Lauren Strasnick’s Her and Me and You somehow manages to be simple yet complex as it explores everything from first love to friendship to well… unique family relationships. Voice-driven and hauntingly evocative, Her and Me and You’s fast-paced nature held us from beginning to end.
Alex’s world is ripped apart when her adored father moves out for a much younger woman, leading her and her depressed, borderline alcoholic mother to move into Alex’s late-grandmother’s house in Connecticut. Like any teenage girl, Alex doesn’t want to leave her home, or especially her domineering best friend, Evie. Strasnick does a stellar job of making the book creepily atmospheric—its dark elements match up eerily with the setting’s blustery and gray suburban winter.
Alex is immediately drawn to enigmatic twins, Fred and Adina despite their inherent dysfunction. Fred is endearingly quirky and (at least in our mental-movie) hot, described by Alex as having freckles that make her want to “drink a glass of milk and bake a batch of brownies.” Adina does not share her brother’s lovable charms. Gorgeous, volatile, and insanely jealous of anyone who hogs her brother’s affections, Adina sends Alex on an emotional roller coaster ride by alternately flirting with and cold-shouldering her.
The more Alex falls for Fred, the crazier Adina’s behavior becomes, and we begin to question whether or not Adina’s adoration for Fred is, well, misguided. Does she love her brother or is she in love with him? Fred and Adina’s colorful eccentricities make them jump off the page. With a deceased mother and absent father, the twins live in an ivy-covered mansion where they spend their evenings drinking wine by the bottle and eating gourmet meals in their empty indoor pool. Strasnick does a magnificent job of creating varied and colorful settings, including contrasting between the dreamy alternate-reality of Fred and Adina’s home and Alex’s all-too-real old house and broken, alcoholic mother.
Strasnick’s book reads like a sensitive psychological thriller. Emotionally vulnerable and deeply insecure, Alex can be a bit whiny, but we can’t help but sympathize with her struggles. As she gripes over whether or not Fred likes her back, agonizes over the demise of her parent’s marriage, and struggles with insecurities, Alex is shockingly relatable. We can’t promise that you’ll love Her and Me and You; Strasnick’s fast-paced, short prose isn’t for everyone, and the character’s complexities can make seem unlikeable. However, we highly urge you give this one-of-a-kind read a chance. If you’re anything like us, you’ll be drawn to this book just like Alex is drawn to Fred and Adina, and fascinated enough with it to read and re-read it.