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A review by laurel00
If Tomorrow Doesn't Come by Jen St. Jude
emotional
hopeful
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I'm... speechless.
I genuinely don't think I have the words to express the effect this book had on me. I am exhausted. I suddenly believe in true love. How am I supposed to go on just living my day-to-day as if the trajectory of my very existence hasn't completely shifted? I'm going to message everyone I have ever known and tell them I love them. I am nothing but the shell of a man, and yet simultaneously I feel like I have finally discovered the true meaning of life.
This book drained me of everything that I have. I know I'm an easy crier when I read, but for a novel to make me not just shed a few tears, but full on sob from the very first page to the last... Before the first page actually, because just from the author's note I was already in shambles. It's for sure one of my top reads this year (and possibly, ever) and it's going to be so incredibly difficult for another book to top it. Thank you, Jen St. Jude, for the experience of a lifetime, truly.
I loved everything about this of course: the premise, the characters, the relationships—the family dynamics, the friendships, the romance. Even though I couldn't necessarily relate to everything the main character was going through, every line hit so deep and so personal, I felt it in my bones. It definitely touches on a lot of heavy themes, but I think St. Jude did an amazing job with all of it. The way they wrote the main character's depression and her religious trauma... it's hard to say that it was "wonderful" because that's such a positive word for an otherwise terribly devastating life experience, but their writing skills really are stellar.
I also have to shout out St. Jude for writing a butch love interest in such a beautiful way. For making her her own person with her own story and an existence outside of the main character's life. For using the term "butch" often, and for letting the main character call her "handsome" on multiple occasions. For showcasing a relationship with gender and masculinity that, even though it wasn't a central plot point, was touching and realistic.
This book is simultaneously one of the most heartbreaking, soul shattering, depressing books I have ever picked up, as well as one of the most hopeful and beautiful things I have ever read. I feel like my entire body doesn't know how to react to what I just experienced other than crying some more.
I really don't have more words to describe this book. I'm going to be talking about this non-stop, probably for the rest of my life. I don't know if I have ever so confidently recommended a novel. This is, truthfully, a spectacular piece of literature.
Source: NetGalley
I genuinely don't think I have the words to express the effect this book had on me. I am exhausted. I suddenly believe in true love. How am I supposed to go on just living my day-to-day as if the trajectory of my very existence hasn't completely shifted? I'm going to message everyone I have ever known and tell them I love them. I am nothing but the shell of a man, and yet simultaneously I feel like I have finally discovered the true meaning of life.
This book drained me of everything that I have. I know I'm an easy crier when I read, but for a novel to make me not just shed a few tears, but full on sob from the very first page to the last... Before the first page actually, because just from the author's note I was already in shambles. It's for sure one of my top reads this year (and possibly, ever) and it's going to be so incredibly difficult for another book to top it. Thank you, Jen St. Jude, for the experience of a lifetime, truly.
I loved everything about this of course: the premise, the characters, the relationships—the family dynamics, the friendships, the romance. Even though I couldn't necessarily relate to everything the main character was going through, every line hit so deep and so personal, I felt it in my bones. It definitely touches on a lot of heavy themes, but I think St. Jude did an amazing job with all of it. The way they wrote the main character's depression and her religious trauma... it's hard to say that it was "wonderful" because that's such a positive word for an otherwise terribly devastating life experience, but their writing skills really are stellar.
I also have to shout out St. Jude for writing a butch love interest in such a beautiful way. For making her her own person with her own story and an existence outside of the main character's life. For using the term "butch" often, and for letting the main character call her "handsome" on multiple occasions. For showcasing a relationship with gender and masculinity that, even though it wasn't a central plot point, was touching and realistic.
This book is simultaneously one of the most heartbreaking, soul shattering, depressing books I have ever picked up, as well as one of the most hopeful and beautiful things I have ever read. I feel like my entire body doesn't know how to react to what I just experienced other than crying some more.
I really don't have more words to describe this book. I'm going to be talking about this non-stop, probably for the rest of my life. I don't know if I have ever so confidently recommended a novel. This is, truthfully, a spectacular piece of literature.
Source: NetGalley