I’d like to start this review off by saying that I’ve never read a book that I haven’t liked. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a hopeless romantic or because I enjoy escaping into a world other than my own, but I’ve fallen in love with almost every book that I’ve read. Most of the stories that I read are young adult romance novels that surround a teenage black girl getting into a relationship of some sort, so I’m pretty used to the concept but A Love-Hate Thing by Whitney D. Grandison was different.
The book follows Nandy Smith and Tyson Trice, who prefers to be called Trice, through an “enemy to lovers” trope as Trice moves in with the Smith family after being shot in an incident that left his mother and father dead. Nandy is completely blindsided and worries that her summer is ruined because of the new house guest.
The book is told through first-person point of view and alternates between Nandy and Trice. Through this perspective, we are able to learn more about both characters and get a better understanding of them. Nandy is a popular, super involved teen living in Pacific Hills, whose only worries are having the best summer of her life and preparing for her cotillion. On the other hand, Trice is a promising teen from a troubling area whose only concern is to get through these next few months with the Smiths so he can go back to his life in Lindlewood on his 18th birthday.
Throughout the novel, we learn that Trice and Nandy were childhood friends and Nandy was heartbroken after Trice stopped coming around. The two characters play the game of emotions as they switch between friends to enemies as Nandy struggles to forgive Trice for leaving years ago and is unsettled by the idea of him making new friends. Trice is hesitant about the move. He befriends the town’s most undesirable teens and is then left trying to hold on to his past in Lindlewood, while accepting his present in the Pacific Hills.
The book itself tells a beautiful story of childhood friends that were separated and brought back together at different points in their lives. It can feel like it’s going in circles as Nandy finds any reason to be mad at those around her. Her selfishness can be overwhelming, but as she explains she only wants Trice to herself, she acknowledges this as a problem but claims that she can’t help it. Trice’s calmness mellows it out, but his fight to choose both Pacific Hills and Lindlewood can become a lot.
The story’s climax comes at the very end and it had me at the edge of my seat. It was a great build-up for those who stuck around through the constant “I love him I hate him” cycle. The story ends on a pretty positive note, but one can’t help but wonder what happens next.
I was reluctant to hear about a story with a character that’s from “the hood” because, in the past, many books that I have read have approached that concept poorly. Grandison does a good job highlighting the good parts while still pointing out its bad side. I was also skeptical of Nandy’s character as she seemed out of touch with her blackness. This was resolved as the story continued and contributed to the character’s differences.
One of my favorite things about the book is its very subtle subplot of mental health. In many stories with characters from bad areas, they fail to point out how that affects them but this novel puts a small spotlight on that. It was refreshing to consume a story where black trauma wasn’t just acknowledged, but also addressed and worked on by the characters. I also like its focus on the background characters. Throughout the novel, we get a glimpse of the lives of the other teens in Pacific Hills and their unforeseen struggles.
Despite some of my personal dislikes, which come with every book, I truly enjoyed reading Nandy and Trice’s story and would give anything to read that book for the first time again.