Let’s Pretend I’m Okay?! I COULD NOT PRETEND I WAS OKAY IF I WANTED TO 💔

•Dual POV
•Daniel wishes he didn’t exist
•Margo is determined to seize every single moment
•Their worlds unexpectedly, all consumingly, collide
•First kiss, first love
•Iris, The Goo Goo Dolls 🎶

If you love Sweet November, A Walk to Remember, or The Fault in Our Stars, you will without a doubt love this book. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC!

Let's Pretend I'm Okay is a dual POV book about Margo who is dying of terminal cancer, and before she dies she wants to make sure that everyone she leaves behind will be happy, including her twin sister Annie who she is determined to help fall in love. The one problem is Annie likes the new bad boy at school Daniel and Margo is determined to keep them apart. The second POV is from Daniel who keeps to himself, and has felt abandoned and unwanted most of his life.

This book was so heart wrenching, despite knowing how it would end I was hoping that it would end differently and was completely sobbing when I finshed it. I really enjoyed the love story between Daniel and Margo, which was just so sweet and I loved how Margo tried to stay so positive for everyone around her. The side characters were also so great, and I'm kind of hoping there might be a story about Annie in the future??

Thank you to Netgalley, Little Jean Books and Jasmine Little for providing this eArc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Posted a review to Goodreads on 19/09/24

This book was a quick read that kept me engaged the whole time! A great young adult book with heavy themes, but no inappropriate content. Definitely a tear-jerker!

This is the second book published by Jasmine Little and I absolutely love her writing. She does a great job at creating characters and story’s that instantly pull you into the book.

This book is heartbreaking and beautifully written. Margo’s cancer has relapsed but this time it’s terminal. She tries to cope by making a bucket list that will make her death easier on everyone. Along the way she meets Daniel, the boy that will change her life. There wasn’t a dull moment in this book. Even though the ending was known from the very beginning it still made me cry.

Thank you so much to the editor and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Told from two points of view, we see an angry Daniel. His mom is gone, he doesn’t know his dad, and now he has to live with his aunt and family. Margo just found out her cancer is back and she doesn’t have long. She doesn’t want her twin sister, Annie, to know just yet because she wants to add good memories and make sure her family is taken care of. Annie has her eye on Daniel and Margo wants her sister to fall in love so she makes a deal with Daniel and tells him I need something from you but what would you like in return. He decides she could try to find his dad. As Daniel and Margo spend more time talking, Daniel decides he likes Margo, but Margo thinks it wouldn’t be right to like Daniel so she sets up a date with he and Annie which doesn’t go well. Margo finds she has feelings for Daniel too. Margo and Daniel talk and she tells him I’m dying. Daniel tells Margo let me help you live and have fun while you can. What happens now?
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley, Jasmine Little, and Little Jean Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Let's Pretend I'm Okay in the return of an honest review. I received an advanced reader copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the type of story where you know exactly how the ending will go, but you wish with all of your might that it turns out differently than expected. Margo and Daniel are the epitome of young love. Daniel's dark world turns bright when he starts to fall for Margo. Margo is adorable, but her life is meant to have a tragic outcome. The plot is very similar to A Walk to Remember. It is an emotional read. The ending comes about really quickly. Wish it would have been a tad longer. It also needs to go through another round of editing because there are numerous errors throughout.

I can tell it's for a younger audience. Best target audience would be teens but I still enjoyed it. However have tissues handy when reading because they will be needed!

Unfortunately I DNF this read, not because it’s a bad read it simply just hits to close to home for me.

First of all, yes, I am still crying. Secondly, no, I'm not okay. But 'let's pretend I'm okay.'

As the book cover stated, this was a heartbreaking love story between a girl facing a terminal illness and a boy yearning to find a sense of belonging. I seriously don't know what's worse—not knowing that something terrible is going to happen or totally expecting it. Either way, it broke me just the same. My heart shattered into a million pieces for both Margo and Daniel. I had to put my Kindle down and stare at the wall for fifteen minutes before I could even finish the last 5% of the book. Just know that I'll be sending my therapy bill straight to Jasmine Little. Sometimes I wonder why I put myself through this kind of emotional torture, but I do love a good cry.

Thank you to NetGalley and Jasmine Little for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion, as well as a piece of my broken heart.

First of all, Jasmine....thank you so much for letting me read this as an ARC!

Secondly, just...WOW! I read this in a matter of a day!

"To me, silence is peace. And Margo is chaos"

This book is beautiful, I was crying within the first seven chapters. Being a teenager is hard enough, as is dealing with cancer in any form. Jasmine has written this book so beautifully it's hard to read it and NOT feel like you know the characters.

The whole book hit a little close to home, I think it would be a comfort to anyone going through a similar situation and helps to show there are moments of joy and happiness through the terrifying times that are losing a loved one.

The relationships between Margo and Annie and Daniel and Olive are adorable and full of love. Margo and Daniel have a confusing yet charming start to their relationship and the whole book is just beautiful.

"You can't carry me forever" "If I could, would you let me"

Thank you for writing this Jasmine, and EVERYONE needs to read it!

Book:
LET'S PRETEND I'M OKAY by Jasmine Little
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC (Sept 25)

Review:
5⭐
Margo is dying. Before she goes, she wants to help everyone. Daniel is new to the school. He's lost, thinking no one cares. When Margo comes into his life, determined to help her sister fall in love, everything changes.
Oh my goodness. This book. I don't even know what to say. LET'S PRETEND I'M OKAY is an emotional rollercoaster of a read. Jasmine Little embodies emotions within this book, which is an absolute tearjerker.
I really liked this story. It was beautiful, learning about Margo, reading about how she was coping with everything. It was also gut-wrenching: tears, heartbreak, love...if you need to cry, then you need to read this.