A review by emilyjamison14
You, Again by Kate Goldbeck

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

2.5

To preface this review, When Harry Met Sally may be my favorite movie of all time. When this book was originally on Book of the Month, I thought, “There is no way this will measure up for me,” but I kept hearing good things, so I decided to try it. 

If you are a fellow When Harry Met Sally, you need to go in with low expectations, and it’s honestly best you don’t expect a rehashing of the film. This is really, really well written which is not a comment I throw around, and I think it does both the book and movie a disservice to compare them too closely. 

While the dual perspectives make sense for a When Harry Met Sally inspired story, there’s two much character building being done from the other character’s perspective in a way that does not make sense. It also makes the story lack tension at times. 

I didn’t really like Ari as a character - she just annoyed me. There were slight allusions to her possibly having a rough family background, but there’s never any context to substantiate that suspicions. The resolution wasn’t enough to convince me that she is going to be a good partner to Josh, as she really needed to do a lot of inner work that she seemed resistant to. 

One last thing, it was so obvious Josh is supposed to be Adam Driver. Not a good or bad thing either way, I just need to get that out. 
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