©2025 Fable Group Inc.
4.0 

This Is Me Trying

By Racquel Marie
This Is Me Trying by Racquel Marie digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

Perfect for fans of Nina LaCour, This is Me Trying is a profound and tender YA contemporary novel exploring grief, love, and guilt from author Racquel Marie.

Growing up, Bryce, Beatriz, and Santiago were inseparable. But when Santiago moved away before high school, their friendship crumbled. Three years later, Bryce is gone, Beatriz is known as the dead boy’s girlfriend, and Santiago is back.

The last thing Beatriz wants is to reunite with Santiago, who left all her messages unanswered while she drowned alone in grief over Bryce’s death by suicide. Even if she wasn’t angry, Santiago’s attempts to make amends are jeopardizing her plan to keep the world at arm’s length—equal parts protection and punishment—and she swore to never let anyone try that again.

Santiago is surprised to find the once happy-go-lucky Bea is now the gothic town loner, though he’s unsurprised she wants nothing to do with him. But he can’t fix what he broke between them while still hiding what led him to cut her off in the first place, and it’s harder to run from his past when he isn’t states away anymore.

Inevitably drawn back together by circumstance and history, Beatriz and Santiago navigate grief, love, mental illness, forgiveness, and what it means to try to build a future after unfathomable loss.

Download the free Fable app

app book lists

Stay organized

Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
app book recommendations

Build a better TBR

Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
app book reviews

Rate and review

Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
app comments

Curate your feed

Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities
app book lists

Stay organized

Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
app book recommendations

Build a better TBR

Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
app book reviews

Rate and review

Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
app comments

Curate your feed

Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities

87 Reviews

4.0
“it took me FOREVER to get into, but once i got into it- shejdndjdjsndj this is probably the cutest romance i’ve read in literal years”
Loudly Crying Face“TIMT is such a heavy and heartrending read as it revolves mainly on grief and the experience of losing someone you dearly love. I expected and prepared myself for such a heart-wrenching venture but i still found myself overpowered with the characters’ voice as they talk about how they cope up with the feeling of losing their bestfriend. i’ve read a handful of books that tackle grief and most of them highlight how we all have different ways of dealing with grief and in this book, it taught me of how this grievous experience varies from character to character. i’ve also questioned whether i am too old enough to read YA books but everytime i pick a title from my favorite YA authors (chloe gong, ann liang, randy ribay, racquel marie), i am reminded that amazing stories are not limited to a specific genre or age group. read whatever you want, bestie. to sum up my TIMT experience, i enjoyed reading about Beatriz and Santiago and Bryce. will always be on the lookout for the next Racquel Marie release. 4.25stars!”
“First read of 2025!! While I enjoyed it greatly, the side characters were difficult to keep track of. I feel like I finally got a hold on who everyone was and what was happening about 85% of the way through the book- but I got that far because of the wonderful wonderful main characters!!! While their dynamics with the teenage side characters is skippable, whenever they get a chance to talk to their family members or each other the story lights back up again. Also, didn’t realize until after reading that Racquel Marie also wrote Ophelia After All which I ADORED??!!? Can’t wait to see what comes next!!”

About Racquel Marie

Racquel Marie grew up in Southern California, where her passion for storytelling of all kinds was encouraged by her friends and big family. She received a BA in English with an emphasis in creative writing and a minor in gender and sexuality studies from the University of California, Irvine. There is, unexpectedly, a C in her first name. She is the author of Ophelia After All, You Don’t Have a Shot, and This Is Me Trying.

Start a Book Club

Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!
Error Icon
Save to a list
0
/
30
0
/
100
Private List
Private lists are not visible to other Fable users on your public profile.
Notification Icon
Fable uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB