All We Have Is Now

by Lisa Schroeder

[shannonmiz]

This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight
The first question in the synopsis was the reason I wanted to read this book. I wanted to be made to think, to be inspired, and to basically ask myself that very question: What would you do with your last day on Earth?

And for that goal, All We Have is Now absolutely succeeded. It also restored my faith in humanity a bit, but we'll get to that later.

It focuses mainly on Emerson and Vince, who have been homeless but sticking together. I guess this is technically Emerson's story, but it isn't just her story. It's Vince's story, and Carl's, and the story of a lot of other people they meet along the way. Carl plays a huge role for many reasons, but the most important one is that he is the catalyst for the wish-granting portion of the program.

Here's where my restored faith in humanity comes into play. Vince and Emerson could have done a lot of things with their last day, but they chose to help people. As did Carl, and the person before him. And the way the whole thing is written, it seems like it actually might be a thing a lot of people really would do. Of course there were the malevolent souls who were fully planning to steal, cheat, and pillage until the bitter end, but as a whole? There was certainly more good than bad.

More things that I really liked:

The characters were amazing. Emerson wasn't always the most likeable, but she was absolutely someone I could relate to. She kind of felt like she got dealt a bad hand, and she did. But Vince did too, yet he was her opposite: optimistic and positive no matter what, always challenging Emerson to better herself and look at the good in things. For such a short book with many characters popping in and out, I was surprised to easily connect to and care for both Emerson and Vince. Even the side characters, for no matter how short a time we were introduced to them, still had tons of personality, which I think is quite an accomplishment!
It was absolutely, undeniably thought provoking. I don't know how anyone would be able to read this book and not put themselves in the characters' shoes. Everyone Emerson and Vince encountered was trying to figure out what to do with the little amount of time they had left. They all had dreams and goals and "bucket lists" just as we all do, only their time was not only finite, it was imminently ending. Reading about the different reactions people had to this was of course intriguing, but made me question my own actions- not just at the potential end of the world, but every day.
Family is a big focus for everyone in this book. Even when she wants to resist thinking about her family, they are always on Emerson's mind. Vince is dealing with the loss of his mother, and Carl is devastated at the thought of never seeing his wife again. They run into people who are lonely and looking for family, mothers and children, some of whom have healthy relationships and some who definitely do not. They run into people of so many backgrounds, ethnicities, socioeconomic groups, all of whom faced the same fate.
So while this book was really great, there was one thing that did bother me a little. There wasn't a ton of information on the lead-up to the last day. I get it, it is a fairly short book, and I don't think that the message had anything to do with the lead up, but as a logic-driven kind of person, I really wanted answers! Vince and Emerson do spend some time talking about the "how"s and the "what if?"s but they don't really have a ton of answers themselves. This is likely more of a personal gripe than a universal one, but something to keep in mind if you are like me and want to know all the things. I also would have probably liked just a little more of an emotional connection, though I think too much of one would have gotten in the way of the message.

Bottom Line: This one was a win. Any book that can make me think (and continue to make me think even after I have finished) earns major points from me. The writing was lovely, the characters were enjoyable, and the message was important. I'll leave you with this quote* that I absolutely had to save:
"No, you see, you guys are looking at it all wrong," Vince says. "The amount of time isn't important. A hundred minutes of a hundred years. Whatever, it doesn't matter. Just make it count."


*Quote taken from uncorrected proof, subject to change
**Copy provided from publisher for review**