Reviews

In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch

mbarron57's review against another edition

4.0

Once again Winn Scotch has given us a book with a "happy ending" that doesn't look like the typical happy ending you'd expect. It's one of the reasons I love her writing. This book is written from the POV of 5 friends who grew apart but come back for a reunion of sorts on their friends 40th birthday. While having that many POVs could be confusing it's not and Winn Scotch writes each character so well that you can tell the difference in their "voices". And the overall story is so engrossing that once you pick this book up you will NOT want to put it down.

oczerniecka's review against another edition

3.0

You might want to pretend you can reinvent yourself; you might want to give yourself that chance to wash it away into blank pace, but you can't. The past doesn't change. That history doesn't change. You don't change unless you swim so hard upstream that you’re lucky not to exhaust yourself into drowning. It's no surprise that no one else changes neither. [...]
The past is who you are. The future is what you do with that.

This is a reunion story. First we meet group of six friends at the last day of their collage life - Bea, a leader of the group is making them all to write up a letter to older self, letter that they will read again in 20 years. Then we fast forward almost twenty years from that day. Now everything is completely different than the life of twenty-something college students that thought that everything is possible and that they will be friends, a family forever.

In twenty years from the day - Bea is no longer with them, she died in a car accident. Lindy is a rock star. Catharine is a domestic goddess with her own blog empire. Owen is stay at home dad. Colin is a Boob King of L.A and Annie is a stay at home mom with a social media obsession to make her life 'more' than it actually is. Catharine and Owen are not so happily married, Lindy and Annie do not talk to each other after some major drama at Catherine and Owen's wedding. Colin settled for plastic surgery instead of neurosurgery. At July 4th weekend they are reunited in their old home, when once they all lived together and wrote letters to older selves.

This book basically tells a story of life. It shows really nicely how we might hope are life will evolve, and how we are at one point in our life faced with a realization that something went wrong, that at one point you lost yourself from the past and now you cannot longer recognize yourself. This is a very nice story, with a lot of drama that is showing the main premise of the book - a reunion - in a great and entertaining well with a nice hopeful ending. This was a very nice read that is perfect for boiling hot days when it is just too hot to read anything heavier, when reading about somebody else's lives and dramas is just the right amount of effort you are capable to do in such day.

jbones's review against another edition

3.0

A good beach read. A little frantic feeling towards the end. Characters were believable if slightly unlikeable. I like all of her books... Don't love them. But when there's a new one I would seek it out.

nickieandremus's review against another edition

5.0

This book is about 6 Penn students who make a time capsule with letters to their future self twenty years later. Then, as the 20 years are almost up, they meet up together again at the house that they all called home together. I think most of us would be in a completely different place from when we were in our twenties to when we were in our forties. Goals change. We grow. Life happens. This book is a bittersweet tale that is guaranteed to win your heart.

momadvice's review against another edition

3.0

Twenty years ago, six Penn students shared a home together and formed a fast friendship that they thought would have forever. When Bea, one of their most faithful friends, passes away, her dying wish is to see them reunited once again twenty years later, on the eve of what would have been her 40th birthday. Of course, each of these friends is carrying their own demons and as time passes, secrets are revealed and the true nature of each of them is uncovered.

I have always been a big fan of Scotch’s books (Time of My Life still remains one of my all-time favorites) and have appreciated her storylines, particularly with love stories. Perhaps, that is why I struggled a bit because there wasn’t a strong love story for me in this one. The book could have benefited from a bit of trimming to carve out a tighter storyline, but I still think this is a fun addition to your beach bag this summer.

kmpatel13's review against another edition

4.0

forgive me, i have a cast on but i just finished the book and wanted to review before i forget.

i thoroughly enjoyed the story. i loved how it started, transitioned, and almost how it ended. i kind of wish there was a bit of a recap of where everyone ended up or the steps they took after the weekend was over.

i also wish there was more communication between the characters towards the end.

great coming of age story....b/c lets face it -- any age is coming of age.

laurakost's review against another edition

2.0

A bit campy for my tastes. Characters, dialogue felt forced. A couple nice plot twists though!

kendra0119's review against another edition

4.0

Do you ever sit back and really think about the time that has gone by? Do you ever wonder about those friends you made in college? This book explores what happens when life takes hold. A tragic circumstance brings friends together that were once a family forged in college. They are forced to examine the downfalls and hardships they've caused themselves and each other. I felt committed to the characters and felt emotions for their situations. My only struggle was how overly successful most of them seemed. To me, this cheapened the connection between reader and story. Had the characters been just a tad more relatable, the author would have knocked it out of the park! Overall, 4/5.

chaos_and_cabernet's review against another edition

3.0

I loved the premise of this one. Loved that the characters are my age. Loved the idea. And I do think it got better as it progressed, but it was so clunky in parts. The pop culture references were cringy. That bit about Rhianna?? 🤦🏻‍♀️ The “Boob King”? 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ Overall not terrible. Not my fave this year, but a pleasant way to pass a Sunday.

stephsabia's review against another edition

5.0

In Twenty Years is a heartfelt wonderfully written book. Six friends meet and form a bond like no other while in college. On the eve of their graduation their ring leader, Bea has them all write a letter to their future selves. Fast forward 18 years they are summoned to their old college home for a mini reunion, orchestrated by Bea. What takes place over the next couple of years will leave them raw, emotionally spent, and feeling more honest with themselves than they have in years. I have read all of Allison Winn Scotch's books (and enjoyed them all) and can honestly say that her books get better and better with each one she writes!

*Thank you to the publisher and the Goodreads First Reads program for an advance readers copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.