Although the signs for romance kept popping up, they weren’t ever being acted upon due to both characters. By this point, I’d started to feel frustrated with Say What You Will. It’s a sweet friendship that stumbles into a romance.Īctually, the romance doesn’t happen until about the midpoint of the novel, where Matthew takes Amy to the prom.

Amy in turn pushes Matthew to confront his fears, meet with a therapist, and perhaps even consider medication for his disorder. Matthew tries to help Amy deal with a helicopter mother, who has so involved herself in Amy’s life that she provides prospective friends with a list of all of Amy’s favorite things. As their friendship develops, they discover they meet needs the other has. She confides that her plan for making friends during her high school haven’t been going too well. He reveals that he struggles with obsessions. Matthew’s one moment of being honest with Amy leads to other shared revelations. I adored for example how they supported each other in the awkward task of making sales calls for the yearbook. While this initial setup seems forced, subsequent encounters between Matthew and Amy feel more natural.

She even develops a way for them to have regular contact. After he does, however, Amy realizes that she needs someone like Matthew around to tell her the truth. For that reason, Matthew certainly doesn’t intend to tell Amy what he thinks of the essay she shared in class, one in which she puts on a cheerful façade. Matthew remembers Amy from elementary school, but otherwise the two don’t really know one other.

I also appreciate that McGovern puts front and center characters with disabilities.įriendships don’t happen simply because one is introduced to someone, sits next to someone in class, or even shares a table at lunch. Yet the further into the story I got, the deeper affection I began to feel for the characters. In addition, the relationship between Amy and Matthew takes almost too much time to develop. The initial events feel a little contrived. Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern is a slow-blooming flower.

Say what you will by cammie mcgovern