Hearth and Pages: Paintbrush by Hannah Bucchin

“We’re a mess, aren’t we?”

“All the best people are messy.”

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Paintbrush tells a story about Mitchell and Josie, two teenagers who live in a communal village along with a lot of other colorful people in the mountain of North Carolina called Indian Paintbrush. Mitchell and Josie used to be best friend, but now they are not as close as they used to be. Josie doesn’t really enjoy going to high school and wish she could spend all her life at Paintbrush, while Mitchell can’t wait to get out of Paintbrush to escape the bizarre noisy community and live a normal life. Luckily for both of them, they’re weeks away from graduating high school. But when Mitchell’s mother makes a scandalous announcement that might rock the peaceful Paintbrush community, and Josie’s younger sister keeps on making bad decisions, the two find themselves leaning on each other for support. Their childhood friendship change into something more as they deal with their families. But as graduation approaches, Josie and Mitchell forced to figure out what exactly their relationship is and which path they will choose in the future.

Let me tell you something about this book, this book is the epitome of this cinnamon roll meme:

It’s so pure, so sweet and too good for this world. I can’t remember the last time I read something so charming and light like this. In my opinion, this is one of the best “feel good” book. The plot isn’t as big or long as the other YA books, but it’s so refreshing. The characters are all so colorful and interesting and I love almost all of them. And when I read about Josie and Mitchell this is how I feel:

They’re my children and they’re so sweet and cute and I will protect them with all my might. The story is charming and has a slow burn, lovely and pure budding romance. If you read some of my previous reviews of other romance books you may notice that my favorite trope is nemesis turn lovers, but I also love a good friends-to-lovers trope, and Paintbrush portrayed it so well.

Though it is a feel good book, Paintbrush still give us a lot of lessons to learn. This book discussed about whether we should be true to who we are, or try to blend in with majority, the choices we have to pick for our future, accepting diversity and other ways of life, and my favorite is how we choose to forgive people who hurt us so we can heal.

What I didn’t really love is the writings in the beginning. It’s kind of repetitive, and even though the book is told from both Josie and Mitchell’s point of views, I feel like in some part their narratives kind of blend together. Though I have to say, as we go deeper into the story the writings get better and I still enjoy it.

All in all, Paintbrush surprisingly has become one of my favorite read this summer. I love the light yet meaningful story, I love the vibrant characters and I love how pure the romance in it. I dive into this book without any expectation and ended up being blown away by its charm. I highly recommend this book for you if you’re looking for a light and sweet summer read.