Something in the Way by Jessica Hawkins

🌟🌟🌗 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis:
An epic, three-book saga of forbidden love coming 2017.

It was a hot summer day when I met him on the construction site next to my parents’ house. Under the sweat and dirt, Manning Sutter was as handsome as the sun was bright. He was older, darker, experienced. I wore a smiley-face t-shirt and had never even been kissed. Yet we saw something in each other that would link us in ways that couldn’t be broken...no matter how hard we tried.

I loved Manning before I knew the meaning of the word. I was too young, he said. I would wait. Through all the carefully-chosen words hiding what we knew to be true, through his struggle to keep me innocent, and through infinitely-starry nights—I would wait. But I’d learn that life isn’t always fair. That no matter how much you achieve, none of it matters if you suffer the heartbreak that comes with falling for someone you can never have. Because even though I saw Manning first, that didn’t matter. My older sister saw him next.

^{I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review}

I thought that the book was interesting and the subject matter grabbed my attention. It was a complex situation which drew me in because I wanted to know what choices the characters would make or how they would react to situations and each other. I thought that Manning was a great character even though he made some questionable decisions. When I say questionable, I'm not talking about taking things too far with someone underage. I know that some people might automatically jump to that due to the nature of the blurb about the book. Manning was strong and seemed like a stand up guy. He was polite, honest, and had things that happened in his past that he was clearly still trying to deal with. 
The main reason that I had trouble with this book was the other characters in the book. I started off liking Lake because she seemed mature for her age and not into many of the things that teenagers get caught up in at her age like make-up, drinking, and partying. She seemed to have a good head on her shoulders but then she changed towards the end of this book. I found her to be annoying, clingy, and desperate. She appeared to loose all of her maturity. I hated her sister, Tiffany, even more so. I didn't think that she had any redeeming qualities. She treated those around her like trash and attempted to manipulate people to get what she wanted. 
I didn't understand what happened at the end of the book and why the author wanted to put that drama at the end of the book. It didn't make any sense as to why Manning made the decision that he did at the end.