Thank you NetGalley and the author for the ARC🌻
I'm not sure what I went in expecting, but this book blew me away and completely caught me off guard. While I was expecting a romance and was mostly excited for that (I admit), I stayed for the character growth. Brooke and Matt (My Shaylas 😭) were so beyond captivating to read about.
The author had me thinking back to my past relationships and even just how I've interacted with men and how I've perceived 'consent' in a relationship. It had me asking myself: "Who is responsible? Is it her fault? Is it his? Both? Is there a future for them? Should there be?"
It's been a week, and I'm still mulling over these questions.
This book dove deep into the psyche of both characters in a way where you could even consider them archetypes, based on how much I found myself relating to different parts of both.

It reminded me from the first page of Sally Rooney's "Normal People" (the first indicator that I was in for basically torture in the best way).
My heart was breaking over both Matt and Brooke, and the ending, although bittersweet, was also so real and perfect. This is not the "happy ever after" I was hoping for at the beginning (that I slowly lost hope for) but a call to dwell in the reality of these topics, and how there is healing as well.
I'd say that's a better happily ever after than most.

I loved this book, it made me want to give Brooke who is the main character a way out! Make her life better, and just hug her and support her!
The stuff she goes through throughout the book opens your eyes, I have been very sheltered from this so I felt I learnt a lot! More than i expected.

My mum always taught my brother consent and I feel men really need to have this drummed into them from a young age!
The book shows you through this important it is to say yes or no!
I really did enjoy it! Thank you for marvellous story and it’s a real page turner!

Thank you for being the first book I was an arc for on netgalley!

4.5 stars
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!
Wow! Such an emotional book I was sobbing every other chapter. The character progression of Brooke felt realistic and her emotions were almost tangible while reading. Recently, I’ve struggled to fully feel immersed in a book but I think this is one of the strengths of this book in my opinion. I definitely enjoyed the shakespeare aspect and this perspective of consent and societal standards. Jenna Adams made me feel like Brooke’s and Matt’s thoughts were my own, I felt so heartbroken and I was gut-wrenchingly in despair. My only dislike about this book is the feeling of being slightly rushed in the last chapters. I can’t wait for this to be released so I can recommend it to all my friends.

This book was hard to put down but hard to pick up (in a good way... I think) The emotional roller coaster ride I just went through had me confused with which was way up or down and what was right or wrong.

The story follows a 14 year old Brooke and 18 year old Matt as they grow up and all the challenges they face based on past decisions.

I don't want to give any spoilers so I will just leave this here: Don't judge either character even though it's so hard to want to. As an adult, I'd love to get a younger readers pov on this book!

Thank you Jenna Adams, Neem Tree Press, and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy! Make sure you check out the book when it releases October 14th :)

Let me say upfront that I did not get very far into this book, but I read the end to make sure my feelings on it were at least somewhat informed. I’m giving it three stars because I didn’t develop strong feelings about the story either way, but if I had read it all the way through I have a feeling I’d give it less.

Content Warnings: statutory rape, toxic relationships, suicidal idealization, self harm, substance abuse, depictions of depression

This book made me want to jump in and give the FMC, Brooke, a hug huge. My heart broke for her in every which way.
This book deals with very real things that are happening in the real world. Consent is such a big thing and I really appreciate the way she took the time to make us see how important it is to have a voice.

As someone who has been in Brooke's shoes, I wish that more high school students could read this as a foreshadowing. Don't lose yourself

I definitely enjoyed this book and will be looking into other works from this author.

Thank you to Unbounders for letting me read this ARC
4.5 stars

3.5/5 ☆.

This story was something else. It was well done. The writing, the characters, the storyline. Chef Kiss. Even I appreciate that, sadly, it wasn't for me. The story was heartbreaking. More realistic. I feel like I'm not at right momento to read something like this. What a pity!

Everyone should read this because it is really good. ♡

This is Me Trying by Jenna Adam’s was a wonderful ARC read. Unexpected, important and moving this story follows 14 year old Brooke and 17 year old Matt as they play across one another in Romeo and Juliet. The two develop a relationship, which because of their age gap becomes complicated. Years later the two meet again, searching for redemption. Well written, moving and centered around important topics, pick this book up in July!

This is a complex book about a relationship that should never have happend it was tumultuous, it was wrong on both sides. It raises awareness that these issues that are highlighted in these books like : mental health, codependency, unhealthy relationships and sexual assault do that and are taking seriously.

Brooke ( 14 ) and Matt (18 ) are cast as leads in their drama groups play Romeo and Juliet. But lines are blurred and they start to catch feeling. Matt knowing he shouldn't cross the line as it's wrong starts resisting the feelings of what he has with Brooke. Brooke gets hurt each time matt backs of and distance himself but she herself has a bad relationship with her father who she knows abandoned her and her mother, so she's has that in her mind, her self esteem is so low and how she thinks of herself and the real at 14 you don't know what real love is but she wants a version of love to capture on to. When she and Matt is a relationship and she has to keep it hidden from everyone she knows and love and they sneak about. Breaks ups, arguements. Him leaving for university. It doesn't help the guilt he has when they have sex for the first time and they both know it's wrong but they didn't talk about it first and they both said I love you to each other. It's just all very complicated. Matt knows he shouldn't have done that and his always carrying around the guilt throughout the book I know he know its wrong each time they re meet up and she attempts to take cut herself. It's just I think they both needed not to be together. I mean she definitely needed to see a therapist when her dad left. I think that would have helped her mental health more in the beginning of the book and I think she should have opened up to her mum.

Her decision of running away to America, brooke is now 18 , it was her to block everything out and I think she definitely needed that but what I wanted was her to atleast communicate with people but she just disappeared making everything else just stand still for 4/5 years. I'm glad it made her father realise what I terrible mistake he made throughout her life I'm just gobsmacked with everything and I'm glad she met Charlie. She needed to make the mistakes she made and to actually know getting the help. But the ripple effects were felt back in her home with Matt and all those years. Atleast. They had forgiven each other eventually and they knew what transpired between them was a mistake and should never have happend.

Please do read the twigger warning for this book just incase you have any issue raised in this book.

This Is Me Trying is a profound and thought-provoking novel, divided into three distinct acts. Although categorized as Young Adult, I firmly believe that its themes and tone resonate more closely with adult literature.

This book tackles complex and essential topics, including trauma, consent, and mental health, which are crucial for teenagers to explore and discuss. The narrative presents these issues in a raw, honest, and relatable manner, which, although uncomfortable at times, fosters a safe environment for learning and reflection.

Ultimately, the novel conveys a powerful message of hope and empowerment, emphasizing that even in darkness, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

I would like to extend my gratitude to Net Gallery and Unbound for providing me with an Advance Reader's Copy.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to review this arc!

God, where do I even start with this book?

Every now and then, a YA novel will come along and rip my heart from my chest - this was one of those YA novels. Jenna Adams has written about the teenage experience of love in such a raw, open, unfiltered way that I was sent back in time to being 14, infatuated with my first crush. I am a sucker for anything related to Shakespear, so knowing this was a retelling of Romeo & Juliet had me sold straight away, but I did not expect to cry the whole way through.

Brooke's mental health is a big focus in this novel and I think that is so, so, so important in this current day and age. The list of resources and support at the end of the book was a lovely addition.

I could not leave this book alone. I read it every chance I got. I am absolutely obsessed and will be recommending this to everyone I can, and I absolutely will be picking up a physical copy on release day.

10/10. 5 stars.

Thank you for allowing me to read! Talk about an emotional rollercoaster. The characters might be young, but the topics are definitely adult. Mind those trigger warnings at the beginning! THEY NEED TO BE IN BOLD.

This story definitely had me hooked and wanting to know what would happen to Brooke and Matt. I liked that it was dual POV. I felt like there wasn’t a ton of character development, but I think Brooke’s innocence was captured really well. The more I think about what happened, the more sick I feel though. I think I started out feeling one way, and the more I think about it the more messed up it seems. Also, the way the self harm scene ended was never discussed between the characters again, and I think that’s wild. They just never addressed it! Overall, it was very thought provoking and relevant, but a little too heavy for my usual tastes.

WOW. Incredibly impactful and thought-provoking. I wouldn’t necessarily classify this as YA because of its very mature themes and extensive trigger warnings (TW: sexual assault, drug abuse, self-harm, suicide), but it’s a very strong coming of age piece. Jenna Adams evokes deeply visceral emotions for the reader with this story. I was very angry, frustrated, and confused throughout for the main characters and the ending felt very relieving for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the character development of the FMC!

I liked the book and I think it’s a good book, but I don’t think it’s for me. Personally, I thought that it was too long and ut covered a lot of serious topics, but that is all me because there should be books like this out there that do talk about serious topics and i just think it wasn’t for me! Great story and great writing! 3 stars! <3

Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5hWOOBxYuUdirvsso5Vc9G?si=J6kVW_8TRbaVc8UX4IZkMw&pi=I59cIbMeQFusi

3.25⭐️

This was a very difficult read. The topics were heavy and the story itself was much longer than I was anticipating. Even though this is catagorized as a YA coming of age novel, a few of the topics presented were uncertain sexual consent, inappropriate sexual conduct with a minor, self harm, suicidal ideations, and really unpacking a whole heap of trauma.

This story follows Brooke and Matt from when they are 14 and 18, respectively, until their mid to late twenties. What made this difficult is that I saw a lot of my own younger self in Brooke. Her worth was tied to those around her, what the boy she fancies thinks of her, how everyone around her may react to her actions. Through this uncertainty and lack of self-confidence, she makes many mistakes and poor decisions in a time where she really does not know any better. The growth she goes through is not linear and she constantly is making decisions that, as a reader, make you viscerally upset, but also understanding of how she ends up in certain situations.

Brooke's growth throughout her teenage and young adult years is astounding. It is inspiring to see her overcome these circumstances that she did not deserve, accept mistakes she has made, and learn to finally make peace with the past and move forward living for herself.

Overall, I recommend cautiously, as this can be quite triggering for certain individuals, but it is a profoundly moving read that just happens to be about 150 pages too long.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4 ⭐️

I got the arc!!

Wow wow wow. This book absolutely surprised me. I really was not completely sure about how this would skew considering how young our female character is in the story. I thoroughly enjoyed how we followed two different perspectives and I think it was such an important aspect to this story.

Following Brooke and Matt’s stories was so up and down and while it was so enjoyable; it really was so saddening at times. It really felt like my heart was constantly being ripped out of my chest. I think this is a case of right person, wrong time. I found it so important and touching to speak about the themes of sexual assault and consent while simultaneously doing so in a non-punitive way. As much as Matt has messed up and done things, we are able to see his heart and how he has grown throughout the book. I think the ending was so beautifully wrapped up and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This book was a rollercoaster of emotions. I struggled with this one of how slow paced it felt. I definitely don’t feel like this is YA due to the mental health factor. It was good developmental book on watching Brooks development over the years.

This is Me Trying was an emotional rollercoaster! Jenna Adams has written this book in a carefully respectful way.

The story is written across three parts which are stages of the main characters lives.
Brooke who is 14 in the beginning and Matt who is 18. They are paired together as the lead parts in Romeo and Juliet in their local drama group.

I found parts of this book difficult to read and quite hard hitting as I related to Brooke in more ways than one.
As it is written in a duel perspective, we get insight into what Matt feels and thinks as well as Brooke.

Jenna did not shy away from hard topics such as sexual consent/inappropriate age gap/ depression/self harm/coercive behaviour and substance abuse. She writes about them in a way that doesn’t glorify them but also explains them.

I see this book as an almost “What I would tell my younger self not to do”. I would like to think this book would be beneficial to teens and YA’s to educate them how relationships can impact their path in life.
Even though this book is about young teens/YA’s I do think that you can learn something from it no matter your age.

I have rated this 3.5 stars as I felt the end of the story felt a little rushed and I personally didn’t feel like there was satisfactory conclusion. Although, I guess that is how real life can be!

Phew, where to start with This is Me Trying. What an emotional rollercoaster.
The story itself is in three parts, all centred around Matt and Brooke, who have a sexual relationship when they are 18 and 14, respectively, and how they grow as people after their initial encounter.
The book has heavy themes of guilt, sexual consent, co-dependancy, and mental health. The author did not shy away from hard topics, never glossed over or glorified the age gap. It was an uncomfortable read at times, but it had to be. I think Adams did a good job of keeping the story engaging while shining a spotlight on the issues.
I'm not really sure what to class this book as, as far away genres go. I believe it's being marketed to the general population as a YA, coming of age story. I feel like it's more NA than YA, but I don't work in marketing.

I also want to point out that this is the second time this author has released this book, first under the title 'Can I Stray'. This is Me Trying is a much better title, in my opinion, but I'm unsure of the reason for the rebrand.

This book was daring.

It starts on a very uncomfortable subject that many tend to be on the fence about, to begin with—sexual consent.
And Jenna RUNS with it. She doesn't hold back.

It's a dual POV book between the two main charas, Brooke and Matt. It's a coming-of-age story that follows Brooke from adolescence to adulthood.
And it's about a girl who was cast as the lead Juliet in Romeo and Juliet when she was 14. A DREAM RIGHT?
Except for the fact that Romeo turned 18 and throughout production, you fell in love.

This story was visceral.
It felt like I was stepping into the raw conflict of my youth. BUT OH MY GOD- I could have just fought Brooke when she met Matt for the second time. Rekindled things then just LEFT. girl. what are you doing?

This book had me hooked, shaking my fist, screaming into the void.
I think it's one every teen should read.
There are triggers and mature themes, but to me- it was worth every warning, It was worth the risk,