by Laura Nowlin
Published
April 2, 2013
Pages
397 pages
Language
English
Publisher
Sourcebooks Fire
Hardcover
$20.79
Paperback
$7.27
Audiobook
$0.00
Audio CD
Not found
More than ONE MILLION copies sold! A BookTok Viral Sensation #1 New York Times Bestseller A USA TODAY Bestseller An achingly authentic and raw portrait of love, regret, and the life-altering impact of the relationships we hold closest to us, this YA romance bestseller is perfect for fans of Colleen Hoover, Jenny Han, and Lynn Painter. If he had been with me, everything would have been different… Autumn and Finn used to be inseparable.
But then something changed. Or they changed. Now, they do their best to ignore each other.
Autumn has her boyfriend Jamie, and her close-knit group of friends. And Finn has become that boy at school, the one everyone wants to be around. That still doesn't stop the way Autumn feels every time she and Finn cross paths, and the growing, nagging thought that maybe things could have been different.
Maybe they should be together. But come August, things will change forever. And as time passes, Autumn will be forced to confront how else life might have been different if they had never parted ways… Captivating and heartbreaking, If He Had Been with Me is perfect for readers looking for: Contemporary teen romance books Unputdownable & bingeworthy novels Complex emotional YA stories TikTok Books Jenny Han fans Colleen Hoover fans
Autumn and Finny have been connected by fate since childhood, their lives weaving a tapestry of moments and memories. As they navigate the tumultuous years of high school, their bond is tested by time, distance, and the complexities of growing up. In a world where nothing seems certain, the heart often finds solace in the most unexpected places, leading to unforeseen revelations.
Childhood bonds evolve and change into complex adult relationships often unexpectedly revealing deep emotions. Life's unpredictable journey teaches valuable lessons about love throughout struggles and discoveries. The delicate balance between destiny and choice explores the intricacies of friendships and future possibilities.
Autumn and Finny\'s stories are uniquely intertwined sharing the same circle yet existing on the distant periphery of each other\'s worlds. As time unfurls their shared moments craft a silent narrative of longing and connection. Their friendship seamlessly ebbs and flows quietly transforming as they face personal challenges.
\nAmidst the chaos of adolescence Autumn finds herself longing for the past haunted by the tangible absence of Finny. Their paths diverge as choices pull them apart yet a magnetic force continuously draws them closer to realization. The silence between what is and what could be is heavy with unspoken truths.
\nNavigating high school brings seasons of change that test the strength and resilience of their bond. Lost in an unyielding sea of emotions Autumn searches for herself while trying to understand the significance of Finny\'s absence and presence. True growth emerges when faced with the shadows of what might have been.
\nAs their stories intertwine once more Autumn must unlock the secrets dwelling within her heart learning to embrace the dichotomy of love and loss. The awakening of realities leads to the painful acceptance of the roads not taken and choices that shape their destiny. \nA graceful portrayal of life\'s unpredictability If He Had Been with Me" journeys the extraordinary within the ordinary.
Torn between inevitable circumstances and choices Autumn and Finny\'s story unfolds as a testament to love\'s enduring power resonating long after the final page.
This novel expertly captures the intricate dance between friendship love and self-discovery creating characters with whom readers will deeply resonate The emotional depth is profound without being overwhelming communicated through richly developed relationships The writing seamlessly blends poignant introspection with glimpses of everyday life offering an immersive experience that captures the rawness of adolescence and the tender unpredictability of young romance Romantic tension is artfully woven with narrative harmony Its structured narrative weaves an engaging storyline that keeps readers entranced encouraging reflective interpretation of love's multifaceted nature It reflects universal themes of growing up that are both familiar and compelling appealing to a broad audience.
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Based on 45823 ratings
I wish there was more to the last chapter. The end was kind of confusing. And by the end, I mean the last two chapters. It was such a wonderful book and the ending was kind of like, “what, this is it?”
This book came in perfect unused condition. I won't write any spoilers but I was not expecting what happened. I am not an easy person to make cry, at all, and although this book did not make me shed tears it did give me a big ol' punch to the heart and gut. Enough to turn around and immediately buy book 2. Such a good read!
SOME SPOILERS: I liked it but didn’t love it. The ending just pissed me off honestly and now you have to read the second part to understand more. I hate when books do this. I’m giving it 3 starts and maybe feel 2.5. I don’t understand why people have to kill off the main character get the other main character pregnant and go oh by the way read part 2! It’s frustrating and angers. I honestly don’t know if I’ll read part 2, the book was good but not great. I have so many words to how I feel I guess overall disappointed. I had more hopes than it’s worth.
Finn and Autumn were the best of friends until middle school. That's when they seemed to grow apart. Finn was with the popular crowd and Autumn was with the not-so-popular crowd. Their moms were still friends and they were still neighbors, so they saw each other most days. Autumn has Jaime now and they have been going out for practically forever. So what if she feels a pang in her chest when she looks at Finn. She's happy with her new friends and her new life...right? Love this book. This will most likely be my favorite for the year. Laura Nowling just gets it. Everything is just completely brilliant in this novel. The characters are totally great and the story is heartbreaking and just so honest. "I want to savour this wonder, this happening of loving a book and reading it for the first time, because the first time is always the best, and I will never read this book for the first time ever again." She also totally gets being a reader. It always draws me into the book when the character is a big reader too. Finn and Autumn were the best characters. I always wanted a friend like Finn. I wanted that kind of easy friendship where the line between two people is blurred. It was devastating to me to see them not together. I could feel the pull in Autumn's chest each time she saw Finn. Even though she was happy with her other friends and Jaime, she wasn't as happy as she could be. Her heart still wanted more. It crazy how such a small little thing could drive people apart without them even realizing why. A simple miscommunication and two lives are left incomplete. It's awful, but I'm sure it happens all the time. Jaime was an okay character. I think I loved Finn too much to really give Jaime a chance. It seemed a little bit mean at times, but nothing too bad. He just wasn't a good fit for Autumn's eccentricity. Their little group seemed to function like any group of friends and they all seemed to work okay together. The only bit that I wasn't crazy about is when we read Autumn's story that she wrote. She was supposedly this really wonderful author, but the story was fairly juvenile. It wasn't bad it was just kind of basic and plain. This book is everything I want my realistic fiction to be. Just beautiful and honest. I knew how it was going to end early one, you kind of know from the first few pages. Regardless, you are still wishing and hoping that the outcome isn't what it seems to be. It was awful in a good way--in a I don't ever want this book to end kind of way. It made me laugh, it made me bawl my eyes out, it made my chest hurt and it made me close the book and immediately want to pick it up and start from the very beginning. It made me feel everything as if it was my own story. First Line: "I wasn't with Finny on that August night, but my imagination has burned the scene in my mind so that it feels like a memory." Favorite Lines: "No one is perfect." "'I think we're supposed to experience as much beauty as we can.'" "The icy wind burns through my gloves and my fingers ache until they fall numb and silent." "I can feel them in my mouth like three smooth pebbles."
4-4.5 stars for me…. You ever read a book where you knew you were going to be left brokenhearted, but you kept going anyway? Yep, this book is one of them. From the moment I started the first chapter until the very end, I knew I was in for a wild ride, a train wreck even, but the anticipation kept me going, even hoping for a different outcome. I love angst-filled tortured lovers type book…it’s what I seek for…I don’t always care for the cheesy fluffy HEA…the more a book makes my chest ache, the better. So why the 4 star rating? I’ll start off with the good: I’m a fan of single POV books. I love the mystery of only having one side of the story and having to guess what the other is feeling. I loved the overall storyline and I thought the author did a fantastic job capturing the realness of what teenagers go through in high school from experiencing your first love, first heartbreak, the cliques and friendships that you form along the way. It didn’t feel cheesy as I find with most YA books, and I think a lot of that had to do with the writing style which can be choppy and short at times, but concise and to the point. For this book, I thought that type of writing style worked. I hate YA books with over the top cattiness, cliche lines, or drawn out sentences. I didn’t find myself rolling my eyes at all, as I do with most YA books, and I think that had to do the main character Autumn - she was relatable and likable. Yes she was awkward, but weren’t we all in high school, trying to stand out or be different, trying to find ourselves? Having said all that: The story did start off slow and at times, I wasn’t even sure if Finn would become a major part of the story. Autumn and Finn had many encounters sprinkled throughout the first half of the book, but their interaction left me wanting more…more angst, more longing looks, just more. At times, it felt like their encounters were so brief that you weren’t sure if it meant anything. There were lots of times when they would sit on the couch and watch TV, and then the very next paragraph it would suddenly jump into something else. I wish the author would have followed up their interaction/encounter with a longing stare, a subtle touch, maybe an awkward conversation. Also, although I liked the choppy sentences, I felt at times the story jumped around too often with no transition/explanations in between events. Overall though, it was still a great read…one that took me out of a reading slump after back to back DNF. If you love the rip your heart out kind of books, this one won’t disappoint!
my friend recommended me this book, and at that time i was in the middle of reading icebreaker (dont ask🌚) so i kind of forgot that she recommended it. and once i finished icebreaker i decided i should give this book a try. THANK EVERYTHING I DID. normally im a slow reader (icebreaker is 400 pages and it took me 5 months to read), but this book is around 400 pages and i kid you not, it took me 2-3 weeks to finish. im sure if i sat down with no distractions i could read it in a day with how good it was. theres moments of chemistry between the 2 characters that for some time of the book is super rare and its so good. the book also makes me feel a certain way when i read it and i love it. would recommend!!