By: Laura Nowlin
Published By: Source Books
Released : Available Now
Details : NetGalley , 338 Pages
RATING: 3.5 FINNY STARS!
Blurb: Goodreads
Throughout their whole childhood, Finn and Autumn were inseparable—they finished each other's sentences, they knew just what to say when the other person was hurting. But one incident in middle school puts them in separate social worlds come high school, and Autumn has been happily dating James for the last 2 years. But she's always wondered what if...
The night she's about to get the answer is also one of terrible tragedy.
Booklist is calling If He Had Been With Me a “sweet, authentic love story… First-time author Nowlin keeps the story real and fast paced, avoiding the melodramatic.” And Kirkus Reviews says “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.”
If He Had Been With Me explores what would happen if two childhood friends on either end of the social spectrum finally found love. But what happens when terrible tragedy changes their fate forever? It’s a heartrending tale of missed chances and what might have been written in Nowlin’s beautiful, thought-provoking prose.
BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:
Laura has written a story about a group of friends and their coming of age and what could have been.
We get to be Autumn’s shadow and watch her friends go through break ups, pregnancy and we watch Autumn going through her own life troubles with her family and her awkwardness around the boy who she used to share an inseparable bond with.
Phineas aka Finny and Autumn have known each other since birth. ‘The Mothers’, which is how they are referred to, are best friends. They are there for each other in their own times of crisis.
Finny and Autumn have come to a fork in the road with their friendship. Talk about awkward moments. Finn is a very likeable character. Autumn I had trouble with her. I didn’t connect very well with her.
Jamie, Autumn, Sasha, Brooke, Noah, Angie, Alex, with the unanimous vote of Preppy Dave are all great friends. We watch some fall in and out of love. We follow them through their schooling and their coming of age.
Sylvie and Finn are a couple with their ups and downs. Jamie and Autumn are a couple. Finny and Autumn go from inseparable to neighbourly.
I did like Autumn and her individual style. Tiara’s for all occasions and color coordination.
I will say that the ending, although the blurb gives it away and the first chapter is more or less telling us what is inevitable, I really loved how the emotion came out of me from chapter 85. Reading this book I felt like I was waiting for what I knew was going to happen, although there is a slight twist to the how.
I think I felt sad the moment I knew about the inevitable, that set the mood from the start. I kept hoping it wasn’t inevitable. The more I got to know Finny, the more I didn't want inevitable.
I really wanted to like this more than I did. Laura can write. I just had trouble with the pace and keeping interested in the daily life of these teens. I know a lot of reviewers love this book. I think I just personally needed to feel more for the girl and the boy who had meant so much to each other. I think I wanted to spend more time with Finn and Autumn and less time with the daily goings on. I really did want to 'feel' this book more than I did.
I really am torn thinking, maybe I am too old for this read.
Stay I whisper to him.
Stay in the car.
Stay in this moment.
Stay with me.
Laura has written a story about a group of friends and their coming of age and what could have been.
We get to be Autumn’s shadow and watch her friends go through break ups, pregnancy and we watch Autumn going through her own life troubles with her family and her awkwardness around the boy who she used to share an inseparable bond with.
Phineas aka Finny and Autumn have known each other since birth. ‘The Mothers’, which is how they are referred to, are best friends. They are there for each other in their own times of crisis.
Finny and Autumn have come to a fork in the road with their friendship. Talk about awkward moments. Finn is a very likeable character. Autumn I had trouble with her. I didn’t connect very well with her.
Jamie, Autumn, Sasha, Brooke, Noah, Angie, Alex, with the unanimous vote of Preppy Dave are all great friends. We watch some fall in and out of love. We follow them through their schooling and their coming of age.
Sylvie and Finn are a couple with their ups and downs. Jamie and Autumn are a couple. Finny and Autumn go from inseparable to neighbourly.
I did like Autumn and her individual style. Tiara’s for all occasions and color coordination.
I will say that the ending, although the blurb gives it away and the first chapter is more or less telling us what is inevitable, I really loved how the emotion came out of me from chapter 85. Reading this book I felt like I was waiting for what I knew was going to happen, although there is a slight twist to the how.
I think I felt sad the moment I knew about the inevitable, that set the mood from the start. I kept hoping it wasn’t inevitable. The more I got to know Finny, the more I didn't want inevitable.
I really wanted to like this more than I did. Laura can write. I just had trouble with the pace and keeping interested in the daily life of these teens. I know a lot of reviewers love this book. I think I just personally needed to feel more for the girl and the boy who had meant so much to each other. I think I wanted to spend more time with Finn and Autumn and less time with the daily goings on. I really did want to 'feel' this book more than I did.
I really am torn thinking, maybe I am too old for this read.
Michelle
GUEST POST
Fantasy Cast List
So this is a fantasy right? I get to pick whomever I want without the restraints of reality getting in the way of my fun? Excellent. Let’s roll the credits of my fantasy If He had Been with Me movie.
Teenage Kiera Knightly as Autumn Rose Davis
I’m not going to let that whole time/space continuum get in the way of my fantasy movie! Knightly has the sort of classically beautiful that face that stuns even the most jaded, and she has more than enough talent to play six Angsty Autumns! I can just hear her voice intoning “I know, I know, I know, I know. If he had been with me everything would have been different.” She was acting as a teenage, so a simple time machine will do the trick.
HRH Prince William of Wales (Circa 2001) as
Phineas “Finny” Smith.
Yes, you read that right. As a teenager I had a massively ridiculous crush on His Royal Highness, and it’s his adolescent self that I was imagining as I wrote this novel. So we must again use time my machine to go back and Prince-nap Wills when he had a full head of hair, give him some acting lessons, shoot the movie, and then return him before Scotland Yard notices.
Dakota Fanning as Sylvie Whitehouse
Fanning isn't just an incredible actress for her age, she's an incredible actress period. Sylvie is a complex character; on the outside she seems to have it all together, but on the inside there is a lot of pain and turmoil. Fanning has the subtly and talent to convey the storm below the surface. In real life I could even dream of having an actress of her caliber agree to a role with so little screen time, but this is my fantasy, and the distinction of being the first and only actress to play the love interest of a time traveling Prince has enticed her.
Laura Linney as Angelina Smith
and
Nicole Kidman as Claire Davis
“The Mothers” as they are often referred to in the book, have a yin and yang quality about them that I think these two actresses would achieve together. Kidman has a delicate beauty that makes her seem about to shatter at any moment, while Linney seems to have an inner strength she keeps in reserve. Once again, the historical nature of my fantasy movie is what made these accomplished actresses agree to portray a couple of suburban Moms.
There it is, my perfect and perfectly unachievable cast list. If anyone would like to do some Photoshop magic and create this movie poster for me, that would be awesome. Or you could maybe invent that time machine for me. Either way, I'd really appreciate it.
I've seen this book around a lot lately, but haven't heard much about it. I'll have to look into it more to see whether I'll read it or not. Thanks for the honest review!
ReplyDeleteJesse @ Pretty In Fiction
Brilliant read as always!
ReplyDeleteteeth whitening
I absolutely love this book. This is a wonderful blog about it too. I hope they make a movie(:
ReplyDeleteThis is so awesome! I would love to read this one.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much.