A review by lauren_shilling
If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin

emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

So everyone says this book makes them cry, but it didn't make me cry. It didn't break my heart, but it felt like it had carved my heart right out of my chest. I felt so empty after finishing it. I hurt so much, and left me feeling very numb. The entire book has a very melancholy tone, and you know what's going to happen from the first chapter. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I spent the entire book convincing myself that it wouldn't and trying to pretend like everything would be okay in the end. It hurt so badly, and I love Autumn and Finn so much. At first, I wasn't sure if I liked Autumn because she felt like a very classic "weird" girl character that the popular boy falls in love with (even though that isn't really the setup of the story at all), but I fell in love with her pretty quickly. Finn I fell in love with instantly. I loved him so much. This book was a messy story with messy characters, but even though they were so messy, they were so good. In the end, they were such good people, and they were always meant for each other, but things got so complicated so quickly and so easily. I don't really know what more to say except that I really adore these characters and this story, and it left me feeling so empty and sad that I cannot properly express it.
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