ABOUT THE BOOK
Falling in love is complicated when you’re both keeping secrets.
On the surface, everything seems perfect for high school senior Ireland Raine. She’s intelligent and artistically talented, and her natural beauty and quiet charm are enviable. However, Ireland harbors a secret she’ll guard at any cost—she’s homeless.
When her crush, Kal Ellis, invites her on a date, she seizes the opportunity. Ireland has never had a boyfriend before, and Kal is not just a guitarist for the local band, he’s also an artist. Their connection is instantaneous, and he suggests they collaborate on the school mural. Working and laughing alongside Kal, Ireland can momentarily forget her problems.
However, when someone exposes her secret, Ireland ends up in a foster home alongside her most despised adversary, Mara Washington. To make matters worse, Ireland discovers it was Kal who revealed her secret.
Furious, Ireland must decide if she has the strength to forgive the boy who stole her heart or if she is better off alone.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julie Wright (1972-still breathing) was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. She's lived in LA, Boston, and the literal middle of nowhere (don't ask). She wrote her first book when she was fifteen. Since then, she's written twenty-three novels and coauthored three. Julie is a two-time winner of the Whitney award for best romance with her books "Cross My Heart" and "Lies Jane Austen Told Me." The America Library Association listed “Glass Slippers, Ever After, and Me” in their 2020 top ten best romances and "A Captain for Caroline Gray" in their 2021 top ten best romances. Her book "Death Thieves" was a Whitney finalist.
She has one husband, five kids, two grandbabies, one dog, and a varying amount of houseplants (depending on attrition).
She loves writing, reading, traveling, hiking, playing with her kids, and watching her husband make dinner.
She used to speak fluent Swedish but now speaks only well enough to cuss out her children in public.
She hates mayonnaise.
REVIEW
In The Art of Us, Ireland Raine lives with a secret - she's homeless. As she juggles a new boyfriend and school, her secret is exposed. Ireland has to decide if she can forgive or if she's better off on her own.
I enjoyed the storytelling in this book. The author does a good job at addressing hard teen issues from homelessness to bullying to harassment and shame. The characters are realistic and grow as the story progresses. The author does a good job at developing the story and characters. The story not only addresses problems but different methods to solving them from reaching out to an adult, to being a friend, standing up for yourself and learning when to let go. I thought this book was amazing and the writing was very strong. It felt like a literary fiction for YA audiences. I look forward to reading more YA books from Julie Wright. To learn more, click here.
Please note that I received a free book to review, however, this is my honest opinion. This post contains affiliate links to help support this blog.