EVERYTHING I PROMISED YOU, by Katy Upperman, Sourcebooks Fire, Jan. 28, 2025, Paperback, $13.99 (young adult, ages 14 and up)
A high school senior works to pick up the pieces after her boyfriend unexpectedly dies in Everything I Promised You, by Katy Upperman.
What comes after heartbreak?
Lia and Beck. Beck and Lia. Despite army-brat life orbiting them in and out of each other’s worlds, Lia knows they are destined to be together. It’s more than their friendship and chemistry. When Lia’s mom was a teen, a fortune teller said her daughter would fall in love with her best friend’s son. Lia and Beck were always meant to be. Or so they thought.
When tragedy steals Beck away, Lia is devastated. She lived her life by her mom’s old fortune. If she was fated to be with Beck and he is gone, who is she supposed to be? And is there room in her broken heart for life, let alone new love? —Synopsis provided by Sourcebooks Fire
Everything I Promised You is a story of first love, grief, family and finding yourself.
Lia’s story unfolds from alternating chapters from “now” and “before.” Chapter titles make the time periods clear, and this convention really does help readers get a full sense of who Lia is as a person with and without Beck. And, quite honestly, she’s more interesting as she finds her own path.
Author Katy Upperman tells this story with confidence. Her raw exploration of grief is moving and will resonate with readers who have experienced loss themselves.
Everything I Promised You is a strong, fairly chaste YA love story that pulls at your heartstrings.
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