2.5.

If the rest of the book had felt like the last four chapters did, this would have been a knock-out debut, rather than a book that didn't really stand above others tackling similar issues.

Sid is on a school-sponsored ski trip when she decides to go to a party by herself with a guy named Dax. He'd charmed her immediately, and she was taken with him because no guy at school had ever paid her any attention. She's insecure in who she is and what she looks like -- she has breasts and an ass and a shape which make her uncomfortable -- and so Dax's attention to her as a person allows her to feel safe with him. Except, of course, he's not a good guy. When she wakes up the morning after the party and discovers she's not in her condo with her friends, many questions arise in her mind.

Over the rest of the book, Sid struggles with an eating disorder as a means of coping with the truth of what happened that night. In the midst of the eating disorder (which I didn't find authentic but rather forced and convenient), Sid has to navigate shifting friendships and being labeled as the girl who got in trouble on the ski trip.

But then there is Corey. Loser, former arrestee Corey. Who happens to be way into Sid and cares about her so deeply. When their relationship blossoms, it's here where Sid learns a lot about herself -- through Corey's pushing -- and comes to terms with what really happened that night and how she's handled herself in the meantime.

The book takes on a little too much at times, and I found the writing bordered on trying too hard. There's a clear change in Sid through the story and a real arc to her character (and the writing itself follows through with this too -- it feels much more natural and believable near the end) but it still didn't quite make up for the rough start and middle. Usually I'm not a fan of when the guy-saves-the-girl trope, but it works here because Corey honestly and faithfully cares about Sid and her well-being, and she never once buys into it. He was, hands down, one of my favorite male characters in a book. My only reservation was that the romance felt a bit contrived when it seemed like their relationship was a lot better when it read like a close friendship vs an intimate "something more." In other words, I didn't need pages of making out because it was boring. I found the moments when Corey pushed Sid to her emotional and mental limits, engaging her in honest conversation about herself and her situation, were where I learned a heck of a lot about both of these characters.

This reminded me of a mix of Kody Keplinger and Daisy Whitney in terms of writing and story. I think it could have been even more comparable, an entry in between the two of them, if that eating disorder subplot hadn't been there. Paring it down would have made this so much stronger.

Longer review to come.