The Art of Us - Review

The Art of Us

By: Julie Wright

Publication: November 5, 2024 by Shadow Mountain

272 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon )

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Goodreads description--Falling in love is complicated when you’re both keeping secrets.

On the surface, everything seems perfect for high school senior Ireland Raine. She’s intelligent and artistically talented, and her natural beauty and quiet charm are enviable. However, Ireland harbors a secret she’ll guard at any cost—she’s homeless.

When her crush, Kal Ellis, invites her on a date, she seizes the opportunity. Ireland has never had a boyfriend before, and Kal is not just a guitarist for the local band, he’s also an artist. Their connection is instantaneous, and he suggests they collaborate on the school mural. Working and laughing alongside Kal, Ireland can momentarily forget her problems.

However, when someone exposes her secret, Ireland ends up in a foster home alongside her most despised adversary, Mara Washington. To make matters worse, Ireland discovers it was Kal who revealed her secret.

Furious, Ireland must decide if she has the strength to forgive the boy who stole her heart or if she is better off alone.

I have been seeing the cover for The Art of Us for months. And every time I passed it I wondered if I should pick it up. Well, I was going through NetGalley and Edelweiss requesting books one day, and I decided to finally check it out.

Ireland has had a rough childhood. Her mother left when she was little, and her father raised her. Except, he hasn't done much besides provide a roof over her head and feed her intermittently. They've moved around often because he was always scamming people and running. Well, he finally scammed someone and fled but didn't take Ireland with him. Because they've moved so frequently, Ireland never worked to make friends. Thus she has no support system. She has nowhere to go. So she ends up living in a public, but not often used, bathroom. She doesn't want to leave the school she's in because she's been making decent grades for the first time. She finally decides to start trying to talk to people and make friends. And that also includes talking to Kal who sits next to her in first period. 

Kal sings in a band that plays at a local pizza restaurant. Ireland has noticed that she can slip in and grab some leftover pizza unnoticed, or so she thought. Turns out that Kal has noticed her snagging pizza. He realizes there must be a reason behind her hunger. Kal follows her one night and sees her grab a bag she stashed in a tree. He watches her go into the bathroom and lock the door. He doesn't know what to do. Ireland has only just started talking to him and he can tell she's skittish. But he also knows he can't let her stay there. He decides to speak to his art teacher who has been a good adult mentor for him. 

Ireland is confronted by the school and told a family is willing to let her live with them until she turns 18 so that she doesn't have to get put into the system. She isn't happy about the situation at first but does begin to see the benefits and gets attached to the family. Only there's stuff going on with Mara who Ireland doesn't get along with initially. And Kal ends up spilling the beans again. Only word gets out of his involvement in both situations and many people get hurt. 

I liked Ireland and Kal's story. They were both good for each other. And both are just kids trying their best. But I felt like the description built up their relationship like they have an epic love story when it just isn't to that level--yet. Mara might have been the character I ended up feeling for the most. 

Favorite quotes:

-For the first time in weeks, Ireland let herself feel her feelings. It was okay to miss him. It was okay to hope he was okay. It was okay to be mad at him. It was okay to feel betrayed. It was all okay. And maybe it was all going to be okay.

-And for the first time ever, she felt grateful to have had her own experiences because she suspected that savagery lurked in her as well.

-"Keep howling until your voice can find a different melody."

The Art of Us was good. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting. That's the tricky thing about expectations. I did like Mara, Ireland, Kal, and the Washington family. The Art of Us gets 4 Stars. Have you read The Art of Us? What did you think? Let me know!