Now & When by Sara Bennett Wealer

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.

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on

4 of 5 stars

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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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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 24 June, 2020: Finished reading
  • 24 June, 2020: Reviewed