as Hannah and her gang go about their daily teen activities. Things take an interesting turn after the first kiss. There is more angst here than the typical YA book. In fact, way more than most adult lesfic books. But none of it feels contrived or unnecessary. This is one of the most realistic and beautiful treatments of teen sexuality problems--from denial, to self-doubt, to anger, to acceptance, to positive action--all the steps wrapped in an engrossing plot. And the author manages to do all that without disparaging or trivializing the protagonists' deeply-held beliefs and convictions. At the end of the book, I felt like I wanted to go through all my previous YA and NA books and downgrade them all by 1 star. :)
This book should be required reading for all teens struggling with the moral issues of homosexuality. Not many books can entertain and educate equally well.
Convinced by beliefs ingrained for life that they are 'wrong' and seized with guilt, Hannah and Bake avoid each other at all costs and try to find 'normality' with other boys.
The first few chapters are a little meh for non-YA fans, as Hannah and her gang go about their daily teen activities. Things take an interesting turn after the first kiss. There is more angst here than the typical YA book. In fact, way more than most adult lesfic books. But none of it feels contrived or unnecessary. This is one of the most realistic and beautiful treatments of teen sexuality problems--from denial, to self-doubt, to anger, to acceptance, to positive action--all the steps wrapped in an engrossing plot. And the author manages to do all that without disparaging or trivializing the protagonists' deeply-held beliefs and convictions. At the end of the book, I felt like I wanted to go through all my previous YA and NA books and downgrade them all by 1 star. :)
This book should be required reading for all teens struggling with the moral issues of homosexuality. Not many books can entertain and educate equally well.
August 23, 2023
August is slipping away, and I wanted something fun and heartfelt and super queer to ring out the summer. This has a nice title and a great first sentence ("Baker is wearing her least favorite pair of knee socks.") It looked like it might hit the spot. And for the first third, I got the high school hijinks and queer sweetness I was after. And then, after one of the saddest and most beautiful sex scenes I can remember, this book put me through the ringer. I stayed up til three in the morning and cried like a baby.
Somehow, I’ve come to associate YA with a certain kind of fantasy novel, and also a certain strain of "poptimist" anti-intellectualism, and also maybe various twitter stupidities, and heroes whose greatest superpower is demonstrating the emotional maturity of a 17-year-old on a good day—and I forgot how much I love a good high school novel. Going back in time to inhabit what it was like to be seventeen? That's not literature, that's witchcraft. I have no clue how to do that.
I love how the book handles Catholicism—a pretty personal topic for me. Quindlen takes God seriously. Takes the church seriously. And by channeling her characters' emotional turmoil through the language of faith—by refusing to let bigots define what faith can mean—she shows just how powerful faith can be, for better and for worse; how the stories we tell in church, just like the stories we tell in novels and movies and magazines and online, are wild and dangerous and beautiful things.
The prose is perfect, which is to say not that good. Any better and the whole spell would be ruined. Any worse and it'd actually be bad. A dispatch from a time when all the cliches were still new.
Somehow, I’ve come to associate YA with a certain kind of fantasy novel, and also a certain strain of "poptimist" anti-intellectualism, and also maybe various twitter stupidities, and heroes whose greatest superpower is demonstrating the emotional maturity of a 17-year-old on a good day—and I forgot how much I love a good high school novel. Going back in time to inhabit what it was like to be seventeen? That's not literature, that's witchcraft. I have no clue how to do that.
I love how the book handles Catholicism—a pretty personal topic for me. Quindlen takes God seriously. Takes the church seriously. And by channeling her characters' emotional turmoil through the language of faith—by refusing to let bigots define what faith can mean—she shows just how powerful faith can be, for better and for worse; how the stories we tell in church, just like the stories we tell in novels and movies and magazines and online, are wild and dangerous and beautiful things.
The prose is perfect, which is to say not that good. Any better and the whole spell would be ruined. Any worse and it'd actually be bad. A dispatch from a time when all the cliches were still new.
January 15, 2019
This book left me wanting for more. you know that feeling you get when you read an amazing book that touches your heart and makes you totally swoon? this was one of those books. It's going into my list of books that I'm gonna read over and over again and never get tired of.
I loved hannah. Freaking loved her. I loved how she didn't cower and hide her emotions. Yea she did do things that'll make you kick her hard but damn...She's amazing. Period.
Baker is a different story. I guess she's the closeted kid in this book. I wasn't sure how to react to her. She seemed to have way too many conflicting emotions. At one point I just wanted to kill her Dexter style coz she was acting so stupid. She got on my nerves and I seriously couldn't understand why Hannah put up with her crap. But what she did in the end completely reversed my opinion. All I could feel was pain for this tortured soul.
shout out to Ms Carpenter. We need teachers like her in every school in the world. She was the paragon of a good teacher. There was no judgement on her part at any point in the book.
This book had me in tears towards the end. The struggles are real. Author, you did a damn good job. The best part was how the story was in third person present tense. This was a new narrative sstyle for me and I loved it so much. I loved this book and recommend it to anyone who loves stories filled with tons of angst. But the storyline of friends falling for each other is just beautiful according to me and that's why I feel everyones gotta read this book.
IT'S BEAUTIFUL.
I loved hannah. Freaking loved her. I loved how she didn't cower and hide her emotions. Yea she did do things that'll make you kick her hard but damn...She's amazing. Period.
Baker is a different story. I guess she's the closeted kid in this book. I wasn't sure how to react to her. She seemed to have way too many conflicting emotions. At one point I just wanted to kill her Dexter style coz she was acting so stupid. She got on my nerves and I seriously couldn't understand why Hannah put up with her crap. But what she did in the end completely reversed my opinion. All I could feel was pain for this tortured soul.
shout out to Ms Carpenter. We need teachers like her in every school in the world. She was the paragon of a good teacher. There was no judgement on her part at any point in the book.
This book had me in tears towards the end. The struggles are real. Author, you did a damn good job. The best part was how the story was in third person present tense. This was a new narrative sstyle for me and I loved it so much. I loved this book and recommend it to anyone who loves stories filled with tons of angst. But the storyline of friends falling for each other is just beautiful according to me and that's why I feel everyones gotta read this book.
IT'S BEAUTIFUL.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2018
I almost ugly cried reading this lovely coming of age story. My tearing up here and there could not be helped however. This is so beautifully written and aptly tackles how one reconciles the conditioned archaic notions of religion, unconditional love/faith and friendship. Be forewarned that some parts may seem a bit preachy especially if you’re an atheist. But being an agnostic, I found these parts were integrated into the dialogue quite seamlessly. It's a great read, definitely worth the 4.5*.
August 21, 2023
“Your heart will never ask your permission to love. It’s going to love whomever it was made to love, and the best thing you can do is follow it.”
if i could erase all the contents of my brain just to read this book again, i wouldn’t even hesitate
if i could erase all the contents of my brain just to read this book again, i wouldn’t even hesitate
January 21, 2025
This has to be one of the most beautiful stories I've read this year. Truly, this book surprised me in all the best ways.
I've been trying desperately to read more LGBT+ books, especially F/F since it's one that is forgotten in the romance genre and is often pushed aside. And most of the F/F books I've read have been pretty good but this book...damn this book was more than "pretty good". I didn't think it was possible for me to connect to a story as much as I did this one. From the moment I started reading I felt like I was reading the intimate story of a friend, someone that I knew and loved and ever single word on the page just felt so real
The writing in this book is so freaking spectacular, it's poetic. I feel like I highlighted so many passages because of how deep and real the words these character speak are. And it's not only the serious moments, it's the friendship moments too. The moments when friends are talking abut something silly and yet in that very moment, you can tell how much of a unit the whole gang is, and you feel almost like you are a part of this senior year with them too, scared to graduate, scared of the change and yet hopeful for what is out there. I felt myself rereading so many passages, sometimes just pausing for a moment with this tingling sensation in my nose as i held back tears and just said, “damn”. It’s not often that a book makes me feel like this and I could tell from almost the very beginning that this book was going to be a favorite.
This book talks on so many serious topics and I love the way the author interwove religious beliefs into the book. Normally I'm one to stay far, far away from anything concerning religion in my books because it tends to feel like the author is trying to preach to you or push their beliefs but with this book it didn't feel that way at all. Seeing Hannah and Baker struggle with their beliefs, with what you're told your whole life versus what is your reality and now it's left you questioning everything, I feel like that's something every single person who has ever grown up religious can relate to. That moment where you start to question the things you blindly followed as a kid, where you question where you fit into it all and if you belong even if you don't believe everything or you have doubts or even you feel you go against what your beliefs say. Honestly I feel like the writing was so powerful that it made me empathize and relate to every single characters struggle, from Hannah, to Joanie and even to Wally and Clay. I loved every single character so, so much and I saw pieces of myself in nearly every single character.
I loved that this book was so character driven and about this group of friends. I love them all so much! I really cannot say that enough because throughout reading I just continued to feel more and more like they were my friends and like I knew them and I wanted so desperately to help them through all their struggles. I really loved Joanie's relationship with Luke and I love that the author spent time developing each of the side characters rather than just making them basic secondary characters that don't really have depth. I could easily see myself reading books for any of the other friends, in fact I'm dying for more of this group. I'd love a Joanie and Luke book, a Wally book or even a Clay book.
As for the main couple, Baker and Hannah? I loved them so much my heart aches just thinking of them. I really, truly did not expect to love this book as much as I did. But love it, I did. I honestly cried so much reading this book and I feel like that rarely happens for me anymore. To feel that emotionally invested in a book that I literally want to sob because it hurts me that they hurt. The love and friendship that Hannah and Baker have for each other is deep, soul mate love. The angst is too real in this one but it never felt strung out or exaggerated because the pacing was realistic and perfect.
It is very rare for me to spend $5.99 on an ebook but this book was worth every single penny and more. This was the best impulse buy and the best $6 I've spent this year. I cannot recommend this book enough! I really think this is a book that everyone should read and if you're someone who hasn't ventured into many F/F books I think you should start with this book because it's so beautiful that I don't think you could not want to read more F/F after finishing this book.
READ THIS BOOK!!
May 16, 2021
100000000/5 stars
Can I give a book more that 5 stars, well I am,
This book was beautiful, and painful, and such an amazing story I think everyone should read. I don’t think I can write a good enough review to tell you how amazing this book was. The friendships and the break ups were so sad and so real this book brought me so much pain. My eyes were tearing up at about the halfway point and didn't stop until the ending.
Can I give a book more that 5 stars, well I am,
This book was beautiful, and painful, and such an amazing story I think everyone should read. I don’t think I can write a good enough review to tell you how amazing this book was. The friendships and the break ups were so sad and so real this book brought me so much pain. My eyes were tearing up at about the halfway point and didn't stop until the ending.
May 28, 2018
One of the mistake that i made was that i should never ever planned to start a new book for a few chapters before sleep, especially at 5am when i knew that book was going to be so great. And here i am, 7 hours later without sleep. And boy, did i regret it? Nope! Though my head is so heavy right now, urghh..
Why did i suddently crave for angst type of book? I felt like i just cried for 5 hours straight. This is absolutely a beautiful and heartwreching book. I seriously dont know how to review this book.
The love between two people that is innocent, yet it is a sin and shame in the eyes of others base on what they had taught and belief while they growth upon. The pain and confusion that they didnt know what to do, which path to go, no people to rely on and ended up, unintentionally, hurting people that dear to them in the process.
This story had addressed many important issues that some teenagers had faced and didnt know how to deal with them. Loves, family, friends, religions, bully, discriminations, etc. all of these made the story felt and seem so real to me. It is shown the reality that really happened out there on how most people view things in a certain way, base on what they belief in.
But loves make through it all, make them become stronger and willing to do anything for their love one. One of the sentense that i really like in this book is -“It’s amazing, the things we’ll do when we love another person.”- i truly feel it is amazing and it worth it all. Hannah is such a strong woman, patient and willing to do anything for Baker. Baker is broken, vulerable and scared. I really love how Hannah did for Baker and Baker did for Hannah. It was really a touching moment for me. *sniffling*
Cheer for Ms Carpanter!!
I really love this book!
*Warning: come prepare for the tears streaming!
Why did i suddently crave for angst type of book? I felt like i just cried for 5 hours straight. This is absolutely a beautiful and heartwreching book. I seriously dont know how to review this book.
The love between two people that is innocent, yet it is a sin and shame in the eyes of others base on what they had taught and belief while they growth upon. The pain and confusion that they didnt know what to do, which path to go, no people to rely on and ended up, unintentionally, hurting people that dear to them in the process.
This story had addressed many important issues that some teenagers had faced and didnt know how to deal with them. Loves, family, friends, religions, bully, discriminations, etc. all of these made the story felt and seem so real to me. It is shown the reality that really happened out there on how most people view things in a certain way, base on what they belief in.
But loves make through it all, make them become stronger and willing to do anything for their love one. One of the sentense that i really like in this book is -“It’s amazing, the things we’ll do when we love another person.”- i truly feel it is amazing and it worth it all. Hannah is such a strong woman, patient and willing to do anything for Baker. Baker is broken, vulerable and scared. I really love how Hannah did for Baker and Baker did for Hannah. It was really a touching moment for me. *sniffling*
Cheer for Ms Carpanter!!
I really love this book!
*Warning: come prepare for the tears streaming!
March 28, 2024
This book was heartbreaking (but I loved it anyway)
I wholeheartedly agree with the statement that sapphics deserve to be the main characters in happy stories, and this book is definitely not a happy and cosy feel good romance. HOWEVER! This book is beautiful and complex and deals with the issue of being gay in a religious community in a way that really hit me deep.. I am so happy that I read this, even though it made me ugly cry.
THIS BOOK HAS A HAPPY ENDING!! I think that’s very important to know going into this, other reviews made me think this book would just end in dispair and I know a lot of people don’t want that kind of sadness in their life- but there is light at the end of this tunnel!
This book deals with the internal struggle of finding out that you are something that you have been told is fundamentally wrong and sinful, and the struggle of wanting to reject this part of you but having to face the fact that you are not able to suppress it. It’s heartbreaking to experience the fear and turmoil the character experiences due to the discovery of their queerness and see the reaction they and other characters have, but it’s also something that can be relatable- it definitely was for me.
A beautiful book that left a mark on my heart, if you’re up for the painful journey then I wholeheartedly recommend.
I wholeheartedly agree with the statement that sapphics deserve to be the main characters in happy stories, and this book is definitely not a happy and cosy feel good romance. HOWEVER! This book is beautiful and complex and deals with the issue of being gay in a religious community in a way that really hit me deep.. I am so happy that I read this, even though it made me ugly cry.
THIS BOOK HAS A HAPPY ENDING!! I think that’s very important to know going into this, other reviews made me think this book would just end in dispair and I know a lot of people don’t want that kind of sadness in their life- but there is light at the end of this tunnel!
This book deals with the internal struggle of finding out that you are something that you have been told is fundamentally wrong and sinful, and the struggle of wanting to reject this part of you but having to face the fact that you are not able to suppress it. It’s heartbreaking to experience the fear and turmoil the character experiences due to the discovery of their queerness and see the reaction they and other characters have, but it’s also something that can be relatable- it definitely was for me.
A beautiful book that left a mark on my heart, if you’re up for the painful journey then I wholeheartedly recommend.
April 22, 2021
I read this a while ago and it tore me up, but I loved it. I did a quick read through and ugh, it still hits the same.
October 17, 2020
i cannot form any coherent sentence, nothing is making sense, nor are my feelings making sense. this book fucked up my feelings in every way possible.
i need to say that, it is not the best book i read this year and it took me a while to get to like what i was reading/the characters, it was not one of the best books, but this book has its peculiarities that make you -reader- understand the characters and want everything to end well.
if internalized homophobia is a trigger for you, please be careful when reading! this book addresses this a lot and in several parts, this topic made me want to cry and scream, and i am well resolved with that.
also, the book talks a lot about religion and god, and how it applies to homosexuality...in the end everything works out, but there is a big trigger for intolence, so please read carefully, regardless of your sexual orientation and/or religion, you deserve to be happy and loved! God doesn't discriminate.
i need to say that, it is not the best book i read this year and it took me a while to get to like what i was reading/the characters, it was not one of the best books, but this book has its peculiarities that make you -reader- understand the characters and want everything to end well.
if internalized homophobia is a trigger for you, please be careful when reading! this book addresses this a lot and in several parts, this topic made me want to cry and scream, and i am well resolved with that.
also, the book talks a lot about religion and god, and how it applies to homosexuality...in the end everything works out, but there is a big trigger for intolence, so please read carefully, regardless of your sexual orientation and/or religion, you deserve to be happy and loved! God doesn't discriminate.
February 17, 2022
cried so hard i gave myself a headache and i cannot breathe out of my nose
November 30, 2020
A Non-Review
This is my second time reading HNITS (1st read: 5 stars; 2nd read: 4 stars) and it still hurts a little to relive parts of my teenage years through Hannah and Baker.
Told entirely through Hannah’s third-person point of view, this YA is angsty, dramatic, yet sweet and tender. I fully root for Hannah and Baker to be together from page one, and despite all the awful things they did to their friends and each other, I love them both. I think the self discovery and religious belief aspects of the story are handled pretty well, too, and everything that happened is oh-so-relatable.
* The story takes place in a Catholic high school in year 2012. Both Hannah and Baker were born in 1994.
** The font for the paperback version seems to be Baskerville and not very readable for me. I ended up reading the ebook anyway.
Buddy read with Gabriella!
This is my second time reading HNITS (1st read: 5 stars; 2nd read: 4 stars) and it still hurts a little to relive parts of my teenage years through Hannah and Baker.
Told entirely through Hannah’s third-person point of view, this YA is angsty, dramatic, yet sweet and tender. I fully root for Hannah and Baker to be together from page one, and despite all the awful things they did to their friends and each other, I love them both. I think the self discovery and religious belief aspects of the story are handled pretty well, too, and everything that happened is oh-so-relatable.
* The story takes place in a Catholic high school in year 2012. Both Hannah and Baker were born in 1994.
** The font for the paperback version seems to be Baskerville and not very readable for me. I ended up reading the ebook anyway.
Buddy read with Gabriella!
October 28, 2021
”Your heart will never ask your permission to love.”
i really enjoyed this book. it hurt me and frustrated me all at the same time but in the end it was a good book
the writing was a little hard to get into at first??? took me awhile to get the hang of it just cause it wasnt really my vibe but the more you read the easier it gets
there may be some triggering themes so its best to search up the tws before reading this book !!
there is a lot of religious talk and its relation to homosexuality throughout this book. some things that were said were honestly extreme which i think is the point??
also what is with the ”13 reasons why” names. hannah, baker, clay..?? like idk if thats a coincidence or im missing something here??? it was just something interesting to me lmfao
PLOT ˎˊ˗
2 best friends. hannah and baker. they grow to have feelings for each other but growing up in religious households and going to a catholic school, they have their fears with how they feel toward each other. they grow distant and a bunch of drama happens that drive wedges between them, their friends, the school etc. basically, a lot happens
the journey of hannah with her battling with her emotions and feelings. just not knowing what to do was so sad and heartbreaking. reading this was honestly really painful to me because you can really see how much hannah struggled and how confused she was with herself.
it was really just a journey of finding themselves and learning to accept who they are. i was conflicted with all the emotions i was feeling. im honestly kinda lost for words on how to describe it
ROMANCE ˎˊ˗
the romance really wasnt something i focused on. i mean yeah?? baker and hannah are cute??
in general, the romance was eh. idk what to say cause this just isnt a book you read for the romance lol
CHARACTERS ˎˊ˗
hannah :
⤷ went through a lot
hannah actually went through a lot. i think her actions where she lashed out on others was wrong of her to do so but she got a lot of shit
i think she was a good friend. not the best but you can definitely see her trying to be one. she also lost a lot of people. she lost all her friends and was alone for a period of time
she’s honestly a strong character imo. she had her fears and ofc was scared but i respect her bravery and think a lot of the things she did was admiring
baker :
⤷ she was annoying
i mean, i can empathise with baker and i understand why she acted the way she did but in the end it didnt really do her any good?? i think the lack of communication on her side really affected the situation and it just made a lot of things worse
it just blew up in their faces and all their friends were just third party?? it really sucked tbh
baker as a character wasnt really connecting with me. idk she claims hannah is her best friend and all which i dont doubt her but you really wouldnt trat your best friend like that??
she honestly wasn’t an amazing friend. i understand where she may be coming from but it still was extremely shitty like hannah took a bullet for her when she took the blame?? idk baker just had me screaming
joanie :
⤷ the best character
at first i was really confused on her role in the story but reading more and getting ti know her character was great. she’s my favourite i love her
the way she was so accepting of hannah and she genuinely just wanted to help her sister. she was so protective and supportive of hannah which was so fucking adorable
she really is the best character in this book. i loved joanie and her personality like she’s just so wholesome and sweet
clay :
⤷ a full ass dickhead
i liked him at first. i thought he was chill and yeah, he was fine. then he just became a huge dick with a stick up ass. it was so annoying
the way he also got his redemption?? i mean sure?? its not like he put his friends’ lives in danger or anything. idk like he just did a lot of impulsive things without thinking about the consequence of his actions
i still have a lot of resentment towards him and how he treated hannah after she covered for baker. he was just such a shitty friend during that time
wally :
⤷ deserves better
he honestly deserves better. he was there for hannah and was so sweet to her etc. i feel bad for him because i know hannah wasn’t stringing him along but he felt like that and it crushed him
he was a really good friend imo. i dont blame him for being upset when he found out. he was a sweet character and he deserves a hug
luke :
⤷ basically chilling
there wasnt much on luke. he’s just known as ”joanie’s bf” to me oops. he was sweet tho. really liked his relationship with joanie
i felt bad for their situation because it was a result of hannah’s bad actions. he honestly didnt have a significant role he was just chilling tbh lmao
i think i saw his name like 10 times in this book um
CONCLUSION ˎˊ˗
it was a good book. the topics really were eye opening. a bit extreme on the religious school stuff just cause i go to a catholic school and things like that are never pushed onto a student?? maybe other schools are different but from what i know, that doesnt happen. its a good book that i think people should try to read some time. ok bye <3
June 9, 2025
This book broke my heart. 10/10 highly recommend.
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