Please Excuse Our Confusion

by Jasmine Cartwright

Bowie Monroe knows a lot about keeping secrets.

She’s been helping her “boyfriend” keep his secret for the past three years. A devoted friend, daughter, and “girlfriend,” everyone can count on Bowie to come through in a pinch.

When she isn’t harboring other people’s secrets, Bowie is hiding secrets of her own. Despite being abandoned on the day she was born, Bowie has had a decent life with her quirky adoptive parents and inseparable trio of friends. But there are blanks in her history that she desperately wants to fill; so focusing on everyone else’s problems distracts her from drowning in her lack of identity.

And then Bowie meets Jonah.

Cool, confident, supportive Jonah invades Bowie’s heart and inspires her to confront her insecurities. Her relationship with Jonah is good for Bowie, but bad for the skeletons she’s hiding for others. As Bowie fights to balance her commitment to her friends, parents, and now Jonah, she is constantly ignoring her own needs. When the secrets and lies begin to close in on her, Bowie must fight to find her voice and face her biggest obstacle. Herself.

In her debut novel, author Jasmine Cartwright weaves a heartwarming and witty tale of self-discovery, sexuality, identity, and what it means to be a true friend.

Genres: Romance, Young Adult

260 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 7, 2023

About the author

Jasmine Cartwright was born in Oklahoma City. Her family moved to Sacramento, California after she was born, and stayed there during her early adolescent years before moving back to OKC. She is an advocate for mental health, prison reform, and marginalized voices. Combining her dedication to these social issues with her passion for fictional storytelling, Jasmine strives to create a safe space for the voiceless. An avid reader, she always found herself chasing "that one story." When she couldn't find that story, she decided she'd write it herself, and that passion turned into an ambition to become an author. Jasmine writes stories about young people who find happiness at the most inconvenient of times. She finds inspiration for her stories through traveling, reading, and personal experiences. She graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and English, specializing in Fiction Writing.

Reviews

[Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️
I typically don’t read YA but after seeing so many positive reveries on this book I have to see for myself what everyone was saying. We have our main character Bowie who is just trying to live out her senior year of high school with her best friends Manny and Christina. Prior to the school year starting she meets Jonah at a camp and that’s where the confusion comes in.

This is story of friendship, relationships, loyalty, and figuring out the person you are and who you want to be. I throughly enjoyed this book and I definitely needed this when I was growing up! I can’t wait to see what’s next for Ms. Cartwright!

[Shelly Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the world of young adult literature it is hard to find a novel that encompasses the confusion of identity. This novel does this in so many ways for so many marginalized groups. It is a nice, easy, read that intrigued me to keep reading. I suggest you pick this up and give it to a teenager while you’re at it. Even as 51 year-old adult though, I still found the themes pertained to my life.

[Ashaunea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This pulled all the emotions out of me for sure. The need to know where you fit in this world, sacrificing consistently for those that you love, knocking down the door to all the hard decisions you’re forced to make as you transition into adulthood all happened here in this book and in the best way. I love Bowie so much and I hope her story continues you and she gets all the answers that she needs to feel grounded!

[Landa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please Excuse our Confusion is a YA coming of age book that you wish you had when you were younger, this book touches on the many aspects of life in the eyes of young adults who are not yet sure of what it means to be free to be yourself, about what it means to be a friend at the expense of putting yourself in a position of responsibility and being able to make decisions for yourself that will free you, loved this book and the author did a beautiful job of making you feel comfortable with the knowledge of the world you are in, great storyline and I can’t wait to see what’s next!

[Yanique (YanCanWorld) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Navigating teenage years into adulthood can be so challenging. Bowie did it with such grace. She was a true friend while unfortunately bottling up so much of herself to please others. I’d like to think of this story as one of self-discovery.

Geoff and Mark were the best parents.
Bowie was a sweetheart.
Christina was truly a girl’s girl.
Manny was a self-absorbed brat who eventually found his way.
Jonah was quite the gentleman

[Sarai · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was perfect. I loved this book so much! IF YOU HAVENT READ IT GO READ IT ASAPPPPP.!!!! The connection I felt with bowie was unreal and it felt like I had an emotional connection with all characters. This book made me giggle and really put shit in perspective and made me rethink even about my life. I love how this book includes so many true things about society and how cruel people and life can be and im glad as a reader we can see how Bowie navigates through that and learns how to love herself, to be okay with her past, and also figure out who she is in the process. I loved this!!!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bowie is struggling to find her place in the world. From being adopted and not knowing her ethnic background to having a "boyfriend" throughout her high school years; meeting Jonah who is a co-counselor at the self esteem camp, is essentially the thing that brings all of her feelings to a head. Suddenly Bowie has her first real crush on and boy and now all of the skeletons in the closet are threatening to come out.

Please Excuse Our Confusion is a coming of age story where the characters struggle with their identity and mental health. The story is told in an extremely poignant way, with loveable characters that you can't help but root for.

I found it extremely hard to put this book down and absolutely flew through it. The story was sad and heartwarming all at the same time. Plus, Bowie in Jonah are an absolutely adorable cover that are easy to fall in love with. It was easy to give Please Excuse Our Confusion 5 stars.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute

I haven't read a young adult book since I was a young adult but this book was very cute. It had a lot of moments guessing what's next and excited to see how her life was going to unfold. I read it because it has great reviews and if you're in young adult books, this is a good one.

[Esther · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely beautiful story that everyone should read. Especially teens and parents. It was a beautiful representation of the LGBTQ community. I loved the characters. Bowie must be protected at all costs because she is the best of us. She handled so many issues that high schoolers go through so gracefully and realistically. I cannot recommend this book more highly!

[Izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG! I LOVEDDDDD this book. I felt all the emotions, I connected with Bowie so much and especially her Dad’s. This story was so beautifully written. And is one of my favorite reads

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book speaks to my soul in more ways than one. A beautiful coming of age story and I loved it sooooo much!

[Alex A · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is amazing. I absolutely love Bowie. She is just a young girl trying to figure out life, and our teenage years are the hardest. I love her relationship with Jonah. I feel that he is such a supportive love interest as he is so genuine to Bowie and those around him. I'm glad they were able to reconnect after camp. Bowie definitely can relate to anyone, whether it is someone struggling to figure themselves out or figure out their background. Bowie does have such a great support system, and I see that she gets her compassionate personality from her dads. Geoff is hilarious. He and Mark are the perfect blends of parents. It is heartwarming to see the kind of positive relationship Bowie has with her parents and friends. She definitely deserved better from Manny as he was too selfish to value how she was affected by his lies. Even though he was my least favorite character, he is just a teenager trying to fit in from the fears of his own truth. Christina is such a nice addition to the friend group cause she is funny but a strong friend for Bowie and Manny. I love how, in the end, Bowie realizes her birth parents and background won't make a difference because she has all she needs in front of her: her parents, Jonah, Christina, Manny, and Carrie. Sometimes, it can be hard to see what you have in front of you! I loved seeing how, throughout the novel, Bowie comes out of her shell and truly blossoms by feeling at peace with herself and blooming into her confidence to be with Jonah and be real about herself with everyone around her. This book was an unforgettable read, and I can't wait to read it all over again!

[_dulcekk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Left behind a dumpster as a newborn, Bowie “Bo” who was adopted by two men, now a teenager is trying to figure out who she is and where did she come from. Afraid of voicing these concerns to her best friends and dads, she keeps these thoughts/feelings to herself out of the fear of coming across as ungrateful. Bo meets Jonah at a summer camp and begin to experience feelings she’s never felt before. They develop a bond and she eventually confides in Jonah about her insecurities surrounding her identity.

This story had many layers, from owning who you are and not being ashamed… to understanding that no matter how you came into this world, you ARE somebody! Knowing that you have the power to create your identity outside of the one you were given/not given.

I HIGHLY recommend you read this book to experience the love between the families (Daddy Geoff was a character lol), the friendship of Bo, Christina & Manny, the friendship between Bo & Jonah, and how Bo navigates her last year of high school while keeping secrets of her own and the secret her best friend Manny doesn’t want to get out to their high school class.

Can Bo continue to be everything to everyone and nothing to herself? “Sometimes we sacrifice our own happiness for the sake of others”.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please Excuse Our Confusion was such a good book! In this book we are tackling many topics like homophobia, abortion, and adoption.

I went into this book completely blind and I am so happy I did! I related to our main FMC Bowie so much because of her people pleaser tendencies. She will literally do anything for her friends. So much so that she has lost what she wants and who she is amongst it. She is also feeling lost due to the circumstances around her adoption, so we are following that story line as well.

I really loved how the author handled this book with so much love. It was especially refreshing because I am also from Oklahoma and we do have so many people who are extremely conservative, so to have a book that takes place in Oklahoma and was so proudly written to encompass love as a whole and having a diverse cast of characters was wonderful! 💜

I do wish we were able to give a little more into Bowie’s feelings/pain over her adoption/abandonment issues. I felt like there was a lot going on, so that got lost for me a bit.

I do recommend this YA contemporary book && I am so happy that I got to read it 💟

[Taylor Pemberton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please Excuse Our Confusion flew by! This book really captures the teenage experience: the feeling that you don’t know yourself but should, the angst, and of course the all powerful and all consuming first love.
I love a good comfy read. That feeling that the characters are speaking to you, like you’re their friend too. PEOC definitely made that list of comfy reads. Grab a snuggly blanket and dive in!

[Taylor Erxleben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow wow wow that’s how a coming of age story is written!

As an adopted BIPOC girly this story definitely pulled from heart strings✨

“Is love enough to raise an abandoned little girl to be a confident woman?”✨

Jonah had me kicking my feet and giggle, such a well written kind character ✨

Loved the pacing and chapter length of this story✨

Manny definitely needed that character growth towards the end cause oh boy was he written as an all around bad fella✨

First epilogue I’ve read in a while that did what it needed to do! Any unanswered question and feeling we’re resolved at the end✨

[Kswag · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet read that focuses on young adult struggles and their how they navigate through it . Thoroughly enjoyed getting to witness each of the characters ability to do the best they can with what was in front of them. Well written and I enjoyed this read

[FlysLibrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone needs to stop what they’re doing and PICK THIS BOOK UP RIGHT NOW‼️‼️

The absolute perfect Coming-Of-Age YA Romance that is made for anyone to enjoy.

The topics are real life problems that we face everyday, and the characters are so relatable you feel like apart of the family by the end.

I’ve genuinely learned many lessons from this book that I will be taking with me through the rest of my life ❤️ I laughed at times, I cried at times, I got mad at times, and then there was times when I was ridiculously happy… Amazing read.

[Randie Neal-Soto · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is so pure and will have you sobbing

Please Excuse Our Confusion is a wonderful combination of funny, wholesome, and dramatic, wrapped up with a bow. Please support Jasmine and read this beautiful story!

[CiCi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pleaseeeee 🥹
This was everything. Coming of age, found family, queer representation & a lil young love. I have all the feels all at once. This was so well done

[Camelia K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a great book. This one hit close to home and I did not want the story to end.

[J.D. Southwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the feels!

This was my first read by Jasmine Cartwright and I was not disappointed! Bowie and Jonah were so cute. I highly recommend

[Aaliyah W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is not to love about this book! The perfect mixture of teenage romance and finding oneself. Jasmine Cartwright’s writing style is one of confidence and ease. I am super excited to see what comes next from her!

[Sara Morelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

You are enough. I loved this book. It was so nostalgic. I loved Bowie, the Character and the name. Definitely a easy read that made not want to put it down. The incredible message of becoming ok with who you are as you are is something that anyone can understand and appreciate. Such a heart warming and beautiful story that will keep you invested until the very last word.

[Andrea Flowers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a good book. In the beginning I was a little skeptical like hmmm I don’t know. But after pushing through it started taking me on an emotional roller coaster. This book has secrets and i honestly kept waiting for the ball to drop and when it did I was like “oh my”.

[Sohana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so perfect in every way. The nostalgia I felt while reading this? WOW. There were so many times that I found myself blushing and feeling all giddy throughout these pages. This book was heavy on IDENTITY and trying to find a sense of belonging and acceptance. It was more than just a romance. And even then, the romance? Was so so cute! The representation in this book? Literally so amazing! I’d literally pick this up and read it all over again and go to all my favorite parts. PEOC really did something so heartwarming to the inner child in me. To the author, @booksbyjasminecartwright , thank you so much for writing this. You put your foot in this book!!!!! 5 STARS!!!!! And what a great way to start off my reading for this year!!!

[Alicia Rust · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please Excuse Our Confusion by Jasmine Cartwright is such an amazing read. The story follows Bowie a high school senior who is struggling with who she is since all she knows is that her birth mother didn't want her. We follow her throughout her journey of finding her first love, to the relationships with her dad's, friends and finally coming to terms with being happy with who she is, not what she is. This book has friendship (the ups and the downs), relationships (both the ups and downs of them), finding your true self and coming to terms with who that is, funny and hilarious moments and drama. The author built up a world that is very much like real life and the characters are very relatable and likable. And although one character really irked me because they were very selfish I understand their reasoning behind it. I honestly recommend this book if you're struggling with finding your true self or even have teens who are struggling. Can't wait to read more from this author.

[Mikyla Cartwright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of being an advanced reader for this book and I couldn’t put it down! The characters are relatable, the love story is beautiful and the journey for self discovery and identity is powerful and the author did a flawless job telling the story. This is an easy, funny, emotionally entertaining story that is told through the eyes of a young teenager trying to work through life. I can’t wait for more stories from this author! I’m a fan!

[Lanay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!! It reminded me of my high school days. I related a lot to Bowie especially feeling unsure about myself. All of the characters were written as if I knew them myself and somehow I am upset that I really don't. Lol. This is a must read and I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good read.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story. Bowie is struggling to figure out who she is, while keeping a secret for her best friend. This is a beautifully written coming of age story that takes you back to experiencing your first love and learning what it means to be a friend. A quick and cute read I’d definitely recommend to others!