** spoiler alert ** 
 By the time I got to Noah aged 13.5 to 14 I was hesitant. I totally clicked with 13 year old Noah, I could relate to his experiences, to the desires he wanted to embrace but couldn't. The missed opportunities, the mistakes. After reading 16 year old Jude's chapter I didn't want to go back to 13.5 year old Noah only to see his life fall apart, to see him turn into that shell of a kid at age 16. 
 I also liked 16 year old Jude a lot. She was confused and withdrawn, filled with regret. Again, things I could relate to. 
 But 16 year old Noah... I didn't like this guy at all. He'd thrown away his art, become more sporty, was reasonably popular and evidently straight, at least to those around him. Maybe Jude was an unreliable narrator, she did talk to ghosts after all but I felt there was no denying Noah had changed and once I reached the end of Jude's chapter I was hesitant to go back to thirteen year old Noah to see where it all went wrong. I didn't know if I wanted to take that journey. 
 Then as soon as I started reading the next chapter, it was the Noah I loved again. I was concerned because I knew it was all going to fall apart, but seeing him connect with his Dad, see Brian again, it made me happy. 
 Particularly his relationship with his Dad. When he said he and his Dad were buddies, it warmed my heart... So it was sad when Noah's mother told him that he and his Dad were more alike than he knew, that of course his Dad liked him, he was just scared of him. I mean the fact that his Dad sought out Noah to be his only birthday companion should tell Noah everything he needed to know. But yeah, thirteen year old boys aren't exactly the most switched on to the world around them. I liked that in reality it was Noah who drifted away from his Dad, not the other way around. 
 I liked Noah's relationship with Brian. It totally clicked for me, the confusion, the hesitation and finally when Brian returns for his second visit, they finally connect. Of course it was sad when Brian wanted to stop, it broke my heart when Noah forced Brian out of the closet. Saying something he immediately regrets is something I can relate to all to well. 
 Even though I could relate to Noah, I think I liked Jude the most. She tried so hard to do the right thing after she screwed up Noah's application, she tried to resist Oscar's British charm, she tried to bring her broken family back together. 
 I really liked the technique of alternating between young Noah's chapters and older Jude's. I liked the reveal of the various elements, Noah knowing that his mother was having an affair and was about to leave their family on the night she died, Jude losing her virginity to the wrong boy on the same night. The broken hearted sculptor Guillermo being the other man in their mother's life. It kept me wanting to know what happens next. 
 My one complaint is that the book wraps up so neatly at the end. Noah is painting again and is with Brian, Jude has exorcised her demons and is with Oscar. Dad is back to his old self and dating someone. Guillermo is once again happily sculpting. It's very much a happily ever after ending. I don't mind a happy ending, but when the entire book has all the characters in some sort of turmoil, it seems a little unrealistic that it's all resolved almost in one fell swoop. 
 I suppose it makes sense that all of the characters' unhappiness revolved around a single incident and when the truth finally comes out, it allows all of the truth to come bubbling to the surface. At any rate, I was happy that Noah and Jude got the endings they deserved.