Whoa, whoa, whoa. 
 Where did this book come from? 
 It's been a very long time since a book captured me from the very first sentence. Lately, a majority of the books I'd been reading have been massively disappointing me, so I was almost positive that this book was going to just be another one added to that growing list. But, I was wrong. So very, very wrong. Samantha McAllister suffers from Purely-Obsessional OCD; she goes to therapy every Wednesday after school, thoughts consume her, worries plague her, and her anxiety is off the charts. But it's a secret that she's kept from her close group of friends in high school. They're called the Crazy Eights, a popular group of juniors that have been friends since they were in kindergarten. Sam has kept her OCD from them because she doesn't want them to think she's weird, kick her out of their group, and shun her in front of the whole school. But when she meets Caroline Madsen, she's surprised to find herself opening up about her problems and telling Caroline things that she'd never told her 'best friends'. Caroline gets her. She understands and on some level, she can relate. 
 She introduces Sam to a secret poetry club that's located beneath the theater of their high school - where they meet every Monday and Thursday to share their poetry with each other. It's a tiny group of people but Sam is instantly drawn to them; and especially to AJ Olsen, who at the beginning, gives her the cold shoulder and lets her know under no circumstances is she allowed to come back after that one day that he lets her sit in and watch. But Sam can't stay away, and before long, she's convinced AJ to let her come back in and eventually, she becomes a member of the poetry club. She's sworn to secrecy; something that isn't hard for her to do since she already has a myriad of secrets floating around in her head. The poetry club is something like a release for her. Sam finds that she breathes easier around them, that she feels safer, and her burgeoning relationship with AJ is just the cherry on top. 
 It was amazing to watch Sam's transformation throughout the book. She finds herself standing up to her group of so-called friends, finds more confidence in her poetry and in being able to express herself and finally finds something special inside AJ - who seems to find something just as special in her. Watching her struggle through her OCD, through her friends' superficiality and judgmental views, watching her become defeated by the aforementioned OCD and yet still keep going and going - despite how many times she cries and how much it crushes her, it was inspiring. She was such a strong person; I was brought to tears many times through the book - and I hate that because my nose burned quite a lot from unshed tears. That hurts, you know. 
 I absolutely cannot convey how much I freaking loved this book. Sam's relationship with AJ was beautiful to watch as it grew throughout the pages. From an apology that was a long-time coming to finally being openly happy (even in front of the Crazy Eights), it was so gratifying to watch these two work through their problems and come together almost effortlessly. Everything that they did together meant something. Their connection to each other was far beyond something physical - they connected emotionally and mentally and I fell in love with the both of them so hard. 
 Dammit. I need to read this again. It was so heartbreaking, beautifully written, and just so damn beautiful. Ugh. 
 This book deserves everything. All the stars, all the thumbs up. Every single thing.