Happy Saturday and welcome to my stop on the tour for The How & The Why!!! This is such an AMAZING book, and I’m so excited to be a part of the blog tour! So read on to find my review (with my favorite quotes!), more info about Cynthia Hand, where to follow the rest of the tour, and a giveaway for a print copy of The How & The Why!

I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The How and the Why by Cynthia Hand
Published on November 5, 2019 by HarperTeen
Genres: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 464
Format: ARC, eARC
Source: Edelweiss
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A poignant exploration of family and the ties that bind, perfect for fans of Far From the Tree, from New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand.

Today Melly had us writing letters to our babies…

Cassandra McMurtrey has the best parents a girl could ask for. They’ve given Cass a life she wouldn’t trade for the world. She has everything she needs—except maybe the one thing she wants. Like, to know who she is. Where she came from. Questions her adoptive parents can’t answer, no matter how much they love her.

But eighteen years ago, someone wrote Cass a series of letters. And they may just hold the answers Cass has been searching for.

Alternating between Cass’s search for answers and letters from the pregnant teen who gave her up for adoption, this voice-driven narrative is the perfect read for fans of Nina LaCour and Jandy Nelson.

A TL;DR OF MY REVIEW:

• SUPER emotional 😭
• Am I crying happy tears or sad tears? The world may never know??? 🤷🏻‍♀️
• THEATER KID AESTHETIC hell yes!!!! 🎭
• HELLO YES i am in love with this cover!!! 😍

WOW. So back in April (when I read this, because who cares about how long there is until the book publishes?), I predicted that THE HOW & THE WHY would be my favorite book of 2019. Was I correct? Yes. Yes I was. This is in fact the best book I’ve read in 2019 and I absolutely LOVED it!!! I know I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating now: contemporaries are very hit or miss for me. This one was definitely a hit! Cass’s relationships with both her parents and her friends were wonderfully explored. I especially loved her and Bastien together. There was a scene near the end of the book that I had nearly forgotten about between them, but I wrote on goodreads that “now it’s my life story, except I wasn’t as brave as Cass so that conversation came wayyyyyy later. 🤣🤣🤣” And I just… that’s such a great summary of that relationship. Hopefully you will love this book as much as I do! Also! I LOVED the theater kid aspect of it!!! As a theater kid myself (kind of. I only did it my junior and senior year but I LOVED IT), I really love when I get to see that in YA books!

I don’t really wish it were different, but I should definitely alert you to the fact that I read this book with a box of tissues in grabbing distance the whole time. And I used most of them.

I LOVE this cover!!! (surprise, I know) The reflection and contrast of the two halves are really beautiful, and I feel like it’s a great representation of what the story is inside. 

10/10 stars!!!

• This Is Us
• You Don’t Know Me, But I Know You by Rebecca Barrow
• Far From the Tree by Robin Benway

Cynthia Hand is the New York Times bestselling author of several books for teens, including the UNEARTHLY trilogy, THE LAST TIME WE SAY GOODBYE, MY LADY JANE and MY PLAIN JANE (with fellow authors Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows), THE AFTERLIFE OF HOLLY CHASE, and the upcoming novel THE HOW AND THE WHY (Fall 2019). Before turning to writing for young adults, she studied literary fiction and earned both an M.F.A. and a Ph.D. in fiction writing. She currently resides in Boise, Idaho, with a husband who’s addicted to typewriters, two kids, two cats, one crazy dog, and an entourage of imaginary friends.

Website | Goodreads | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

Enter here to win an a print copy of The How & The Why by Cynthia Hand! 

(US Only)

Do you like to read books that make you cry? I certainly cried both happy and sad tears while I was reading this. It was an emotional rollercoaster, but it was worth it. Let me know how you feel about them in the comments and have a splendiferous day!

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 2019 Reviews