Lauren's Reviews > You Against Me

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You Against Me is a intriguing, brilliantly written novel by the author of Before I Die. The cover makes it look like a love story, which it is not. Well, not just a love story. (The love story is good though. I need to stop saying ‘love story’ now. Okay.) It’s a story about relationships, not just between lovers, but between family members and friends too. It’s about loyalty, the truth, bravery, and how far we would go to protect the people we love.

I bought this when it just came out in paperback, and I didn’t read it until now, because I didn’t remember Jenny Downham’s writing style very clearly from reading Before I Die so many years ago. I just wasn’t very excited about reading it, but I’m glad I eventually picked it up. I kept wanting to find out what really happened at that party, and which one—Karyn, the ‘victim’ or Tom, the ‘rapist’—was lying about it. And even though I thought I guessed which one was telling the truth, I was so wrong.

The writing was flawless. There were no moments that I wished I could skim through because it was too detailed or complicated. She writes what she needed to write, and didn’t over-explain things.

The title is perfect for this story. It isn’t only about the Mikey and Ellie’s relationships, but also that they’re on different teams. I thought the ending was good for this book. I don’t usually like open endings because I find it hard to imagine what happens after, but in this case, it was fitting.

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