Scan barcode
A review by me_alley
Daydream by Hannah Grace
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
In the first few pages, Halle's long time boyfriend, Will, breaks up with her. She isn't devastated, she never really loved him to begin with. But she did organize her entire life around him, their parents are best friends, and all of her friends are really Will's friends.
At the bookstore, she meets a new friend, Henry, who is the captain of her college hockey team. She realizes that she is lacking in learning about friendships and relationships. Henry is struggling with focusing on school assignments that don't draw his interest. Henry is a neurodiverse character, probably high functioning autism and ADHD, but he is undiagnosed. The author explains in the author's note at the start of the book that just because someone doesn't have a diagnosis this doesn't make their experience invalid, so this choice is deliberate. I appreciate this.
Halle is a classic "eldest daughter" people pleaser, she considers herself to be the "family manager" and wow, that lands! I absolutely love the conversations and relationship development between Henry and Halle, this was so real. Henry has 2 moms, we get to meet them and see their love for each other through his art. Hannah Grace expresses so well what it is like to live with a brain that feels like it is working differently than everyone else. Sometimes I feel like other people can react sanely and rationally and more empathically SO MUCH faster than I can. And before I have the chance to really internalize to what someone has said to me, they are already 3 sentences past me and the conversation has gone completely sideways. And I am so much more hurt than they are.
It is so cool to read a love story between two people who really feel different. Not exactly outcasts, but feeling like everyone else has a manual to life that passed them by. This is one of the top 3 romances I have read in 2024 (I have read over 60). Really well developed characters, they are transparent and flawed while extremely loveable. Contemporary romance is by far the most successful genre today, and I read it often because I like heartwarming or happy endings, I like strong female main characters, and I like the pacing of relationship development. I am not a fan of the S M U T, which I flip through or fast forward, but this book has a beautiful story and is so, so well-written. Halfway through reading it I added all of the author's other books to my "to-read" list. Five stars on this!
At the bookstore, she meets a new friend, Henry, who is the captain of her college hockey team. She realizes that she is lacking in learning about friendships and relationships. Henry is struggling with focusing on school assignments that don't draw his interest. Henry is a neurodiverse character, probably high functioning autism and ADHD, but he is undiagnosed. The author explains in the author's note at the start of the book that just because someone doesn't have a diagnosis this doesn't make their experience invalid, so this choice is deliberate. I appreciate this.
Halle is a classic "eldest daughter" people pleaser, she considers herself to be the "family manager" and wow, that lands! I absolutely love the conversations and relationship development between Henry and Halle, this was so real. Henry has 2 moms, we get to meet them and see their love for each other through his art. Hannah Grace expresses so well what it is like to live with a brain that feels like it is working differently than everyone else. Sometimes I feel like other people can react sanely and rationally and more empathically SO MUCH faster than I can. And before I have the chance to really internalize to what someone has said to me, they are already 3 sentences past me and the conversation has gone completely sideways. And I am so much more hurt than they are.
It is so cool to read a love story between two people who really feel different. Not exactly outcasts, but feeling like everyone else has a manual to life that passed them by. This is one of the top 3 romances I have read in 2024 (I have read over 60). Really well developed characters, they are transparent and flawed while extremely loveable. Contemporary romance is by far the most successful genre today, and I read it often because I like heartwarming or happy endings, I like strong female main characters, and I like the pacing of relationship development. I am not a fan of the S M U T, which I flip through or fast forward, but this book has a beautiful story and is so, so well-written. Halfway through reading it I added all of the author's other books to my "to-read" list. Five stars on this!