Summary: The beaches of Grand-Barachois had been Kat’s summer home for years. There, she created her own world with her “summer friends,” full of possibilities and free from expectation. But one summer, everything changed, and she ran from the life she’d created.
Now seventeen and on the brink of attending college, Kat is full of regret. She’s broken a friendship beyond repair, and she’s dated possibly the worst person in the world. Six months after their break-up, he still haunts her nightmares. Confused and scared, she returns to Grand-Barachois to sort out her feelings.
When she arrives, everything is different yet familiar. Some of her friends are right where she left them, while some are nowhere to be found. There are so many things they never got to do, so many words left unsaid.
And then there’s Tristan.
He wasn’t supposed to be there. He was just a guy from Kat’s youth orchestra days. When the two meet again, they become fast friends. Tristan has a few ideas to make this summer the best one yet. Together, they build a master list of all the things Kat and her friends wanted to do but never could. It’s finally time to live their wildest childhood dreams.
But the past won’t let Kat go. And while this may be a summer to remember, there’s so much she wants to forget.
Pages: 251
Release Date: August 10th, 2020
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Review:
I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of We Go Together for review. We Go Together is a YA contemporary novel that focuses on the main character, Kat, who returns to Grand-Barachois, a beach town where she used to spend every summer before meeting her ex-boyfriend, Aaron. After breaking up with Aaron, she returns to Grand-Barachois to come to terms with her past relationship and pick up the pieces before heading off to college. The story tackles the challenges of finding oneself, moving on from broken friendships, and acknowledging and moving forward after leaving an abusive relationship. I do want to warn that there is mention of sexual assault throughout the novel so if that is a triggering subject, I would proceed with caution or skip the novel entirely. I really did enjoy We Go Together, I think it handled the sensitive topic of sexual assault well and encapsulated a lot of the struggles of growing up and finding oneself.
I enjoyed seeing the progression of Kat's character throughout the novel. At the beginning of We Go Together, she was continuously struggling with reconciliating with what had happened to her and was trying to figure out how she could redefine who she was after everything that happened. While I have not been a victim of sexual assault, I found myself really relating with Kat when it came to her struggles with high school friendships. I enjoyed seeing her move past some of those unhealthy relationships and allowing herself to enter friendships that gave her as much as she gave them. It was great to see her develop throughout the story and learn how to move forward after everything.
I found the Grand-Barachois' crew to be a great addition to the story. All of those characters had different personalities and brought something different to the story. I would love to see some of those characters explored further in a novella or spin-off novel. I think they all have interesting stories to tell and I was disappointed that we only saw so much of them, I felt like their stories could have been explored a bit further in We Go Together. I did, however, like the inclusion and representation of sexually diverse characters. Various queer characters were represented throughout the novel and I especially like the addition of a central transgendered character.
We Go Together has some of the quintessential components of a stereotypical summer YA novel, but in all the best ways. While I read We Go Together near the end of summer, it definitely was a nice and reminiscent way to end the summer. The contents of the story were not always easy to read, but I thought that We Go Together was a quick and memorable read. I really enjoyed all the characters and being along for the ride with them. I think it is a powerful and great year-round read, but has a special place in the summer. I would definitely recommend checking out We Go Together if you are looking for a story about moving on from the past, redefining yourself, and creating a new future.
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