Overview:
Autumn and Finn are next door neighbors; they’ve always been best friends — experiencing everything together since their mothers are also best friends. Once they reach high school, these once inseparable friends are distant and barely speaking. Though they aren’t close anymore, Autumn still finds herself knowing exactly where Finn is in a room and watching him from afar — in love with him, even if it takes her a while to admit it.
So there’s a girl (Autumn) who lives next to a boy (Phineas, or Finn for short). They were born mere weeks apart and their mothers are best friends. They have dinners together, alternate celebrating holidays at each others’ houses, and know practically every detail about the other person. From Autumn’s point of view (from which If He Had Been With Me is told), we see Finn as a strong, popular, kind, slightly geeky but athletically talented boy. Autumn is his opposite in nearly every way. She’s not popular and stands out amongst the crowd for experimenting with her hair color, dressing a bit oddly, and wearing a tiara as an every day accessory. She’s a misfit.
Somewhere along the way (oh, about the end of middle school) these two inseparable friends grow apart. As they enter high school, their lives still intermingle because their family traditions and weekly dinners continue, but they timidly orbit around one another. Finn and Autumn make independent groups of friends and they rarely talk with the same ease and candor they had been able to. By all appearances, these two friends seem to have drifted apart.
But from Autumn’s perspective, we see how she still yearns for him to do well, silently cheering him on, and how she’s jealous when Finn begins dating someone (even though she, too, is in a relationship). Every piece of their history is so intertwined that I couldn’t help but root them on. I wanted these two best friends to make their way back to one another and fall in love, despite knowing from the very beginning how their story would end — quite tragically.
"This sweet, authentic love story masks complex characters dealing with complex issues: single parents, divorce, only children yet ersatz siblings; high school, college, the pull of the clique; love, friendship, sex, and teen pregnancy . . . First-time author Nowlin keeps the story real and fast paced, avoiding the melodramatic." " - Booklist
"The finely drawn characters capture readers' attention in this debut . . .Autumn's coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations . . . Readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn's head." - Kirkus Reviews
"Wonderful, beautifully written, haunting, heartbreaking and simply amazing! That's just the tip of the iceberg when describing my opinion of If He Had Been with Me. Ahhhh...although no words can truly describe how much I loved this book!! Months ago I knew I wanted to read it but never could have imagined how great it would be.I can honestly say this is already in my top ten reads of all time. I was sucked in from the first page and never wanted it to end. It's a story of love, friendship and fate. It will have you thinking about the what ifs and make you think if life really has us here for a certain reason. Pick up this read...NOW! Trust me you won't regret it! " - A Southern Girl's Bookshelf
""This book is a treasure; I can feel the printed words seeping through my skin and into my veins, rushing to my heart and marking it forever. I want to savour this wonder, this happening of a loving book and reading it for the first time, because the first time is always the best, and I will never read this book for the first time again"" - The Reader's Den
" It's lovely and so beautifully written - I just wish I had a smidgeon of her talent.And the writing. Oh, the writing. So perfect and poetic. I felt like I was reading snippets of Autumn's personal journal and I couldn't put it down. Despite that I knew there was a *Romeo and Juliet-esque / tragic love story ending, I couldn't help but allow myself to be swept away by Autumn and Finn's story. I enjoyed If He had Been With Me so much that I'm adding Laura Nowlin to my auto-read list. Her writing, you guys, is just that sublime. Definitely take a chance on this story - allow yourselves to be caught up in Autumn and Finn's lives and to root for two childhood best friends to fall in love." - Rather Be Reading
"If you're looking for an emotionally-charged teen read, this is your book-hands down. Fans of YA Contemporary Romance, New Adult, or Coming of Age will also enjoy this book." - Literary Meanderings
"There's something about Laura Nowlin's writing that reaches out and touches the heart in unexpected ways. It also has a more literary feel at times, perhaps because Autumn is a writer, and the way Nowlin meshes foreshadowing with Autumn's own quirks is a unique, captivating blend. I don't know what I was expecting when I initially picked this one up, but it wasn't the level of depth I found myself encountering. A strong debut from an author to watch!" - A Backwards Story
ENJOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!
Sincerelyours
And Blessed Are The Ones Who Care For Their Fellow Men!
No comments:
Post a Comment