Now & When

by Sara Bennett Wealer

For fans of Jenny Han and Christine Riccio comes a romantic dramedy about a teen girl who stumbles upon a mysterious website that tells her everything she doesn't want to know about her future.

There's something about Truman Alexander that Skyler Finch finds incredibly annoying. Actually, several things: his voice (grating), his arrogance (total know-it-all), his debate-team obsession (eyeroll), and his preppy vibe (does he iron his shorts?). She does her best to avoid him and focus on the important stuff: friends, school, and her boyfriend, Eli. His promposal was perfect--just like he is--and the future is looking bright. Or is it?

For some unexplainable reason, Skylar's phone is sending her notifications from the future . . . a future in which, to her horror, she appears to be with Truman. As in, romantically. As in, Skyler cannot let that happen.

But trying to change the future means messing up the present, and what Skyler sees keeps shifting. Classmates disappear and reappear, swap partners and futures. Turns out there are no actions without reactions, and life doesn't come with a road map. But sometimes the wandering leads you exactly where you need to be, and people--like glitchy phones--are full of surprises.

• ISBN10: 1984896245
• ISBN13: 9781984896247
• Publish Date: 14 July 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Delacorte Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781984896247

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Skyler lived in the "now", and didn't worry too much about the future. When Skyler's cell phone showed her glimpse's of her ten year reunion, she became very concerned with acting now to prevent such things from becoming her reality. But, while trying to fix the future, she may have caused some serious problems in the present.

I said it, when I featured this book back in April as my Can't Wait Wednesday pick, I was intrigued by the premise, but I was really coming for the promised hate-to-love romance, and I was not disappointed.

Truman and Skyler had quite the rivalry. Their bickering and arguing became expected in their classes, but through the verbal sparring, it was easy to see an obvious spark. I liked these two, and the way they challenged each other, while having such differing goals. Truman was suffering through his present in order to ensure his future, while Skyler was sort of coasting, only worrying about the now. They helped each other meet in the middle, while also maybe realizing that they may have outgrown some of their plans.

For me, the "magical" element played a small role, though I appreciated it as a creative way to get Skyler to start really looking at her life. What was more meaningful for me was the overall message, that life is about balance, and even if you have the best laid plans, your future may not match the one you envisioned. It's also about friendship, and working to foster those important relationships. And, it's about being true to yourself, spending your time and effort to achieve things that matter to you, not just to impress others.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I liked the idea of living in the now vs. planning for the future, and how sometimes things are out of our control, no matter how hard we try to follow a plan. I was also a fan of these two "enemies", and liked watching that tension turn into more.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

4.5*

I found this to be quite the adorable book! Upfront, I will tell you that people have been and will be irked by some cheating. And without going into it too deeply, I'll be quite clear that it didn't bother me. Look, I am not saying that cheating is awesome, or the right thing to do, but humans make mistakes. And I think this book illustrated that it isn't a great plan, the character felt terrible, apologized, and moved on.

Actually, I lied, I am going to delve deeper. Here's my thing: Skylar is a young woman who always wants to be perfect. And she makes a mistake clearly. But I seriously want to find someone who hasn't made a poor choice, or a decision they regretted, or felt bad about. Because we all have. And saying "well she sucks" because of an indiscretion? What message does that send? I will probably post about this more in depth and move along, but those are my two cents.

Beyond that, the book is just plain fun. I mean, an Instagram link on a glitchy phone that shows you your future photos? So clever! And I worried that it could be either adorable or hokey, and luckily it was adorable. And it brings up so many questions! Would you want to know your future? What would you do with this information?

And it isn't only a romance! The book focuses mostly on Skylar and her friends growing and changing and trying to decipher who they want to be. There's also a focus on mental health, as one of Skylar's best friends has been struggling. I liked that the author provides a lot of discussion, and portrays it as a great learning moment for Skylar to understand and support her friend appropriately. Skylar also has to navigate family issues as well as general coming-of-age decisions.

Bottom Line: While it's packaged as a enemies-to-lovers romance (and that is accurate), it's also so much more. It's a story about a young woman figuring out who she is and who she wants to become, with an enjoyable romance in the mix.