Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you need resolution, this is not the book for you. When I finished it, I felt like the story had just started because I had spent the past 200 pages reading Nell's thoughts and I wanted to know what happened next. The writing was good, the story was interesting, I just wanted more. Two stars isn't an entirely fair rating but I can't give three either. Maybe somewhere between 2.5 and 2.75? Books like this frustrate me as I'm not good with ambiguous endings. ( )

I have never read a book by Dana Reinhardt before but after reading We Are the Goldens I plan on checking out her other books. Told in the first person from Nell's point of view you get to see a young woman trying her best to step out of her older sister's shadow. Nell loves and in equal measure is jealous and at times hates her sister. I thought Ms. Reinhardt did a great job with Nell's voice and the confusion that she feels at falling for a boy and being jealous that this boy may like her sister more than her. I did feel at times that Nell's voice was a bit too old in certain parts. It only happened a few times, but other than that I thought Ms. Reinhardt did a great job capturing a teenager's voice.

I also thought it was very good that Ms. Reinhardt wrote the book in such a way that it seemed that Nell had written a letter to her sister to explain why she did what she did. You know in the beginning that something horrible is or did happen so that leaves the book with a very good deal of tension while you read.

I will say that though I liked the book I did not care for Nell. You don't have to love the narrator in a story you are reading and the fact that Ms. Reinhardt writes this book in such a way that you can sympathize with Nell, feel pity for her, and also realize that a part of her is happy that her sister is not so 'golden' anymore. I wish that part of the book had shown Nell being self aware enough to love her sister's downfall instead of her having her feelings of righteousness throughout her letter to her sister.

I would like to read a follow-up to see what happens at the conclusion of this book. Or to see a book written by Layla's point of view.

Please note that I received this book via the Amazon Vine Program. ( )

(This review can be found on my blog The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl).


There was something about this book that intrigued me. Maybe it was the forbidden romance between a student and her teacher. I decided to give this book a try. Although it wasn't as great as I thought it would be, it was still an alright read.

I love the title, and I feel that it fits in really well with the book. These two sisters have always had each other's back and have done nearly everything together.

The cover is okay. I think it looks a bit too cavemanish though instead of two beautiful girls as what is described in the book. Maybe if both girls were looking up and the lighting was different, the cover photo wouldn't look like I was looking at two cavemen.

I enjoyed the world building. We learn about the world through Nell's letters to her sister Layla. (At least it sounded like she was writing a letter(s) to her sister. The author made it easy to understand Nell's and Layla's relationship from the beginning through her fantastic prose.

I thought the pacing held up rather well. There were times when I thought I'd be able to put the book down so I could go to bed or do something else, but I'd always end up reading a few more chapters. It thoroughly held my attention. Plus, I enjoyed the back story leading up to everything immensely.

The plot of the whole teacher-student relationship has been done before. However, Reinhardt makes her story interesting and unlike the other stories. I liked the close relationship that Nell and Layla used to have before Layla started dating her teacher. I was saddened to see it start to unravel over a forbidden romance. There's no plot twists that I read about, but that doesn't hurt the book any. The only thing that annoyed me was the ending. I would've liked to know a bit more such as what happened to Mr. Barr and Layla. That's all I'm saying because I don't want to give away anything that could be deemed as a spoiler.

Nell was instantly likable. There was a certain innocence and vulnerability with her. It was easy to empathize with what she was going through, and I felt like her struggle with keeping her sister's secret was my own as well. I also thought Layla was a fantastic character as well. We get to know her through Nell's letters, and we learn that she too is also very vulnerable and just wants to find her one true love. I loved the character of Felix except that I had a hard time believing that he was into girls as it said in the book. I found his speech to be very effeminate. He reminded me of Damian from the film Mean Girls. Every time Felix was in a scene, I always was picturing Damian. We don't really learn too much about Mr. Barr (the teacher in a relationship with Layla) other that his students all think he's the coolest teacher and the best looking. We also learn that there's rumors about him being with other students previously.

The dialogue flows very smoothly and is never awkward. The speech fits my perception of how teenagers speak. It suits a young adult book. There is some swearing and some sexual references although none that are graphic. There is no violence in this book.

Overall, We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt is an enjoyable read save for the ending. The characters are well written as is the whole entire book. This book deals with subject matter that happens at every school.

I'd recommend this book to those aged 15 who enjoy realistic fiction and characters that are easy to relate to.

I'd give We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt a 3.5 out of 5.


(I was provided with a free ebook of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review). ( )

I was gifted a copy of this box via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That in no way compromises or changes my opinion of this novel.

I read this book in one day, which says a lot. Often time I get distracted, life gets in the way, or a book has a slow beginning, therefore I have a hard time getting into a story. “We are the Goldens” had no issue capturing my attention and keeping it until the very end. And now that the book is over, I am left hanging, wondering “what the heck!?!”. I really hope the author plans on a second book to follow this story, because I just have to know what happens; so many loose ends.

The story are about the Golden sisters- Layla and Nell; and is written from Nell’s point of view, diary-like, addressed to her older sister (by 18 months), Layla. I personally enjoyed this style of writing, as it is refreshing, and added quite a bit of depth to the story.

Their parents divorced when Nell was in Kindergarten, at Christmas, nonetheless. They split up their time living equally with each parent. But all in all, Nell relies on Layla, and Layla relies on Nell for everything. They are more than sisters; they are best-friends, confidantes, secret keepers. But some secrets just shouldn’t be kept.

Nell’s best friend, Felix, often times helps put things in perspective for her. And he is right; this is not a secret Nell needs to keep to herself. But will Layla see it that way? Or will she view it as a betrayal?
( )

Nell Golden and her sister Layla have always been close. So close, in fact, that when they were little, Nell thought they shared the name Nellayla. But now that they're in high school, Layla in her junior year and Nell just starting her freshman year, they've begun to drift apart. Or, more accurately, Layla has begun to push Nell away.

Rumors fly around the school every year that Mr. B, the beloved art teacher, is having a fling with a student. This year, that rumor happens to involve Layla. She denies it up and down. There are always rumors. They're never true. So they ran into each other at an art museum - he's an art teacher, it makes sense that he'd be at an art museum. They didn't plan to hang out. Nothing weird is going on. But then Nell finds the two video chatting one night, and she has absolutely no idea what to do.

We Are the Goldens is written like a letter from Nell to Layla, explaining her rationale for her decisions. She describes so perfectly her feelings about the situation and how it correlates to what's going on in her own life. And from Nell's perspective, Layla is out of control.

From my perspective, Layla is a horrible role model. She uses and abuses Nell's love and trust to have Nell lie for her, defend her, keep her secrets. So that Nell will stand by as Layla self-destructs. Suffice it to say, I did not care for Layla at all. She never acts like a particularly good sister, and it's hard to see why Nell adores her so much. We're told that they were inseparable growing up, but it's hard to connect that to the manipulative older sister we're presented with in the book.

In addition to all the problems with Layla and the stress of having to keep this terrible secret, Nell is dealing with the confusing high school dating scene and trying to separate her own interests from those of her sister. And this was the part of the story that I liked. I'll be honest. I couldn't stand Layla. It was so obvious, despite Nell's protests, that Nell cared for her sister much more than her sister cared for her. But Nell's other relationships, like the one with her parents, or the one with her best friend Felix... those were the ones that kept me reading.

To avoid spoilers, I'm not going to say much else. Just that the ending was very ambiguous, and I would have preferred a concrete ending. I wanted to know what happened with Layla, what happened with Mr. B, what happened with Felix. After learning so much about these characters, I felt cheated that I didn't find out how everything worked out in the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the free ARC. ( )