I think someone said it perfectly, this is not the best book ever written, it is an everyday YA contemporary, but the message and meaning behind it and woven throughout are so unbelievably important. This story, though perhaps a bit glamoured (as the author's note even admits), is about the life and love of a young girl, and how the world will challenge her at every turn. It's about friendship, especially fierce female friendship, it is about coming to terms with who you are, it's about finding love and finding strength with and without it, it is about the complexity of family life and religious life, and it is about finding your safety and freedom. For the most part, this can be said about many contemporary YA books. But I think this book does it better and broader. Amanda is a wonderful narrator with a beautiful story that everyone needs to hear. Her character development though slow and stumbling and, at times, a bit frustrating, was legitimate and realistic. The people in this book feel real and that's not something I can say about every contemporary novel. 
 Please read this book.