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** spoiler alert ** I was given a copy of this 8 or 9 years back and finally got around to it. This is the story of Rachel, the Jewish girl with the congenital heart defect, and Andy, the biracial boy with the absent father, neglectful mother, and love of running. It's sweet when they meet at age 8; it's cute when they meet again as teenagers. But then, for the narrative to keep its just-missed-it alternating timeskips - for there to *be* a story - something has to tug them apart, just as they are growing old enough to have autonomy. That something boils down to their own choices and preferences: Rachel is image-obsessed and shallow, Andy is single-minded and in need of therapy, and despite them saying how much they love each other, they don't *choose* each other. They don't seem to understand each other.

You can tell me it's a love story, but love knows how to make sacrifices for the beloved. This book ends right where they might actually make a real commitment and stick to it.