Title: Hello, Goodbye and Everything In Between
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Publisher: Poppy
Publication Date: September 2015
Genre: Young Adult Fiction/ Contemporary
Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone
Synopsis can be found here.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Review:
Clare and Aidan are on the edge. They both leave for college the next day and have to decide whether to breakup or stay together.
There is something charming about this Jennifer E. Smith book. Aidan isn’t your typical male hero. He’s a nice guy, loving and quirky and totally in love with his girlfriend Clare. A girlfriend who wants to breakup for college. Don’t be mad at Clare. She sees this as an opportunity for both of them, to end on a nice note, not months later after jealousy and heartache and miscommunication. She loves him just as much as he loves her and there lies the problem.
Smith did a good job of creating two characters who really should be together. As they spend their last night in their hometown together, drifting from one important place to the other and saying goodbye to friends, Clare and Aidan remember when they first started dating and all the important steps after. It’s a nice change to see the characters happy and content after their courtship and to only have circumstance and time pull them apart. Usually it’s all about two characters getting together so this was a nice change!
I enjoyed the story and the cast of characters (Scotty is perhaps my favorite misfit) but I did find the style a little distracting. Because a lot of the book is from memory, there’s a lot of telling and not showing. We are told why Aidan is the guy for Clare, we are told about their first kiss, Aidan’s parents reaction to college. It’s more of a narration, pulling the reader out from experiencing the events firsthand. I felt withdrawn from the moments that were supposed to be very important to the couple and that lost the book’s magic for me.
Overall, Hello, Goodbye and Everything In Between is a bittersweet story about finding and losing first love. I liked what I read, I just wish there was more.
Rating 5 Okay
Kimberly majored in Songwriting and currently works full time in the music industry. When she's not listening to music, knitting or writing, you can find her outside reading her favorite genres: Young Adult, Adult Fiction, Mystery, and Romance.
I recently read this book and really enjoyed it. I fee the author did a great job and seeing highschool relationships before college starts. i really liked it.
I’m glad you liked it! I really liked the ending, which was perfect. I am not sure if I’m a fan yet of Jennifer e smith, but I’m looking forward to reading more of her books to find out!