Book Review: “This Book Might Be About Zinnia” by Britney Morris

“This Book Might Be About Zinnia” by Britney Morris (2025)

Genre: YA, Fiction, Contemporary

Page Length: 352 pages (hardcover edition)

Synopsis:

Two moments in time. Two very different girls. And one story that connects them both.

It’s the year 2024, and Zinnia Davis is on a mission to ace her personal essay. But when an admissions rep hints that her adoption story is “lacking heart,” she has to figure out a new spin. Frankly, Zinnia doesn’t know much about her birth parents; that is, until her favorite author releases a new novel—Little Heart—about a princess with a heart-shaped birthmark on her forehead and separated from her mother at birth…just like Zinnia. Could this be her birth mother?

Flashback to 2006, and teenager Tuesday Walker is barely making it through high school after experiencing a loss that had her on leave for months. To cope, Tuesday writes a series of entries in a journal, but when the journal is lost, it feels like reliving the trauma all over again. Tuesday’s search for the journal uncovers dangerous secrets about her past, her crush, and her own mother’s story.

If Tuesday isn’t careful in her search, Zinnia will have to reap the consequences in the present.

Review:

What an emotional and compelling novel from Morris! This Book Might Be About Zinnia is a heavy-hitting contemporary fiction novel about family, grief, and healing from trauma. The novel follows the main characters Tuesday and Zinnia, told through alternating timelines and perspectives. Readers are introduced to a narrative with a decades old mystery and work out the connections between the two characters as the story progresses.

This story is overall heartwarming with some elements of suspense. Morris leaves just enough clues throughout the narrative without giving everything away too soon. Zinnia and Tuesday both grow through their own coming-of-age stories as the reach a crossroads at their lives. Both struggle emotionally with the choices that they made but work to find a sense of closure to fill the part of themselves that is empty. Each character feels realistic and the viewpoints are written clearly enough that there is some overlap without one charactes perpective being put over another’s.

Like Morris states in her authors note, this novel is also not only about family but protecting ourselves and respect our own boundaries. I appreciated how this novel showcases that through Zinnia and Tuesday as they strive to maintain healthy relationships, protect your well-being, and work on their personal growth. It’s an important lesson for the novels intended YA audience but also can be applied to any reader who picks up this novel.

Final Verdict:

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.