Sometimes when I buy a book, I don’t end up picking it up right away. It’ll get a nice rest on my shelf (or floor) for a while before I dive in. When I do finally get to it and realize what a great novel it was, I don’t tend to get mad at myself for overlooking it. I like to think I read it when I needed to read it and the experience would have been different somehow had I read it the second I bought it.

That was the case with Kirstin Cronn-Mills’s The Sky Always Hears Me and the Hills Don’t Mind.

Morgan’s a junior in high school in middle of nowhere, Nebraska. She’s a clerk at the local grocery store, which is across the street from the gas station. She loves to flirt with Rob, one of her older co-workers, even though she has a boyfriend, Derek. They’ve been together for a while, but it’s clear from the start that it’s more of a thing of show than of deep romance. At least, from Morgan’s perspective.

As the story progresses, we get to meet Morgan’s family. She lost her mom when she was young, so she lives with her father (a borderline alcoholic) and step mother, as well as her two brothers. She’s exceptionally close with her grandmother, though, who also lives in town. Cronn-Mills does a good job of introducing us to the characters and set up early on without once info-dumping on us, as she eases us into what it really is like living in a small town. It’s in the little details and it’s in the moment that propels the story into action: Morgan’s neighbor Tessa was caught kissing another girl. It’s big news in town, but to Morgan it’s not a big deal. After Tessa was caught, she and Morgan shared a kiss, too.

The Sky Always Hears Me explores the idea of sexuality, certainly, but more than that, it’s an honest look at growing up in a place you feel can’t contain you.

Morgan’s voice is one of the best I’ve read in young adult literature: she’s smart without coming off as older than her age; she’s funny as hell and offers it to us in just the right about of snark; and she’s the kind of girl who has huge dreams and feels stuck in trying to achieve them. She’s trying to navigate so many paths at once while also going through the motions of every day — we get to not only see Morgan in action at work (the grocery store which changes names every time she refers to it) but we get to listen to her as she thinks a lot about what she wants outside this town. She loves to write, and she constantly talks about how she hopes to write a novel and she writes fortune cookie fortunes, leaving them wherever she goes. More than that, she’s the kind of girl you wish existed because you’d love to hang out with her or pick her brain on any number of topics. Morgan has an opinion on everything but it’s never overbearing. Instead, we get to see her as she forms these opinions and debates with herself whether she’s right or wrong.

This is a book about sexuality, but it’s not about being one thing or another. It’s raw and honest about being sexual, period. Morgan throws no punches throughout the story about how she feels when it comes to sex and kissing, and when she and Tessa exchange a kiss (in more than one scene), she doesn’t think it’s a big deal. And it’s really not. What Morgan really wrestles with, though, is the idea of love outside of sex. It’s a topic she talks about not only internally, but one she brings up with her grandmother. She and grandma are close enough to talk about these things, and it’s grandma who ultimately tests Morgan’s belief in love.

See, there’s a bigger secret at stake here, and that’s the secret of Morgan’s family. We know she lost her mother and that dad is a drinker, but we don’t know why. It’s never really been something Morgan thought too deeply about. It’s painful. Thinking about sex? Not as painful. She’s confronted with the loss, though, and in the wake of the knowledge, Morgan’s thoughts about love change a bit. Maybe change isn’t the right word — maybe it’s more than they become stronger and more solidified.

Morgan learns to love herself in spite of everything going on in her world, and she’s not going to settle for less than what she thinks she deserves.

Cronn-Mills’s debut novel is a gem, and it’ll appeal to readers who like a strong contemporary read with a main character who is likable, strong-willed, and willing to put herself out there. She challenges convention, and she’s a fighter. Morgan is spot on and relatable to anyone who grew up in or works in a small town and wants nothing more than to get out. This is a book about her finding not only a way out, but finding out why she’ll always be a part of this community (and why it’ll always be a part of her, too). Without doubt, I’m eager to see what Cronn-Mills offers up next, as this novel blew me away in the best possible way. If you’ve ever wondered what “good voice” means, this should be your example.

When you finish reading this one, you’ll never look at fortune cookies the same, either.

Review from my own purchased copy of the book.