Book Information
Author: Cynthia SoGenre: YA, Romance
Published: Stripes, 2022
About the Book
Elsie has a crush on Ada, the only person in the world who truly understands her. Unfortunately, they’ve never met in real life and Ada lives an ocean away. But Elsie has decided it’s now or never to tell Ada how she feels. That is, until her long-lost best friend Joan walks back into her life.In a summer of repairing broken connections and building surprising new ones, Elsie realises that she isn’t nearly as alone as she thought. But now she has a choice to make…My Review
If You Still Recognise Me tells the story of Elsie as she experiences The Summer, the big one between finishing high school and starting university. After finishing exams, she’s free and decides to spend the summer having a good time with friends, especially messaging Ada, whom she has a crush on. But when Joan, her best friend who’d moved away and lost contact with her, returns, suddenly Elsie's summer and feelings become more complicated.
After a death in her family, her Po Po comes to live with her for the summer before returning to Hong Kong. Now she must work on not only repairing her relationship with Joan but also with her grandmother while trying to establish one that means more with Ada.
I like the characters in the story, but don’t have a particular favourite. The story is nicely paced and easy to follow. That being said, I did read the book in one day, so I did enjoy it, but nothing particularly stood out to me. However, I did like seeing the relationships between characters grow and develop.
This book has several same-sex relationships, which are positive and ones I like, making it a good book for people looking for an LGBTQIA+ read. The relationships take centre stage in the story, and ultimately everything works out. I enjoyed exploring the relationship between the main girls in the story, and I liked the relationship between the uncle and a man called David.
Overall, I liked this book and might re-read it if I want to, but it’s not a favourite. This book belongs on the second shelf, and I’m giving it 4 stars.
