Unlike Karina, I did not have abusive parents, but I still felt the weight of so many expectations that held me back from making choices because I wanted something rather than because I was afraid of any negative consequences that might follow.

KarinaвЂ™s panic attacks and breakdowns were very visceral in a way that resonated with my own experience, to the point where I also found myself struggling to breathe a bit when I was following her emotional journey. The constant feeling of being on edge, of fearing the worst, of wondering if youвЂ™ll ever be enough for anyone, hit really close to home. The first thing that really spoke to me in this book was the representation of anxiety. I ended up reading the finished copy that I bought rather than the ARC, so this review is based on the final version of the book.Д¬ounting Down with You is a book that made me go вЂњoof.вЂќ While the story is billed as a fake dating romance (which it is, to its credit), to me, itвЂ™s fundamentally a story of a teen girl finding the courage to be fully herself and to witness what is possible when she isnвЂ™t being suffocated by her parentsвЂ™ expectations. T-minus twenty-eight days until everything returns to normal-but what if Karina no longer wants it to? Review:Дisclaimer: I received a review copy of the book as a part of this tour, but it did not affect my opinion of the book. Though Karina agrees, she canвЂ™t help but start counting down the days until her parents come back. But Ace Clyde does everything right-he brings her coffee in the mornings, impresses her friends without trying, and even promises to buy her a dozen books (a week) if she goes along with his fake-dating facade. Pretending to date him? Out of the question. Tutoring the schoolвЂ™s resident bad boy was already crossing a line. Instead, one simple lie unravels everything. When her parents go abroad to Bangladesh for four weeks, Karina expects some peace and quiet. Keep her head down, get through high school without a fuss, and follow her parentsвЂ™ rules-even if it means sacrificing her dreams. How do you make one month last a lifetime? Though Karina agrees, she canвЂ™t help but start counting down the days until her parents come back.A reserved Bangladeshi teenager has twenty-eight days to make the biggest decision of her life after agreeing to fake date her schoolвЂ™s resident bad boy.

In this sparkling and romantic YA debut, a reserved Bangladeshi teenager has twenty-eight days to make the biggest decision of her life after agreeing to fake date her schoolвЂ™s resident bad boy.

Counting down with you