It Happens All the Time

Author: Amy Hatvany

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Atria Books, 2017

Pages: 320

Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Amber Bryant and Tyler Hicks have been best friends since they were teenagers—trusting and depending on each other through some of the darkest periods of their young lives. And while Amber has always felt that their relationship is strictly platonic, Tyler has long harbored the secret desire that they might one day become more than friends.

Returning home for the summer after her college graduation, Amber begins spending more time with Tyler than she has in years. Despite the fact that Amber is engaged to her college sweetheart, a flirtation begins to grow between them. One night, fueled by alcohol and concerns about whether she’s getting married too young, Amber kisses Tyler.

What happens next will change them forever.

In alternating points of view, It Happens All the Time examines the complexity of sexual dynamics between men and women and offers an incisive exploration of gender roles, expectations, and the ever-timely issue of consent.

Review: Ninety percent of this book was solid writing. I don't know what happened at the end, but the author seemed to fall apart. The last few chapters seemed sloppy and rushed. They just didn't have the same intensity or pull that previous chapters had.

This was an emotional read because I liked both characters, and I liked them together. I felt so badly for each of them and the way things turned out. I finished this in the morning and as the day went on I found myself needing to kick them out of my head as I thought about them and their unfortunate decisions as if they were real people in my life.

As a mother of two daughters and a son, it gives me a lot to think about. There are also several lessons to be learned within these pages. Now, how to communicate them?