SPOILER FREE REVIEW: THE NAMES THEY GAVE US

Title: The Names They Gave Us
Author: Emery Lord
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication date: 2nd June 2017 (Australia)
RRP: $17.99

Synopsis:
Lucy has her perfect summer planned out: perfect boyfriend, perfect job and quality time with her perfect parents.
Then her mom's cancer comes back, and suddenly life makes no sense.
Before she knows it, Lucy finds herself agreeing to volunteer as a counsellor at a camp for troubled kids, where lives are more different from her own than she could have imagined possible. Here Lucy meets the dashing but mysterious fellow counsellor Jones, who will change the way she sees the world forever.
With tragedy hovering at the edges of Lucy's life, this summer she must find out who she really is and what it means to love.

I started reading The Names They Gave Us after already reading two other contemporaries - something I don't do often, so without realising it, I was already comparing it to those two other books as they were amazing reads. For me, this book started off slow and I wasn't really sure where it was headed or it would get any better but I'm glad I stuck with it because it got to a point where I did not want to put it down, eager to know everything that happened next.

I liked Lucy the whole way through the story, she was an empathetic character who seemed very understanding and mostly assertive, though as we got deeper into the story I found that I really loved her. She made me feel what she was feeling and the heart strings were constantly being tugged. I found her so easy to read from, which was an absolute delight. As someone who isn't religious, I was first nervous as to how I would go reading from someone who is, but yet again I was surprised with the way it was written without having the main character change from who she really is.

We meet a diverse range of characters in this book who come from different backgrounds and hardships and if you're anything like me, there is definitely going to be a character you don't like to begin with. Further on into the story though when different relationships start to develop you find that you really need that character you didn't initially like. I loved all the different relationships in this book, be it the romantic kind, or friendship, even the ones they have with the kids in the camp. Thinking of it now, it was such a delight having the younger children involved in the story - they added a sort of whimsical feel to the book.

The story itself was amazing. Like I said earlier, it started off slow for me and I wasn't sure I was going to like it or not but it develops really well and I honestly think that slow start was relevant - others may not find it slow like I initially did. After reaching that point, I really started to feel the flow of the story and I think Emery Lord has done an amazing job in writing this book. I loved getting to know the backstories of the other characters as well as see Lucy develop. I think there's something for everyone in this book; while we only read from Lucy's point of view, you might find yourself connecting with some of the other characters.

There were so many things I loved about this story - if you couldn't already tell, and I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy young adult stories. The Names They Gave Us was an emotional story, both fun and incredibly heart wrenching, and absolutely not predictable. I am so, so happy I read this story as I think it's definitely my favourite contemporary read of the year so far (oOoh!)

Rating: 5/5

PS - How beautiful is this book cover?!

*This book was sent to me by Bloomsbury Australia in exchange for an honest review
. All opinions are my own.



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