Because you're student council president, everyone expects you to be perfect, and that's hard. Trying to live up to everyone's expectations and being yourself , too - maybe that's a mountain you have to go on climbing. Nana would say that it'll be worth it when you get to the top. And I'd say go on climbing, but don't expect to reach the top tomorrow. Don't expect yourself to be perfect for other people. Another classic I didn't like. The pace was slow and the characters behaved really immaturely. The plot could have been interesting but something was off. I understand why it's an important piece of literature but it wasn't my cup of tea. There are better LGBT+ books out there.

I've seen a lot of people saying this book is outdated, but despite its age it doesn't really feel like that for me. I wasn't even alive, let alone a teenager during the early '80s, but somehow I relate to the characters a lot more than the ones in current YA novels. It's almost a bit fascinating to see how fast technology advanced and what it means for staying in touch with other people – and doing so in private, especially as a teenager. Having to use the house telephone (and usually having to talk to a parent who picked up first) or writing letters was my childhood, and now it's almost unthinkable not to just text someone, and being able to keep that a secret, if you want to. The homophobia… still seems a bit too relevant, to be honest, and I’m pretty sure there are a lot of places where this story could easily happen today (even though it also shows how far we’ve come in about 30 years in some ways, and mainly in the information available on the entire topic of sexuality, and in how easy it is, by comparison, to find other people like yourself). I read later on that the author wanted a lesbian love story that didn’t end in tragedy, like apparently everything else of the few things she was actually able to find back then did, and if this isn’t the most relevant thing today, I don’t know what is. Seriously, I was fully expecting Liza and Annie not getting back together at the end until the very last page, because that’s just how the story usually goes, and I’m still so happy it took a different turn. Anyways, I love how Liza and Annie’s relationship develops. You can feel that they immediately click and have this special connection, but it actually takes some time until they begin to understand each other on a deeper level and realize what they feel for each other, and it’s kind of refreshing to read something that’s not exactly love at first sight. I also really like how they families slowly come into this. It somehow keeps it more real and reminds you that they don’t exist in a vacuum and that, despite them being two teenagers in love, the ‘real world’ around them still exists. Speaking of other characters, I kind of fell in love with Liza’s teacher Ms Stevenson right away. And obviously was hoping all the hints would lead to something at the latest after Ms Widmer picks up the phone at her place. It’s always nice not to be disappointed, but oh god, I feel for these women so much. Imagine going on a well-deserved holiday with your long-time partner and realizing, the moment you come home, two baby lesbians have just fucked up your entire careers by getting caught having sex in your house, and you can’t even be truly madat them, because you know, given the chance, you’d done the same, and none of you should have had to hide in the first place.