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Between Versions of Me: The Wounds
Between Versions of Book One — The Wounds
is a coming-of-age dramedy inspired by true events.
It’s YA, but millennials—this one’s for you, too.
It’s late 2002, and sixteen-year-old Sam is navigating junior year at an all-girls Catholic high school in the Midwest—with good friends, questionable judgment, a growing list of secrets, and emotions she doesn’t yet have words for.
As friendships deepen and new attractions blur familiar boundaries, Sam begins testing the edges of who she is and who she wants to become. Funny, messy, impulsive, and painfully sincere, The Wounds captures adolescence from the inside—when friendship is a lifeline, intensity feels like truth, and consequences arrive long before wisdom does.
But one decision quietly becomes another, and the things that make Sam feel most alive don’t always leave her unscathed.
Rooted in the music, technology, humor, and wonderfully questionable choices of the early 2000s, The Wounds also explores depression, self-harm, identity, friendship, underage drinking, and the messy realities of growing up.
This is only the beginning
It’s YA, but millennials—this one’s for you, too.
It’s late 2002, and sixteen-year-old Sam is navigating junior year at an all-girls Catholic high school in the Midwest—with good friends, questionable judgment, a growing list of secrets, and emotions she doesn’t yet have words for.
As friendships deepen and new attractions blur familiar boundaries, Sam begins testing the edges of who she is and who she wants to become. Funny, messy, impulsive, and painfully sincere, The Wounds captures adolescence from the inside—when friendship is a lifeline, intensity feels like truth, and consequences arrive long before wisdom does.
But one decision quietly becomes another, and the things that make Sam feel most alive don’t always leave her unscathed.
Rooted in the music, technology, humor, and wonderfully questionable choices of the early 2000s, The Wounds also explores depression, self-harm, identity, friendship, underage drinking, and the messy realities of growing up.
This is only the beginning
412 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 6, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 11, 2026
This young adult, coming of age novel is about Sam, a junior in high school and her struggles as a young girl learning to navigate hormones, emotions, depression, peer pressure and typical teenage drama.
Let me start off first by saying I don’t typically read YA, so this novel is a jump out of my usual adult comfort zone. The nostalgia of the early 2000s in high school drew me in, because I can absolutely relate and was curious. That being said, I felt this young adult novel is slow… very slow. It took me a lot longer to get through it than I thought it would.
I don’t know if that is typical for YA novels, but I feel like if I had a hard time staying in the story, our young adults today definitely will struggle as well. It lacks the big juicy dramatic scenes that typically keep one reading for long periods of time. I do also think it could be edited down quite a bit. At 412 pages on kindle its a lot, with not a lot happening. I think it almost would have been more interesting to make some of it or even all of it, diary entries from the perspective of Sam, because it seems like it’s just her normal day to day activities.
I will say at about 67% it started getting really good and I flew through that chapter. I think the problem for me, was I felt like the conflicts were unrealistic. Every conflict, fight, or sticky situation that arose, it was handled and apologies were given out instantly. Now as a mother, of course that’s how I would hope my children would always treat conflict, and I did not grow up in a catholic school. In my high school girls were PETTY and would hold grudges for years! There was no immediate apology and we were friends again by next period happening in my high school! 🤣
I do love that this novel comes complete with a character list in the beginning! (I think so many books should offer this feature!) There are a LOT of characters, so it is nice to have the list for reference until you get them all down.
I did love all the characters though, and I would hope that my daughter would someday surround herself with friends so gracious & caring & who would look after her the way Sam’s friends did her. 🥰
While there is no ‘One Big Incident’ that happens, this story does touch on some hard topics, especially for curious teens who are exploring outlets to all of their emotions and hormonal changes. And while this novel does a fantastic job reliving the early 2000s, I think today teenagers are going to think we were all crazy as hell back then! 😂
** Please look up trigger warnings before proceeding if you are sensitive to that sort of thing!**
Thank you so much to Amanda R. Sahaida for allowing me to be apart of your ARC team and read of copy of this long awaited book early! Unfortunately, it didn’t hit hard for me, but I know it will be the perfect book for other readers out there!
Let me start off first by saying I don’t typically read YA, so this novel is a jump out of my usual adult comfort zone. The nostalgia of the early 2000s in high school drew me in, because I can absolutely relate and was curious. That being said, I felt this young adult novel is slow… very slow. It took me a lot longer to get through it than I thought it would.
I don’t know if that is typical for YA novels, but I feel like if I had a hard time staying in the story, our young adults today definitely will struggle as well. It lacks the big juicy dramatic scenes that typically keep one reading for long periods of time. I do also think it could be edited down quite a bit. At 412 pages on kindle its a lot, with not a lot happening. I think it almost would have been more interesting to make some of it or even all of it, diary entries from the perspective of Sam, because it seems like it’s just her normal day to day activities.
I will say at about 67% it started getting really good and I flew through that chapter. I think the problem for me, was I felt like the conflicts were unrealistic. Every conflict, fight, or sticky situation that arose, it was handled and apologies were given out instantly. Now as a mother, of course that’s how I would hope my children would always treat conflict, and I did not grow up in a catholic school. In my high school girls were PETTY and would hold grudges for years! There was no immediate apology and we were friends again by next period happening in my high school! 🤣
I do love that this novel comes complete with a character list in the beginning! (I think so many books should offer this feature!) There are a LOT of characters, so it is nice to have the list for reference until you get them all down.
I did love all the characters though, and I would hope that my daughter would someday surround herself with friends so gracious & caring & who would look after her the way Sam’s friends did her. 🥰
While there is no ‘One Big Incident’ that happens, this story does touch on some hard topics, especially for curious teens who are exploring outlets to all of their emotions and hormonal changes. And while this novel does a fantastic job reliving the early 2000s, I think today teenagers are going to think we were all crazy as hell back then! 😂
** Please look up trigger warnings before proceeding if you are sensitive to that sort of thing!**
Thank you so much to Amanda R. Sahaida for allowing me to be apart of your ARC team and read of copy of this long awaited book early! Unfortunately, it didn’t hit hard for me, but I know it will be the perfect book for other readers out there!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Between Versions of Me: The Wounds is about Sam, a high schooler in the early 2000s, navigating high school with a messy list of problems. Set in an all girls Catholic school, this coming of age story was an immediate read for me. It had all the millennial nostalgia I could dream of. It’s cringy, sure, but weren’t we all cringy in 2004? I know that I was. Between Versions of Me nailed the OG cell phone days, the burnt CDs, and the weird churchy vibes I endured at a catholic grade school. Sam vibed with the church stuff about as much as I did. The story also addresses some heavier subjects, cutting, drinking, partying, and sexual exploration. I loved the bisexual/bicurious exploration, as this is something I personally suppressed in high school. Had I only known who I really was back then. I’m proud of Sam for actually living her life. She’s a troubled gal. I was lucky enough to avoid most of the heavy issues she dealt with in high school, heavy drinking, self harm, and putting herself in unsafe situations. I look forward to reading the next stages of Sam’s story. There is a growth journey to be had, and I want to bear witness to it.
Huge disclaimer: The author uses some AI guidance for graphic design, which she is very open about. She does not hide any of that, and I commend her for that. I personally am not a fan of AI, but that is her choice and I appreciate her transparency with it all. She’s been incredibly kind and receptive with my feedback.
Huge disclaimer: The author uses some AI guidance for graphic design, which she is very open about. She does not hide any of that, and I commend her for that. I personally am not a fan of AI, but that is her choice and I appreciate her transparency with it all. She’s been incredibly kind and receptive with my feedback.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews