A wonderful book about a girl who loses a leg in an accident and how she tries to get her life back.

😍 I loved Maya from the start. I loved her determination. I loved that she was strong and was ready to rock the world again. But I also love that the book didn’t just show the good sides. We see that Maya is struggling. Not just with her prosthetic and how it works, but also with school, her friendship with Sophie, with her family, with restrictions that her leg brings her. At times things are hard and I just wanted to reach out and give her a hug. At other times I just wanted to shake her and tell her to take it easy. And for most I was just rooting for her to get that list done, to get all her dreams, to find her balance again. She was such a fun character.
😍 Plus, I love that she was a teenager and a well-written one. A lot of things I recognised from when I was a teen. Moody. Parents that hover. Just want to do my own thing.
😍 Maya’s friends Vita and Miles were just a delight and I love how supportive and sweet they were in their own way. From Miles and his endless messages to Whatsapp and also candy delivery to Vita who helps with schoolwork and is there to help out Maya with things. I loved the bond these three had and I could really see the friendship between them.
😍 The list was such a fun addition and I loved the things that were on it.
😍 Guinea pigs! I just LOVE those little critters and we get plenty of them in the book as mom has quite a few of them. I also love their names and their little personalities. I just wanted to step in the book and hug them all!
😍 Seeing Maya try out rollerskating. I knew that things probably wouldn’t go well, but I was hoping that she was at least able to rollerskate for a bit. Kick some ass. You know the deal.
😍 I loved that while a lot of the book was positive we also saw the bad parts. As I said in the first 😍 part about Maya it isn’t just happiness that she can do more. We see the pain, we read about a visit to the prothesis doctor, we see her adjust to things, we read about the crutches and the wheelchair.
😍 The parents, while the mom was a bit too much for me (see the 🤔 parts), I did see two people who really wanted the best for their kid. The dad was more laid back and I loved how he made Maya happy with food and painting moments.
😍 The cover is just so fun!
😍 I loved the little illustrations dotted throughout the book.
😍 And I just love an added epilogue!
😍 Oh, and that last bit by the author, perfection!

🤔 While I could definitely understand where the mom comes from, I mean she almost lost her kid, but I was still annoyed with her at times in the book. A lot of scenarios and grumpy moods could have been stopped if mom wasn’t hovering so much. I get that it is scary to let your kid go in the wild again, but you have to. At times I just wanted to shake the mom and tell her to stop doing things. Like yes, things are going to hurt, but you cannot lock your kid up all day. Or that one time our MC fell out of bed (because at times when she is really tired she just forgets she doesn’t have two legs) and the mom was completely going. Chill.
🤔 I hope that the family that picked up the guinea pig also has some other guinea pigs already and that this one already met up with the others. Guinea pigs need roommates. I was so delighted with seeing them all together and then only one is picked up. Mm??
🤔 I also wasn’t sure how I felt about the whole Sophie business and how quickly everything was just resolved. I am sorry, but Sophie has been an utter bitch throughout the whole book, neglected her bestie, dropped her like a hot coal. Yes, what she is going through is also tough, but to just drop your bestie who LOST HER LEG and almost her life in an accident, what kind of fucked up friend are you? I would have liked things to not be resolved like that, give it more time and all.

All in all, I am in desperate need for more Maya books, I am curious what is next for her in life and what she is planning now she knows that her world can expand. It won’t be easy, but she has a great family and great friends and also great motivation and strength.