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The Follow Through

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Tatum Prescott and Robin Hale were ten years old when they almost kissed. It was going to be magical, because who doesn’t want to kiss their best friend and first-ever crush? But the moment was interrupted by misunderstanding parents, and the girls were pulled from each other’s lives. That was then.

Now, after years of being apart, Tatum and Robin unexpectedly find themselves in the same high school at the start of their senior year, and it turns both of their worlds upside-down.

Tatum is a wallflower who couldn’t care less about what anyone thinks of her. Robin is a star athlete and one of the school’s most popular students, who cares about what everyone thinks. The two of them couldn’t be more different if they tried.

The only thing Tatum and Robin have in common is that they both still think about kissing each other, but if anyone finds out, it could be disastrous.

Are they willing to take the risk?

274 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 9, 2023

89 people are currently reading
398 people want to read

About the author

Michele L. Rivera

17 books227 followers
Michele L. Rivera is a Massachusetts native who has been writing lesbian romance since 2013. It all started with the release of her first book, “Taking the Lead,” which is a fictional story loosely based on her own coming out experience.

Through her writing, Michele strives to share her strong personal beliefs that love is love and that happily ever afters do exist.

When she’s not writing love stories or poetry, she enjoys cuddling with her adorable cats, sipping on whiskey, watching movies, and searching for artistic inspiration within the human experience.

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5 stars
291 (47%)
4 stars
173 (27%)
3 stars
118 (19%)
2 stars
26 (4%)
1 star
10 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
Profile Image for Vita L. Licari.
905 reviews40 followers
January 22, 2023
I so enjoyed this book! Robin and Tatum are made for one another, and they knew this at age 10. But Robins' mother catches them kissing after their "marriage". Kicks Tatum out, by calling her parents to come and get her, and not allowing Robin to ever see her bestfriend again. Robin then becomes a "bitch" and torments Tatum. Then Tatum's parents divorce and she goes to live with her mother in another town. Now, senior year, Tatum is back and well, you'll have to read it. This is such a good book. 5 stars!
2 reviews
January 15, 2023
I loved this book. I couldn't put it down. It has perfect mix of angst and sweet. Nothing feels force, everything happens naturally. Characters are actually communicating with each other so there are no annoying misunderstatndigs like it often happens in YA books.
Profile Image for Sam.
431 reviews8 followers
March 2, 2023
maybe does not make my re-read shelf but I really liked it..
Profile Image for Erica.
337 reviews11 followers
February 17, 2023
so cute

I really enjoyed this book! The overall story was so cute but also sad. Had me in my feelings. I loved it
Profile Image for RA Young.
315 reviews6 followers
January 26, 2023
Well balanced slice of life with all the good feels

Okayyy, I needed some wine to go with this cheese, but I'm not complaining! It was a really sweet story, very slice of life. There was drama, but no high drama, no tropey misunderstandings or miscommunications. There was angst, but a realistic amount of angst. There were the kinds of throwbacks any 90s kid like myself would love (loads of Buffy references), but done in a way that reflects the appreciation gen Z has, both real and ironic, of that era. The story didn't need to be overly complicated because it was being told through the eyes of two very likable characters who had relatable personal journeys to go through, as they navigated what it's like to be out and come out in the 2020s for high school kids. I love books like this, they remind me of how far we've come, even if we still have a ways to go.
Expect to make it through this book with all the good feels.
Profile Image for Issy Waldrom.
Author 10 books54 followers
April 28, 2024
Feeling for another can be a funny thing at times, and when paired with hurt, and nasty decisions from one's parents, it can create an absolute mess. The opening to the story really sets it all up - Robin and Tatum's feelings for each other, and then Robin's parents reactions. It shapes how the following years play out between them, till Tatum moves away. Then she returns on the final year of high school, and things get complicated, or perhaps not so much - love doesn't necessarily go away.
Robin and Tatum's interactions are messy, what they say at odds with what they really think, but in a short space of time it becomes pretty obvious that things can't be denied.

I absolutely loved the story. It's got character, heart, and attitude, and when they finally get together, they stay together. Their relationship is sweet and adorable, and the strength of friends is undeniable. There is an element of found family here as well, and seeing the support of others is great. Well written, engrossing, and an easy read, I think it is the best of Rivera's books that I've read so far. An easy recommendation.
19 reviews1 follower
July 20, 2024
As this book starts you just get thrown into the story so fast you probably have whiplash. full on. they literally introduced the entire premise of the book in like 1.5 pages.
1.5 pages to set up the entire tone of the book and dynamics of the main 2 characters. some books have the problem of slow and unnecessary pacing while this book had the exact opposite. At a minimum in my opinion it's a bit of an insult there wasn't at least 1 chapter fleshing out the past of these characters together.
The main premise is that 2 girls who were besties in childhood had a “marriage” at 10 (I think this is kind of old to be having fake marriages btw???? but whatever I'm not the child fun police) Then they're about to share a cute little kiss when DUNDUNDUN homophobic parents walk in and kick the other girl out and forbid their friendship. and that's kind of an interesting premise. so I was exceedingly disappointed when it was CHUCKED at me in probably the worst first chapter ever.

We also learn after the parents are like nuh-uh no more gay bsf she just starts doing nothing while other ppl bully her???? I was just like ok child influenced by parents or not you cannot just have a character go from marriage to bullying in less than 1 paragraph without giving at least a little bit of emotional exploration?? what was I supposed to do with this in association with her character? not like her thats what. we only ever get the excuse of desperately needing to redeem herself in her family's eyes but I couldn't get behind it because it was not fleshed out enough in the 1 paragraph she justified it with. at least she herself admits she was an asshole but I just despise these unrealistic emotionally fluctuating characters that don't feel like they've had any effort put to make them real.

So if we get past that immediately the whole thing is out the window by the very very very very very emphasised physical attraction between the 2 immediately (did I mention very).

I say this because probably there is at least a mention of it on every single page. crazy. There's cute and deep pining and then there's you need to get those chemically toxic hormones checked out before you pop a blood vessel from the lust… and this book also had an obsession with referring to having feelings for someone as “craving them”.That made me cringe an upsetting amount and also like EW WHAT. Maybe I'm being slightly immature but it was so not written in a way that could have made me not gag

Another thing that I didn't like is that this book doesn't understand the Show Don't Tell in the first half. I feel as though it did improve towards the end with this but at the start, it almost felt like I was reading something clunky that had been translated into English. The characters are constantly just spending 4 pages randomly filling us in on everything that happened in the past within one conversation. Which yeah I get that they are being used as a means to carry the plot forward and fill us in but it felt so sloppy.

One more thing I initially hated is how the MC actually was just foaming at the mouth for the girl who let her get bullied immediately???? LIKE SURE OK SHE'S HOT BUT PULL IT TOGETHER GIRLIE. (as the reader we know she is hot because it is every alternating thought in the mcs head!!!! which is so realistic for a 3d character!!)
yeah honestly nobody was as down bad as this mf it was crazy. looking at her lips as the bully is like “don't you dare tell anyone we used to be friends!!!” and only getting some self respect halfway through and it's immediately before the other character magically comes to terms with being gay in like 2 pages when she has been acting like a complete bitch for years because of the pressures and expectations that were not initially fleshed out enough. and the fact she could just do a 180 so fast was even more reason to be like you did not have a valid reason to do what you did.

some good parts I would say are probably the romance scenes which were pretty cute and probably the only parts that weren't ridiculously rushed. That's pretty much it… It was nothing special just super generic and instalovely.
Actually yes this is what this was. instalove. I didn't like it. it's just a lazy way to write romance that mainly revolves around physical attraction and for me isn't all that romance should be about. sure it's a main element but it shouldn't be the ONLY ONE.

overall this book was just meh. it had all the main components gay books have. high school, homophobia, found family. The works

But just a lot more of the heavy and interesting themes they tried to include to elevate their characters and make them more realistic fell short because there was not enough time spent on them. I cannot imagine anyone seeing themself in these characters and I wish the author had fleshed these different components out more as it could have lifted the book up in my opinion and just made me like it more purely based on characters.
Profile Image for 3DKing.
272 reviews1 follower
June 23, 2024
If you get over the YA aspect and can embrace the high-school drama, then this is a real nice, real cute friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance about self-discovery and acceptance. Enjoyed reading it very much after my initial hesitation.
17 reviews
January 24, 2023
I loved this book! Thank you for the great story!
Profile Image for Jimmy Helgeson.
25 reviews
February 1, 2023

Very enjoyable, and with characters you can really root for. A good mix of drama (which I love as long as it is good, and sweetness. One of the books I hard a hard time putting down once I started reading it.

Profile Image for Colin Kerr.
17 reviews
February 13, 2023
Married at 10

Our heroines are such spicy and initially incompatible characters, but all the events described of their slow process of reconciliation are described with just the right emotional tone and the reader bonds with them and wants to get even with their enemies and love their friends. This is a very satisfying emotional ride to a mature adulthood. You'll want to meet them.
31 reviews
January 30, 2023
Super Cute!

This was a super cute and sweet first love book. It had the appropriate amount of drama, intrigue and first love. The characters where both awesome women, the friends who supposed both were great. Just a heart warming, cute book. Made my heart happy reading it.
26 reviews
January 29, 2023
Gorgeous storyline

Another great novel, full of fabulous characters, true love and sensitivity around key topics. Encapsulates first love in its truest form.
Profile Image for Yani H.
35 reviews
May 16, 2024
The plot caught my attention but I'm not a fan of the writing...It reads like basic wattpad fiction i don't know if it's on purpose but the character's voices feel more like tweens (maybe 12/13) rather than 18 years olds....
Profile Image for Misha.
1,636 reviews61 followers
September 21, 2023
I enjoyed this but it was fairly surface level. A fun and quick read if you enjoy enemies to lovers YA.
Profile Image for Michael Smith.
1,917 reviews66 followers
February 23, 2023
The YA novel wasn’t really a thing when I was an adolescent, but I began reading them when I was doing my graduate degree in library science more than fifty years ago, and I never stopped, even after they were no longer relevant to my career as a history specialist and archivist. “Gay” didn’t carry it’s present meaning when I was young, either, but there are quite a few YA romances on the market today with a queer slant, and this is one of the better written and more deeply thoughtful ones -- and also one of the more straightforwardly erotic.

The setting is Quincy, Massachusetts, and back when they were ten, best friends Robin Hale and Tatum Prescott decided to get married, with their stuffed animals and Babies as witnesses. But Robin’s parents walked into the ceremony and completely lost their shit, screaming at their daughter about perversion and forbidding further contact between the two girls. Trying to please her parents (who were the conservative city council president and city attorney of Quincy). Robin became one of the mean girls and made Tatum’s life hell at school for the next several years. Then Tatum’s parents divorced and she had to move away with her mother.

So, now it’s the beginning of senior year at Quincy High School and Robin is one of the most popular girls in her class and also the driving force behind the field hockey team. She also has a boy friend, or at least a guy she has sex with regularly, and she insists she never things about her old best friend at all. But in her first trig class of the year, who should she see but Tatum, who is back in town, goth-y in dress, and gorgeous. In alternating chapters between the two girls’ POVs, we learn that Tatum has certainly never forgotten Robin. Does Robin remember Tatum? What do you think?

The story follows their careful circling around each other as it becomes a mutually magnetic spiral inward, and Rivera delves deep into Robin’s sublimated feelings about Tatum and about girls in general and about Tatum’s confused efforts to figure how she feels now about her old friend and nemesis. The plot is unusually realistic for a romance and there’s a lot for younger readers to ponder -- especially those trying to figure out their own place on the spectrum of sexuality. Rivera has written more than a dozen YA novels with a “lesbian discovery” theme and I recommend all of them.
Profile Image for melania.
103 reviews1 follower
August 2, 2023
„You can’t just turn off your feelings for someone even if you want to. No one has the power to control who they’re attracted to.“

I actually deleted this book about 30% in and wanted to write a review in goodreads but I only saw 4 and 5 stars reviews, so I downloaded it again and gave it a chance. I shouldn’t have.

Some of the conversations were so long that they just didn’t feel authentic anymore and seemed more like monologues which raptured the flow of the convo. This book reads like a 15 years old telling chatgpt to write a fanfiction. Some scenes were just so cliche and exaggerated it cringed me out.

“You can be done with someone all you want. But it doesn’t mean your heart’s done with them. That takes time. And time is a bitch. There’s no way around these things, you just have to go through them to get to the other side.”

I somehow only like Cassidy, which is the best friend of one of the main characters. I thought she was shallow in the beginning but turns out she was actually the least annoying character and the most helpful one.

One thing I liked, was that for once the parents weren’t accepting. That was the only realistic thing. Of course, it’s sad when parents aren’t accepting but it’s the reality for so many LGBT people and those people need some rep too.

The book had some nice quotes but other than that, I don’t really have anything else to say.
Profile Image for Vi.
47 reviews2 followers
June 23, 2025
1.5/5

This was just... poorly written. The entire premise and setup of the book is given in literally 2 pages with zero opportunity for actual character development. Its 2 person alternating perspective and I genuinely could not tell the difference between both characters.

The dialog was incredibly stilted and unnatural. The "insta love" thing thats going on (especially from Tatum's point of view) makes zero sense. Every paragraph felt rushed. Not a single character had a unique voice. This felt like reading a rough outline that still needed massive edits before actually being fleshed out.

It was just disappointing all throughout, one of those books where I can't help but side eye the ratings and wonder how the hell...
858 reviews3 followers
June 23, 2023
Sad that not every parent loves their child!

Tatum and Robin are 10 years old and they want to marry, that is until Robin's parents catch them and separate them forcibly and expel Tatum from their house. Eight years later Tatum returns and Robin does not know how she wants to either kiss Tatum or reject her. Robin has friends and parents who maintain that Robin is straight but never had a boyfriend. The battle begins, which direction does Robin follow, homophobic parents and and live a lie or possibly being kicked out of the house and follow through on her inner most thoughts and kiss and protect Tatum? What happens? Lie or kiss? Enjoy!
Profile Image for Marina Feliz Imba.
105 reviews2 followers
September 6, 2024
It was a nice book. I like the way it's written. The language is simple and I love that. A book doesn't have to be complicated to prove a point or for the author to show off her vocabulary abilities. I really appreciated that.
For the story now. It was cute. That's the world to describe it. It was not hot or passionate or electric or tense. It was a sweet first love to forever love story with a coming out to homophobe parents. It was okay. This book is for young adults and teenagers. For me it was fine I enjoyed it but I'm not so sure that I'm gonna remember all about it in a few days. I like my books intense. ;)
Profile Image for JJ.
460 reviews1 follower
March 28, 2023
More books like this please!! I loved this dynamic and their relationship flowed very naturally with banter. The emotions were very potent and the characters even the side ones felt very real fro the high school setting, nothing went outside the realm of believability which a lot of YA tends to I find. The only thing I disliked was the forced outing which was brushed over, Lucy came a bit out of left field with that one and it's generally not something I enjoy reading about but personal preference.
Profile Image for Kathryn Crowley.
141 reviews19 followers
September 30, 2023
I did enjoy this but I also didnt take it too seriously.

Tatum and Tobin have a unique relationship and in my opinion it moves very fast. Of course they are in love in high school so it makes sense.

All of the self discovery and inner thoughts are very appealing.

One of the things I do like in this is parental issues. It’s obviously a huge part of coming out and the found family in this is great. While their relationship moves very fast and is very juvenile (in a cute way) there are still a lot of redeeming qualities in this book.
Profile Image for Milan kleanthous.
139 reviews
October 16, 2023
I’m speechless I’m so in love with this book, Tatum and robin are everything omggg I haven’t smiled this much in forever no seriously my cheeks hurt. The bestfriends to being ripped apart to enemies to lovers was perfection in every sense of the word. I loved all the other side characters except the bad ones obviously!! I miss them already. My two wives are married and so happy right now so I’m happy <3

Happy wife happy life!!!!! BIGGEST MF SLAY

Also the killing eve reference they are in the same universe I AM SCREAMING :)))
Profile Image for Chano Mansilla.
237 reviews6 followers
February 22, 2023
She is lovely

Nice story about high school girls. There is some issues that did not get resolved. Like what happens with Heather and Claudia. Did Lucy loose the prom queen election and did the field hockey team won the state championship. The end feels rushed, but is a very nice story with great dialog and I liked it a lot
Profile Image for Cara Ramsey.
Author 2 books4 followers
February 23, 2023
An Almost Fairy Tale Lesbian Love Story

Two adorable characters, one set of totally accepting parents, one set of totally homophobic parents, two best friends who are really best friends, all the drama and angst of high school, and you get a lovely tale with a fairytale ending. I loved this book! I hope you will too!
49 reviews2 followers
May 1, 2023
loved this

I’m so glad I read this book. Felt like a much softer version of my own growing up. It’s so exciting to read books like this where lesbians have a happy and romantic backstory and ending and have accepting people in their lives. That’s always been the case but it’s nice people finally write about it, and for young people! We’ve come a long way, people!
Profile Image for Dessy Hristova.
38 reviews2 followers
May 1, 2023
Very quick read. It's a light book with an enjoyable story. I loved Robin and Tatum's relationship and how everything progressed throughout the book, though there were some moments that I found very unrealistic. It was an overall good book. I enjoyed it quite a bit. The side characters were also very likeable. Would definitely read again someday.
Profile Image for Michelle.
494 reviews5 followers
November 7, 2023
OMG Melting My Heart

I normally avoid books with main characters still teenagers, but something about The Follow Through really tugged at my heart. Tatum and Robin were wonderful! Michele L. Rivera, thank you so much for writing this book!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews

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