I was so grateful to be able to talk to the author and get some answers to the questions I had after reading so I figured I would share them.
While not a memoir, some of the situations in the book happened in real life. For example, she went to a Christian University, and the dorms were not co-ed as depicted. This tripped me up, I went to Ohio State which was a total party school, co-ed on my floor, we mingled as we wished. I mean I totally went for the academic experience. Cough cough.
Also "Kari" was a real person, the windshield scene really happened. The author also participated in the adopt-a-grandparent program for a school assignment. She said it was life changing, and even sent copies of the book to the nursing home when it was published. Robert Smith from the Cure was a real crush of hers. This I had a hard time wrapping my brain around, but we do fall for the broody guys, right? Jared Leto in My So-Called Life, anyone?
This story takes you through Sabella's sophomore year at college. She is dating Ryan whom she began dating at the age of fifteen. They have been having a bit of a slump, and it takes you through their journey. The main focus is her project for her Psychology class, she has to volunteer for 40 hours, and write on her experience. Through this she meets May. May is unlike her own grandmother who was bitter and mean spirited, and why she didn't want to do this project. However, May is quite different, she was a trailblazer. Educated with a Master's degree, an entrepreneur who owned her own business, and never married which was uncommon in her day. Sabella grows to enjoy her time with May and opens her heart to her life, perspective, and experiences.
I think this book ended as it should, though Sabella did have to go through some hard moments to get there. While the beginning was a little hard for me to get into because my college life was so different, I am glad I stuck it out because it was worth the read in the end.
Warning: There is some cheating in the book, however it wasn't the main character and it was handled well.
Thank you to the author for giving me a copy to read, and answering all my questions. All opinions are my own.