The Year We Hid Away

I adored the first book in this series, and so was really excited about this one. It's well-written and the main characters have to deal with situations that are incredibly complex. I appreciated the messiness of both Scarlet's and Bridger's situations, and I was so fascinated to see how Bowen would flesh out Scarlet's in particular. Although there were some strange plot twists that seemed random and didn't really contribute to the progress of the plot or growth of the characters, this was a satisfying read.

This is the second installment in the Ivy Years and it's a winner. We pick-up the following year with a new freshman class that brings Shannon Ellison a.k.a Scarlet Crowley to Harkness College. Scarlet is running from an ugly family scandal and hoping to reinvent herself which means giving up hockey and entering school as Scarlet a person devoid of a past. Also starting a new year is Bridger McCaulley, Harltey's best friend from [b:The Year We Fell Down 27846624 The Year We Fell Down (The Ivy Years, #1) Sarina Bowen https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1447776522s/27846624.jpg 40239717]. We had an idea in that book of what a tough cookie, straight shooter and loyal friend he is and now his mettle will be tested. He has become responsible for his eight year old sister while doing a double major and having no help mostly because he won't ask for it. Scarlet & Bridger meet and immediately click so the romantic aspect is not their problem but rather all the externals that they can't share with the world or each other. Truth be told they are too young to deal with these issues and when things finally boil over they discover that help, community and friends are not hard to find.I did one less star on this one precisely because there is perhaps a little more reliance on these externals than the growing of the kids as people and also because of some out of left-field revelations and stuff for Scarlet/Shannon.On another note can we please have a “more please” for Andy Baschnagel??? I'm so happy the next book is Andy's.***If you can get the audio by [a:Nick Podehl 2803557 Nick Podehl https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1294338060p2/2803557.jpg] and [a:Saskia Maarleveld 5127861 Saskia Maarleveld https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1370715771p2/5127861.jpg] you won't regret it.***