I went into this thinking I'd be reading a standard love triangle romcom. SO WRONG! While there is a romance aspect to this book it's so much more focused on exploring how people change, both through tragedy and choice. While I've never had a significant other die, I did lose a friend as a young adult, and several of the experiences that Paige describes, felt very true to me. 
 I also appreciated how Max was portrayed as nerdy without it being a full blown stereotype. He loves Firefly and QuizBowl, but he is also fully capable of socializing with other people. None of the characters really fit any specific stereotype. It's rare to see so many nuanced characters in one book.