Meet Me in the Middle

by Alex Light

A romance interrupted by tragedy sets two people on different paths in Wattpad superstar Alex Light’s latest YA romance.

Eden had her best friend Katie—she didn’t need anyone else. But then there was Truman.

Katie’s older brother, the artist. The recluse. The boy with the innocent smile and the dangerous eyes.

Eden had never really known Truman—not until the night of Katie’s accident. That was the night they’d finally let each other into their orbits—only to have the sky come crashing down on them.

With Katie in the hospital and Truman fleeing from his grief without a word, Eden is left alone to grapple with her own pain. But when Truman returns to the city, can Eden let him back into her life knowing that their first kiss is what tore their world apart?

Wattpad superstar Alex Light is back with another poignant romance perfect for fans of Jennifer Dugan and Laura Taylor Namey.

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Young Adult Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Young Adult Romance

384 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2022

About the author

Alex Light grew up reading too many books and listening to too many Taylor Swift songs. Now, she writes books that make people laugh (and sometimes cry).

Alex began writing as a teen. She shared dozens of love stories online, which have now been read over 150 million times. Shockingly, she graduated with a BA in English Literature, giving her the perfect excuse to read even more books when she wasn’t busy writing her own.

Living in Toronto, Canada with her 3 furry friends, Alex is an avid donut-eater, sometimes baker, and lover of the frozen winter months.

Reviews

[Samantha ♡ ( Percy’s Version ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5⭐️
This was possibly the saddest “romance” book I’ve ever read. I was sobbing for like half of this book. I was excited to see that this book had Anxiety and Depression rep. I related a lot to Eden because my depression affected me the same way hers did. She wasn’t “sad” like how most people think of depression to be like but she was angry and exhausted.
You can really connect with the characters in this book because they are going through something very real. They are experiencing grief, pain, and all that comes with losing a sister and best friend.

[Ashley (wickedreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

…Ouch /respectfully

You should read it if you want to sob. Incredible but also I’m in pain

[bea · Rating 5 out of 5]

wtf i sobbed? THE ENDING? I’M IN PAIN

[Spiri Skye · Rating 3 out of 5]

318 pages of miscommunication & this book title just makes me think of that one song

[Sami!☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't be the only one who's in love with Manny.

[Anindita ლ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was kind of expecting something similar here as I previously read The Upside of Falling and even though it wasn't anything fresh or surface, I still enjoyed it. However, this one fell short for me. The actual book had a lot of potential, which was regrettably unrealized.

The story is told from both Eden and Truman's points of view, with flashbacks to the moments before their first encounter and the terrible catastrophe. Given that these two people cope with intense emotions, the book's representation of mental health is astounding.

Grief is portrayed in a very precise way. But if I'm going to be honest, the struggle with embracing who you are as it related to the primary characters was exaggerated. Our main characters struck me as being strikingly similar to one another. As they both share the same taste and even a mutual buddy, it would be difficult to tell their tones and accents apart.

There were some pleasant moments, but after midway, with the same actions and feelings, I wanted something new. It's just not that detailed, and the characterization fell short of making them clear as to who they are supposed to be. The character development is essentially nonexistent even the side of the cast simply vanished from the plot after a while.

Let's not even talk about the writing itself. It seemed childish. There are much too many unnecessary lengthy descriptions. Even the sentence or character that purposefully highlights the plot and characters is too much to endure. It appeared as though it were turning in circles aimlessly.

The plot is difficult to follow and takes some time to comprehend. The book's arrangement is confusing. I believe the pacing was odd and that there wasn't enough time given to some story lines for which I probably should have noticed.

Overall, it wasn't the worst book ever, but it was disappointing. I would have rated it with one star. But I can still understand the message at the ending, so I'll give it two stars because I see its potential.

[Rawanaat · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read The Upside of Falling ages ago and altho it wasn't anything new or groundbreaking I still enjoyed it, the fake-dating, the slow burn, the family drama and, you know, all the good cliches. So I was kind of expecting something similar here, a fun YA to read and enjoy.... boy was I wrong.

I've seen the reviews on this one, and the synopsis hinted at it having a sad story which I was fine with. Some of my favorite books had heavy topics and revolved around depression and guilt..But this just took it to a whole different level.

I think the main problem is that there really wasn't a story to begin with. Like, Truman and Eden are both struggling with Katie being a coma, they're both blaming themselves, projecting emotions and sharing this delusion that their romance is the reason for Katie's accident. The book itself had a lot of potential which was sadly wasted. Both Truman and Eden are the quiet sort of people, they had no qualms about basking in Katie's light, but to add to that, they put her on such a pedestal that they lost themselves entirely.

This tragic story about a young girl in a coma and her brother and best friend struggling to deal with it was just THAT - two depressed people telling the world how depressed they are. There was no character development, it wasn't like either of them was even trying to break this vicious cycle of blame and guilt. In the beginning I liked how it showed how grief can alter a person's perspective, how it can dampen their life, how sometimes it just took hold of every waking moment. But towards the end the book still followed the same rhythm. It was still the sad internal monologue, the miss-communication was so overwhelming I was fed up and completely skimmed the last 10%. (Should've skimmed more than that but I held out hope...... which this book clearly lacked.)

Don't even get me started on the writing itself. Again, at the start it was fine. But soon it was too much. Every thought was contradictory, most paragraphs ended in self-loathing, "because I'm a fool" "I'm an idiot" "I'm too pathetic" it got to a point where both Truman and Eden sounded the same, you can't even see the difference in their chapters.

There was no hope to the story, no silver-lining, no we're-stronger-than-this and we-can-make-it. Truthfully the entire thing was bleak, not even that last page can change it.

I would rather see a plot where Truman and Eden rediscovered themselves without Katie, where they didn't let her "bubbly" character dictate their lives and how they act around each other. I wanted them to stand strong and take a chance on each other, build themselves instead of breaking down and using her and the guilt as an excuse. I wanted the book to move towards a better ending for both of them - instead we get this let's-goodbye-fuck-each-other because we're horrible people who don't deserve happiness????

But yeah... that's about my two cents on the matter.

[Bryony Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up!

This book is so beautifully written, I really struggled to put it down. It made me laugh, made me cry and really pulled on my heartstrings. The characters grief and emotions in the aftermath of Katie's accident was portrayed really well and I loved exploring the relationships of all the characters.

Although I do wish the side characters were a bit more fleshed out and that we had an epilogue of maybe a few months or years in the future, I will still be recommending this to everyone and picking up more of the author's books!

[A · Rating 1 out of 5]

just, whyy?
note to self: stop reading random books with no reviews
idk if it's anyone's fav or wtvr but it was so sad but filled with so much hope that i thought she's going to give us the happiest ending
ps: i hate sad endings, cause why read a book to block out real life and live in fantasies only to find out that the real life is a better option??

[Chloe Reads Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really quite good! The final 50 pages or so did leave me sobbing.
For 5 stars I needed less of the
- "We shouldn't do this."
- "But I want to do this." and then back to
- "But we shouldn't do this."
But that's my only niggly complaint!

[luisa ☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me hooked

[Aly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved The Upside of Falling and was excited to see the author had a new book out. This one didn't quite hit the mark for me, the main characters back and forth 'we shouldn't be together for no real reason' relationship wasn't my favorite and I found Eden to be frustrating. She's going through trauma and grief and is having a tough time. She also sometimes doesn't treat others very well and her reasoning for staying away from Truman didn't make much sense to me.

I thought the pacing of this was slow and the middle felt too long. It was clear how the story would end and while I was sad, it just didn't hit me as hard because I wanted it to be finished.

[Lillian Golden]

I am so excited for this book to come out, as I am a huge HUGE fan of Alex Light's book, The Upside of Falling. Have been waiting for her next book to come out for two years! Highly recommend her first book, The Upside of Falling, as it has imagery that makes me reread certain pages over and over because of how descriptive and romantic it is :)

[Sophie-Elisabeth Klink · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just want to cry, was hoping for a epilogue.

[cyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[char · Rating 5 out of 5]

only the best books have you uncontrollably sobbing at 2am

[Alex ❣️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sobing😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[hannah! · Rating 4 out of 5]

currently crying the car after finishing this book <3

[Phoebe Mosher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember finishing this book in my hotel in Paris, and sobbing my eyes out. I was there with my family, and me and my sister were sharing a hotel room. She was in the shower, and I was on the bed, and she had to stop and get out of the shower because I was crying so loud! Meet Me in the Middle is one of the best books I’ve ever read, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since! The funny thing is that my mom suggested it to me, and I was pretty skeptical, but I’m so glad I decided to try it out.

[Kenley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I’ve read in awhile. Really beautiful story. Had me crying multiple times. So much anguish I love it.

[Andreea Totu · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Noi doi suntem ca iarna si vara, facuti sa existe in aceeasi lume, dar nu impreuna. Niciodata in acelasi timp."

[Liviu Szoke · Rating 3 out of 5]

După ce „Iubire de probă” (a doua mea redactare, apropo) a fost o adevărată surpriză și nu s-a transformat în ceea ce mă așteptasem inițial (ce ți-e și cu ideile preconcepute!), iată că al doilea roman al autoarei canadiene face și el notă discordantă și se îndepărtează de stereotipuri: în locul unui tip plin de mușchi, brunet și cu o umbră de barbă, miliardar și așa mai departe, el e sfrijit ca o grisină, cu brațele ca niște bețe și, pe deasupra, mai e și-un pictor extrem de talentat. Măcar ochii lui atrag într-adevăr toate privirile și e și destul de bogat, însă numai datorită părinților săi.

Ea e o ospătăriță extrem de împrăștiată la un restaurant ce mai are doar doi angajați și s-a despărțit de el după ce sora lui a suferit un accident de mașină și a ajuns în comă. Unde zace de cinci luni și nu prea există șanse să se mai trezească. Fata, ospătărița, Eden, era cea mai bună prietenă a lui Katie, fata aflată acum în comă, însă pe când Katie ieșea pe geamul dormitorului și se furișa spre o întâlnire cu o mașină scăpată de sub control, ea, Eden, se săruta cu fratele lui Katie, Truman, pictorul, în dormitorul lui. Iar după tragedie fiecare a încercat să facă față durerii în felul său. El a plecat departe și n-a mai dat niciun semn de viață preț de câteva luni, ea a început să-și facă mustrări de conștiință și să încerce să se împace cu ideea că a fost parțial responsabilă de tragedia celei mai bune prietene.

Întrebarea care se pune este însă: după ce Truman se întoarce de pe coclauri, vor mai găsi puterea să se apropie din nou unul de altul? Răspunsul este extrem de surprinzător, vă asigur. La fel ca și finalul. În curând, la CorinTeens.

[vi paola · Rating 5 out of 5]

6/5

no words can describe how amazing this book was...

[oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

favorite book of all time

[Stella Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

thank you to harper teen for providing me with this ARC!

first of all, let me start with what I liked/what went right:
- I loved the explanation on ongoing grief. my mom has alzheimer’s, and I have spent years grieving the mother I lost. I greatly related to eden and truman’s experience in their ongoing grief re: katie. it was really well done.
- the portrayal of depression is accurate.
- it is incredibly readable. I will give props where props are due: even though I wasn’t sold on the book in the first half, I kept reading. I probably would’ve given up earlier, had the book not been v compelling
- the best friend’s brother trope is my catnip. I will always read books with that trope.

now…what went wrong:
- the character growth is almost nonexistent. save the last two pages, the characters are where they started at the beginning of the book. that is not what I want in a book! especially with the hopeful ending, I’d expect more character growth
- the writing isn’t for me. it felt juvenile and like it needed at least two more rounds of edits. the book isn’t unreadable per se, but this book felt unfinished.
- the structure of the book doesn’t make sense in a narrative sense. the first half of the book could’ve been condensed into a prologue and two chapters. also, eden and truman should’ve met earlier in the book during non-flashback scenes. finally, the ending felt like an asterisk. the resolution deserved more than a few paragraphs on the last two pages.
- THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE. despite this book being shelved as a romance and the plot centering on eden and truman’s romance, there is no HEA/HFN. sure, the characters are in no place to continue their romance (if eden even wants to be in a relationship with truman?????), but if the book is going to be categorized as a romance, then I expect an HEA/HFN! this ending would’ve worked if the book focused on eden and truman healing from their trauma, imo. and don’t get me wrong: it’s not a bad ending! I think there is a time and place for a bittersweet, yet hopeful ending. I just wish I was prepared for that with the structure of the book.

overall, if I didn’t completely inhale this book in one sitting, I would’ve given it one star. however, bc of the reasons listed above, I’ll give it two stars. wish it was better!

[Elizabeth McCoy · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the worst things I have ever read.

There are no words to describe how terrible this thing was.

First of it is really hard to get through, especially in the beginning. It is a two person pov story. We start out just by learning Eden’s and Truman’s day to day life’s and how they feel about Katie’s(Truman’s little sister and Edens best friend) accident.

All out the book is just really really depressing. The main characters are always sad and depressed.

Then the main characters don’t reunite with one and other until your more then half way through the book. So basically until that point your just sitting there wondering “when the heck are they going to actually interact with each other?”

Once they do cross paths things get even more complicated. They face all kinds of issues with each other and themselves. It takes a while for them to eventually be like, “ok I can’t take it anymore just kiss me.”

After that we get into some more issues with Katie who has been in the hospital, in a coma for 6 months. Once that happens then there are more issues with Eden and Truman.

The worst part about this entire book is that they don’t even end up together. They decide that some day after there grief and issues have passed then maybe they can be happy and have a good a life. Like what the heck! In what kind of romance book do the main characters not end up together.

Not to mention the title is really unfitting for this book. Like it works at one point but after that the title doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense. I pretty much just liked the title cause it made me think of that one song.

Now the reason why I rated it 2 stars ⭐️ is cause there were a few really cute moments, like when Eden and Truman were having a paint fight🥹😆 I also really really liked this one character named Manny. He was great. He was stupid hot, and sweet, and caring, and loving, and romantic, and HE KNEW HOW TO COOK!!!😍😍😍

But pretty much apart from that this book sucks, so don’t read it. Trust me you do not want to put yourself through this kind of torture.

[ashley ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars - ★★★★★

wow. all i can say is wow. like this is one of the first sad ending romances ive read, and this was actually so sad, wth!! i read through this pretty quickly!! WHY WAS IT SO SAD AND EMOTIONALL:((((

this book is an epic "she fell first, he fell harder"... i really wish they ended up together though, like yeah i get that they feel a whole load of guilt with katie and all but i wished they could have fought through it together, instead of splitting up in the end. when i found out they were going to take katie off life support i was actually so sad (felt like crying), and yeah im a new reader and this is one of the first sad books ive read, now i'm definitely going to to read another sad book because of this. :))) i really wished they had a happy ending together, because they were so cute together and i had so much hope. i loved the way truman loves eden, but eden is slightly annoying but i didn't mind. i know they couldnt be together, but WHY COULDNT THEYYYYY. AHHH WHY DID KATIE HAVE TO SNEAK OUT (not saying its katies fault no one is at fault except that drunk driver) and yes this is a romance with the cute scenes (AHHHH WHEN THEY PAINTED THE WALLS FOR KATIE BEDROOM AS THE SKY WAS SO CUTE AND WHEN THEY KISSED AHHHH) but its also a story of grief/pain of losing a loved one of yours who was the sunshine to your life (bsf, sibling) so it was really emotional and so sentimental AHHH. EDENXTRUMAN>>>>>>>>>>>!! truman is actually cute lol (in love artist painter so cute) also i liked mona x manny hope they get together and mannys restaurant gets popular!! sobbing, i really hate love that doesnt work out but loved the book :)))))))

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Am reusit sa o termin si ma gândesc cum sa scriu, astfel încât sa nu deranjez pe cei care au dat 5 stele și au spus ca e cartea lor de suflet, pentru ca eu n-am simțit nimic din cele relatate de ei.

Nu vreau sa fiu o insensibila, însă scriitura este foarteeeee plictisitoare.
Replicile sunt atât de lipsite de substanță, încât citind ma întrebam "ce naiba?".
Povestea s-a vrut a fi una sensibila, ce tratează subiecte emoționante : trauma vinovăției, tema prieteniei, ideea de a merge mai departe..., însă pe mine nu m-a convins.

Ce a salvat puțin a fost finalul, care pentru cineva care a trecut prin pierderea unei persoane dragi, este destul de încărcat și însemnat, dar altfel, nu știu, n-a fost cine știe ce!
M-a obosit teribil atâta vina și atâtea lucruri negative ce s-au rezolvat printr-o simpla discuție de o pagina și jumătate. Serios?!

În fine! Nu recomand cartea neapărat, dar poate sunt doar eu de vina, nu am reusit sa ma conectez cu personajele sau sa le înțeleg, nu stiu!

Ii dau 2,5 stele 🫣 nu cred ca as putea sa ii dau mai mult.

[Aubrey Irvine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I AM SOBBING