Reviews tagging 'Child death'

If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin

49 reviews

gabriella_'s review against another edition

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sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

this is the book that made everyone on tiktok cry? really?

it builds up for so long. Every page seems to build hype and foreshadowing for this looming Something and in the last 4 chapters everything falls apart. most of this book is so painfully slow-burn. and when they finally get together, most of it is about breaking up with sylvie anyway. finny also just straight up cheats on her.


I’m still gonna read the sequel because I need a bigger picture here
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ellie_girl2929's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It is mainly slow but i couldn't put the book down. I was very invested around 60%*I knew in the beginning of the book that Finny was going to die. I didn’t think it be such an impact and make my jaw physically drop when I read the line saying he had died.* Finny grew as a person throughout this book and took care of Autumn when it seemed like he wasn’t. The book did flow but the ending kind of just stopped and wished it was better. *I honestly wish Finny didn’t die and we could see an epilogue of them but then title wouldn’t make sense.*

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summerspence's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Quick and enjoyable read, although I think I may have finally aged out of the "...but we didn't know we liked each other" miscommunication trope. Also, the plot is predominately moved along solely by foreshadowing for most of the book, so you will probably see the twists and turns coming from miles away.
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juliedenn4's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

It’s the only book I’ve ever read that’s made me cry. 
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jcaron43's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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carebearmoseley's review against another edition

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4.0

absolutely heartbreaking 
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creativeteacherreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a venture off of what I have typically been reading. It was the YA Book of the Month last month at my Barnes and Noble. It was a good engaging read, but I was disappointed in how fast the ending went after the build up of the characters.
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sing1133's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I listened to this as an audiobook after hearing a lot of good things about this book. 
I really enjoyed listening to it and really liked the story. 
There were some parts where it felt like not a lot was happening yet I didn’t get bored. The chapters were quick which is always a positive thing in my mind. 
Nothing dragged on for too long. 
I also really liked that Autumn’s boyfriend Jamie wasn’t terrible
at least not the whole time, at the end for sure.
I feel like usually in books where two people should be together or want to be, their significant other is often portrayed as a bad partner in some way but for most of this book I thought Jamie was fine. 
He wasn’t my favourite character and I didn’t think they were perfect for each other but I didn’t hate it either. 
That’s what made me interested even more because I didn’t really hate anyone and it made the situation more complicated. 
I also liked how on top of everything it felt like a normal high school experience too with people growing apart but still having a connection and having trouble dealing with that. 
It definitely was a sad ending and it definitely did rip my heart out seeing it coming but I also wasn’t quite as connected to Finn and Autumn as I thought I’d be. I loved Finn a lot and I did want them together but it wasn’t as much as I thought. 
I both loved and hated the accident at the end. It was so sad and clearly the book was leading to this but I also felt like it was sudden. And then the very very end with Autumn felt heartbreaking but also sudden to. It just ended a bit abruptly for me which is what brought it down a tiny bit from a 5 star.

Over all though I like this book a lot. 
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amelie_wat's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

🚨SPOILERS🚨

This book was a roller coaster - and oh boy, that ending…the lack of transition into such a big plot twist was bold and I personally did not enjoy it as much as other readers. 

Overall, I generally liked the characters throughout the book. The story was compelling and the romance aspects were especially well written. I just wish it was a little shorter, I understand that a lot of the chapters were used to develop Autumn and Finn’s relationship - but at some points It just seemed unnecessary.
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kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book is told in chapters that feel like snapshots into the world of two teenagers, Finny and Autumn. They are in love with each other but are unwilling or unable to admit it to themselves or the other. They are fated to love one another — their mothers have been best friends for their entire lives. The last third of this book I just knew it was building toward something bad, the book just gave off a vibe. While the last third also gives you a lot of good, it’s a bittersweet ending. For some reason, I didn’t connect with the characters as much as I thought I would. But I still liked them. The ending made me sad, but I didn’t cry. I’m not sure what to make of that. 
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