Review: You Between the Lines by Katie Laymon
Thank you Forever, Grand Central Publishing for my copy! All thoughts are my own.
One thing about me, if it takes place in an academic setting, I’m gonna read it. Second thing about me, if it second chance, I’m gonna read it. I enjoyed this book but I didn’t love it. I do think that if I read it in print, I’d like it more but the audio production is very good. The poetry elements were surprisingly my favorite aspect!
Synopsis:
“No one’s more surprised than Leigh when a prestigious MFA program in North Carolina accepts her. A former sorority girl, Leigh’s the first to admit she knows more about the lyrics of Taylor Swift than T.S. Eliot, and she’s never been able to shake the “all-style-no-substance” feedback her high school crush made in their poetry workshop. Bad enough that her tattooed, New Yorker tote bag-carrying classmates have read all the right authors and been published in the country's leading literary journals, Leigh's insecurities become all too real when Will, that same high school crush-turned-nemesis, shows up at orientation as a first-year in the program, too. And now, he’s William, exactly the kind of writer Leigh hates, complete with his pretentious sweater vests and tattered Moleskine.
Leigh’s determined to prove herself—and William—wrong by landing the program’s highly-coveted fellowship. But Will’s dead-set on it, too, and in a small cohort, they can't keep apart for long. When Will submits an intimate poem (that's maybe, probably, definitely about Leigh) to workshop, they’re both forced to realize there’s more to the other than what’s on the page. And what’s between the lines may be even more interesting.” —NetGalley
What I Liked:
The Academic Setting—As a creative, I love creative academic settings. I found the MFA program and cohort to be competitive and high energy, giving the story a lot of drama.
The Poetry—I loveeeeeee disecting poetry and finding meaning “between the lines” of poetry and all writing. I really really enjoyed this aspect.
What Didn’t Work for Me:
The Pacing—This is a second chance romance which is normally my jam, but it just didn’t work for me this time.
The Stakes—I wasn’t as emotionally invested in this story as I wanted to be! From other reviews I was very excited but I just didn’t connect to the hot and cold nature of the relationship. However, I did find that aspect to be very realistic.
Character Authenticity: 3/5 Spice Rating: 2.5/5 Overall Rating: 3/5
Content Warnings:
abandonment, death of a parent, grief