Reviews

Content Warning: on page teen drug and alcohol use, cutting, bullying, outing, grief, hallucinations, death of a minor character; mentions of party scenes, adult drug and alcohol use, mental health issues (anxiety, PTSD, grief, therapy), mentions of poly relationship, casual sex, outdoor sex, mentions of main character having been cheated on in the past

(Drugs mentioned: LSD, weed, cocaine, Molly)

Such a Small World manages to straddle that fine line that comes with a dial timeline, especially between a YA timeline and an adult timeline, without either one feeling uncomfortable or awkward.

Emotive, beautiful, tragic and touching, this book will make you laugh, cry, grieve for someone who isn't real, wish you could turn back time, and give you restless wanderer syndrome, making you want to travel, explore and find yourself in the vast, mysterious outback.

This is my first book by the author - though I actually own When Things Happen Together, which is the story of Thomas and Bruce from this book - and I'll be going straight into that now that I've read this. I'm almost sad that I didn't read it first, but if it means coming back to re-read Such a Small World when I'm done, to connect the dots, that's no bad thing. This is a book well worth re-reading!

Such a Small World is the story of Mackenzie - as a teenager, finding himself, just 17 years old, and as an adult, on a fateful journey that takes him walking back down memory lane.

In the past, he's dating a girl but finding himself increasingly drawn to his best friend, Finn. Then events snowball and he finds himself adrift in a changing world where nothing will ever be the same again.

In the present, Mack is heading to a door with bestie, Rachel. Along the way, they meet Lily and Jasper who will irrevocably change their fates.

The story starts with a banger of a twist - Mack is on a plane, eyeing up a hot male flight attendant, when their eyes meet and we discover Mack has, what he calls, Brain Cinema : the ability to see snippets of his future. He only sees his connection to that specific person, and usually only short, indistinct glimpses. With the flight attendant, Jasper, he sees a surprisingly long future, but one that ends in heartache. Unable to relive the pain of his teenage years, he tries to avoid Jasper only for their paths to cross in multiple more-than-a-coincidence ways!

In terms of characters, I loved Mackenzie from the start. His teen self was a bit more of a prick, so I love that we got to care about his adult self first. I absolutely adored Finn, who had so many walls up. Jasper was, conversely, as outgoing and live-in-the-moment as I imagine an adult Finn would be, and the perfect counter to Mack, who is scarred from his teen years.

The side characters were brilliant - bubbly and joyous Rachel and Lily, the lesbian queens!, Mack's parents, even Finn's family, and the brief glimpse of Craig the boss, and Thomas and Bruce.

The writing style was, at first, a bit jarring, I'll admit. I can't put my finger on why, but it's a style I haven't read often, so it took me a few chapters to settle in. That's a me problem, so I haven't let it influence my rating, because I didn't notice any editing issues as such.

I had to look up "door", because I'm Scottish and a "door" to us is generally "a dunce" or "an idiot". I've never heard of it in terms of partying, but I'm not a party person or into festivals, so maybe that would explain it.

There were a few places where the phrasing or word choices tripped me up, e.g. "He extended his eyes", but it could be a cultural language thing, like how I'd "his eyes bugged out of his head" which was how I read it. It actually reminded me - in tone, style and overall feeling - of B.G. Thomas' Seasons of Love series, which is an old favourite of mine.

Overall, this was a beautiful, tragic story of self-discovery and self-rediscovery. There's a moving, incredibly poignant journey with relatable characters, as well as a perfectly crafted dual timeline. I loved the (unofficial) epilogue 4 years later!

I cried at 50% (car crash), Mack leaving the voicemail, and the big breakthrough moment: If I Lose Myself. And I won't explain what any of that means because you should read it!

Right now, I'm emotionally shattered and I wish I could go back in time to make everything part of Mack's really bad first acid trip so that nothing that followed ever had to happen! I want to let Mack go back, before the kiss, to rewrite his future and let Finn live!!!

Favourite Quotes

“I wasn't sure if I'd ever love anyone the way I loved Finn.”

Content Warnings

lostboylit's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

firstly, thank you Jordan for gifting me an advanced readers copy of Such A Small World. 🧡

Such A Small World brings us into Mackenzie’s world. Mack can see the relationship timeline of every new person he meets. while on a flight from the East Coast to Central Australia, Mack meets Jasper and sees their relationship timeline, including watching Jasper die in his arms in the future, this brings up Mack’s past trauma & he has to decide to surrender to his fate with Jasper or to fight it!

Such A Small World explores grief in so many different forms, in an absolutely gorgeous, poignant way. the story follows the timelines of “then” and “now” as we follow Mack from teenager to adult. grieving what has already been lost and what could be lost.

Such A Small World also is full of love, romantic, platonic, familial. each lovingly given space to shine throughout the book, from the friendship between Mack & Rachel, the relationship with Mack & his mum or his relationship with Jasper. there is copious amounts of love & it makes your heart swell. it’s so so so sweet! and they do, of course, get their spicy moments 🌶️🥵

each character you’ll never want to say goodbye to (even if you have to) & with the stunning settings of Central Australia, Brisbane & London. it’s an unforgettable story! i could live this world that Jordan creates for the rest of my life (which is funny because i kinda do? i’m literally Australian 😂)

Such A Small World is available in stores June 5th and i highly encourage you to buy/preorder it (or else 🔫) & before Such A Small World releases, you can go and read Jordan’s first book When Things Happen Together 🫶🏻

luhos's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

In Such a Small World we follow Mackenzie as he embarks on a trip to central Australia with his friend, Rachel. Mackenzie unexpectedly meets Jasper, a flight attendant working his flight, and thanks to his ability to see a timeline of his future relationship with everyone he meets, things with Jasper get a little complicated.

Such a Small World alternates between the story of Mack & Jasper as well as Mack's youth, coming into his queer identity as he explored his relationship with his best friend, Finn. In Mack's current predicament he sees echos of his past troubled relationship with Finn. We follow Mack on his story as he relives his past and tries to reconcile his present to allow himself a happy future.

This was such a beautiful novel. On one level, it's a beautiful love story; on another level, it's about the difficulties of growing up queer, combined with sudden loss and grief. Mack's experiences in his past and his present were so relatable and definitely reminded me a lot of what it was like to grow up queer, how difficult it can be; but it also provided a lens to be able to look back and realise how far I've come.

On top of the beautiful story, Clayden-Lewis does a really excellent job of celebrating the Australian landscape, something that I don't see often in books. This is a must read for anyone, Australian and otherwise, if for no other reason than this!

Thanks to Jordan Clayden-Lewis for providing me with an ARC of this beautiful story. It's out June 5, and I can't recommend it enough.

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