"It Had to Be You" by Lizzy Charles - BOOK REVIEW

** ARC provided in exchange for honest review **

“It Had to Be You” is a sweet YA Romance, which turned into out to be a fairly good read. Charles wrote an intelligent portrayal of teenager characters, both with complexity and depth rather than being stereotyped.

Edelweiss (Admittedly, I had the song from the Sound of Music stuck in my head during the first few chapters) is a home-schooled daughter of a diplomat, what she lacks in typical high school experience, she makes up for with maturity and world-views. Edelweiss convinces her parents to enrol her into an elite boarding school, determined to experience the high school lifestyle to prepare her for college. Edelweiss was a likeable heroine and although innocent and slightly naïve at first, she was certainly an active protagonist within the story. Edelweiss certainly was a great example of a female lead for readers; she had the right mixture of strength and vulnerability.

James, the male lead and a combination of hot jock and computer genius was the second narrator. At risk of being pulled out of boarding school, James and Edelweiss agree to a fake relationship – for James, this would help prove that he is serious about his studies and for Edelweiss, this would allow her to be harassed by guys and adjust to her new school. James was a fairly rounded character, his history was quite difficult to piece together – there were so many twists and revaluations – and despite his flirtatious and cocky exterior, there were vulnerabilities he had.

The relationship between James and Edelweiss was pretty refreshing; it progressed from a genuine friendship into romantic feelings. The only real issue between them was communication, which became quite tedious for me as a reader. When they both realised they were falling for each other, neither can actually build the courage to have the confidence to bring it up. This became somewhat infuriating as there was no real conflict arising until the end, the silence and their inner monologues of the “what ifs” held them back – hopefully their communication will improve in the sequel. What I truly loved about this relationship was that it was interracial and that was not an issue whatsoever – Edelweiss was white and James was black (mixed-raced to be exact) and their racial differences was never brought up or a source of conflict. I definitely feel like more authors should take note, writing a cast of racially diverse cast and making them more complex and humane needs to be seen more in YA literature.

Another aspect of this novel that stuck out for me was how brilliantly written the female characters were – specifically Edelweiss and her group of friends. It was energising to read a book with a group of young women who were genuine friends, had their own issues and still had each other’s backs. Edelweiss was not a lone woman surrounded by male admirers and cynical of other girls around her – which sadly, this is seen a lot within NA and YA literature – and instead we see her throughout the novel with three good friends, enjoying their company and lifting each other up when they’re down. Even Emma (who is the antagonist and bitter ex-girlfriend of James) feels like a character that could be further developed, originally introduced as a bitchy mean girl, she has a much darker vindictive side – I am hoping that Charles develops Emma’s character further to see different sides of her.

Overall, this was a good read and was very well developed with a rich cast of characters and a decent narrative.