I loved this story. I went into it wary, because I didn't really enjoy this author's other book, but it blew me away. It was an excellent story, told very well, and I loved it.

Sam is part of the elite group of popular girls in her class. She won't do anything to jeopardize that, which means being careful of everything she says or does, and not being her true self. What her friends don't know is that she has Purely-Obsessional OCD, and sees a psychiatrist every week. Then she meets Caroline, who she has to keep a secret from her friends. Caroline shows her a whole new world, and Sam has to decide which version of herself she wants to be.

I thought this story was very well done. It can be a hard thing to portray a mental illness in a story, so I love how this was well-researched and thought out, as to not wrongly portray it. But Sam is more than her diagnosis. We get to see the well-rounded, complex individual that she is. She has a lot of figuring out to do, so we get to see her grow and change and really figure out who she is as a person. I thought the romance with AJ was cute and sweet, and didn't overpower the darker, deeper elements of the story.

People were talking about the big twist that happened, which had me worried. I actually did not even see it coming until only a few pages before (and then, only because I had read a book right before it with the same sort of twist) and it still took me by surprise. I was very upset about it, which I take as a sign of exceptional writing.

I loved this story. I loved Sam, the secondary characters, the romance (which I hardly say), and the portrayal of mental illness in an honest and refreshing way. I think this is an important story for teens to read, and I would highly recommend it.

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