I loved following the couple in this book. It is a little similar to Just Kids in that the relationship at the centre of the novel runs too deep to be defined. We meet Connell and Marianne as they finish high school, and follow them until some years into university. For sure Rooney doesn't avoid all the teenage or relationship tropes, but the novel feels fresh and realistic. I found it always compelling and never frustrating, which it so easily could have been. The characters are thoroughly drawn and you feel the story continues beyond the last page.
