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A review by cloha
If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
“Finny?” “Oh Autumn.”
Ending was abrupt but not entirely unexpected. I think it portrayed childhood friends and young love well. The book read to me like it was trying to be a modern day Romeo and Juliet story. Right as everything fell into place, all was lost. It was upsetting and taught the importance of being honest. Any book that has the power to do this, is a decent book to me. The character types were kind of cringe but I guess there's a level of realism with that, since coming-of-age is generally thought to be a cringey part of our lives. It was realistic to how we are before we transition into adulthood. My issue is that I don't really know what age range to place this book. Seemed like it was a pretty light read until the end. The whiplash felt unpleasant more than it surprising me or challenging me or giving me something to chew on. It felt a little sloppy even? Like the plot was too clunky or the foreshadowing was too obvious or the characters were too predictable? Unsure. But some positives were that I enjoyed reading about Autumn's friend group. I thought the titling of things like the "Steps to Nowhere" and "The Mothers" was a creative touch. I was pretty invested in the characters by the end of book, so when Sasha and Jamie become a thing, I was so appalled. That's usually a good sign of being committed to the characters.
a few fav scenes:
pg 107 when both Finn and Jamie stood up
pg 88 the lunch table war
pg 132 protectiveness
pg 169 boys being boys meeting boy
pg 205 "Ales spends the night at Jamie's. Jamie tells Alex that he doesn't like Trina. That nobody likes Trina. That everybody likes Sasha. That Sasha misses him." - foreshadowing / power they had over each other
pg 314 "'Well,' Finny says, 'to be fair, you do need a ride.' 'No, I don't,' I say. 'I have you.' Finny smiles."
Ending was abrupt but not entirely unexpected. I think it portrayed childhood friends and young love well. The book read to me like it was trying to be a modern day Romeo and Juliet story. Right as everything fell into place, all was lost. It was upsetting and taught the importance of being honest. Any book that has the power to do this, is a decent book to me. The character types were kind of cringe but I guess there's a level of realism with that, since coming-of-age is generally thought to be a cringey part of our lives. It was realistic to how we are before we transition into adulthood. My issue is that I don't really know what age range to place this book. Seemed like it was a pretty light read until the end. The whiplash felt unpleasant more than it surprising me or challenging me or giving me something to chew on. It felt a little sloppy even? Like the plot was too clunky or the foreshadowing was too obvious or the characters were too predictable? Unsure. But some positives were that I enjoyed reading about Autumn's friend group. I thought the titling of things like the "Steps to Nowhere" and "The Mothers" was a creative touch. I was pretty invested in the characters by the end of book, so when Sasha and Jamie become a thing, I was so appalled. That's usually a good sign of being committed to the characters.
a few fav scenes:
pg 107 when both Finn and Jamie stood up
pg 88 the lunch table war
pg 132 protectiveness
pg 169 boys being boys meeting boy
pg 205 "Ales spends the night at Jamie's. Jamie tells Alex that he doesn't like Trina. That nobody likes Trina. That everybody likes Sasha. That Sasha misses him." - foreshadowing / power they had over each other
pg 314 "'Well,' Finny says, 'to be fair, you do need a ride.' 'No, I don't,' I say. 'I have you.' Finny smiles."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Dysphoria