Review - The How & the Why by Cynthia Hand

Title: The How & the Why

Author: Cynthia Hand

Pages: 464

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: 5th November 2019

Blurb from Goodreads:

 

A poignant exploration of family and the ties that bind, perfect for fans of Far From the Tree, from New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand.

Today Melly had us writing letters to our babies…

Cassandra McMurtrey has the best parents a girl could ask for. They’ve given Cass a life she wouldn’t trade for the world. She has everything she needs—except maybe the one thing she wants. Like, to know who she is. Where she came from. Questions her adoptive parents can’t answer, no matter how much they love her.

But eighteen years ago, someone wrote Cass a series of letters. And they may just hold the answers Cass has been searching for.

Alternating between Cass’s search for answers and letters from the pregnant teen who gave her up for adoption, this voice-driven narrative is the perfect read for fans of Nina LaCour and Jandy Nelson.

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

My Review:

 

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to HarperTeen and Edelweiss*

Cassandra McMurtrey was adopted as a baby. She loves her parents, her best friend and performing on the stage.

Now that she's eighteen, Cass wants to find out who her biological parents are and whether or not she's like them at all.

When she was pregnant, Cass's biological mother wrote letters to her unborn child.

Will the letters help Cass find what she's looking for?

My favourite thing about this book was that we get to see things from both Cass and 'S', her biological mother's, points of view. It was interesting to read S's thought process for putting Cass up for adoption and her personality really shone through the letters.

It was interesting reading the book and knowing that the author herself was adopted.

Cass was a likeable and relatable protagonist. She went through a bit of a rough patch, but I thought she coped pretty well overall.

Cass's adopted parents were characters that I really liked and I thought it was lovely how well Cass's best friend got on with them.

The plot was good, but I did guess something and I wasn't gripped by what was happening.

This was an emotional read at times and quite heartfelt, but I felt like it didn't hit me as much as it could have.

The writing style was easy to follow.

I feel like I could have connected to the characters and story a lot more than I did.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read.