strictly literary: the best possible answer by e. katherine kottaras

viviana rabinovich-lowe is in trouble. everything in her life has fallen apart and it doesn't seem like there will be a way to put it together, at least not the way it was. the only way forward for vivi will be to accept that everything she planned for has been changed, but that those changes don't mean that she has lost control of her life. it just means that she needs to forge a new way forward. the best possible answer lets us see how vivi finds her way, how she regains her strength and how she comes to terms with her past. she learns that it doesn't need to define her.

vivi is dealing with some pretty heavy stuff, her ex betrayed her trust and shared a sext that should have remained private. her parents marriage has been under severe strain and there are secrets her parents have been keeping that alter her sense of self to the most basic level. when the people closest to you have proven themselves untrustworthy how do you let people in again? the only two people in vivi's life that have been there for her are her best friend, sammie, and her baby sister, mila.

but vivi needs to share her burdens. the pressure of holding everything in is causing severe panic attacks. and there's evan, a boy she has a history with, who wants to get closer to her, and who she is too afraid to trust. learning to let go, stopping to breathe, letting people in, that's what vivi's journey in this book is about. and it's beautifully told. i can't even imagine dealing with some of the things that vivi faces, and the triumph is that she comes through it at the other side. how the people around her help her, that's the story. one very much worth reading, so i'm not going to say anymore.

**the best possible answer will publish on november 1, 2016. i received an advanced reader copy courtesy of netgalley/st. martin's press in exchange for my honest review.