Swimming Through Clouds~Rajdeep Paulus | Review

Title: Swimming Through Clouds (Swimming Through Clouds #1)
Author: Rajdeep Paulus
Genre: YA Contemporary
Length: 250 Pages
Release: May 2013
My Rating: 5/5 Stars

I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis

I live in the in between. Between what if and what is. It’s how I manage. It’s the only way I know. Everyone has their way. This is mine.
Senior year kicks off when a Post-it note sparks a sticky romance between two unlikely friends. Transfer student Talia Vanderbilt has one goal at her new school: to blend in with the walls. Hoops and homework occupy Lagan Desai until something moves to the top of his list: befriend the new girl. 

One Post-it note at a time, Lagan moves past Talia's caution-taped heart, revealing a world where hope seems to lie around the corner...she never turns.

Review

This novel is simply beautiful. I absolutely adored it. Talia and Jesse, her younger brother, suffer extreme abuse at the hands of their father. They aren't allowed to talk to people, have friends, use the internet, get jobs. But then Talia meets Lagan. And the story starts to change.

This novel was equal amounts heart wrenching and heartwarming. It's very emotionally draining to read about the abuse that Talia and Jesse face, but there is always some ray of hope breaking through. The sweet parts come in during Talia and Jesse's interactions as well as the growing relationship between Talia and Lagan. 

Lagan is one of the sweetest characters I've ever read, but he seems so real. The sweetness was never overdone for me. And seeing Talia begin to respond to his pleas for friendship was so cute. I loved that the novel was building this relationship from beginning to end, nothing was rushed.  And the use of post-it notes added a cute, but not cheesy feel to their new relationship.

Talia and Jesse's relationship as sister and brother was adorable. It was fraught with extreme anxiety, fear, and suffering, but they still loved each other. Strong sibling relationships are always something that I enjoy and it was perfect here.  You get to see flash backs to when they were younger and some of the hardships they faced throughout their younger years.

This novel was brilliant and I adore it. I highly recommend it to any and all fans of emotional contemporary love stories with beautiful relationships and complicated situations. It will tear you apart, but hopefully it will also put you together again.