(Warning: Contains spoilers!)
Oh. My. Gosh. This book had me laughing, questioning and sobbing. It had everything you want in a cozy, winter break read: love, friendship, loss, drama, surprises and heartbreak. Let me tell you my most notable opinions!
First, I LOVED the flow from chapter one to the ending. To be completely honest, I forgot about the first chapter until I flipped the final page! Out of context, the first chapter makes no sense, which is what makes the ending so surprising! As a reader, I was confused and didn’t want to think too hard (because who wants to analyze a romance novel?), so I didn’t think much about the characters introduced in the first chapter. So I was STUNNED when I realized Finny was gone. I think that if you pay closer attention to the first chapter maybe you would view Sylvie as a victim rather than a villain. (I also did not realize this until my roommate pointed this out, but there is a part in the middle of the novel that references the date of Finny’s death as just another normal day, which was an interesting use of foreshadowing!)
This is definitely a hot take, but I did not love the main character, Autumn. This made me consider the other characters and their perspectives, which is not something I don’t often do. I found that she was attention-seeking and not the best friend to her girls, since she essentially forced them into romantic relationships they were not happy in and considered herself a “winner” for being Jamie’s girlfriend. She says in the beginning that she was competing with her best friend for his attention and felt triumphant when she “won”, which is not only a toxic way to think of your best friend but also a confusing way to begin a relationship. Thinking from a character’s perspective, it was frustrating to watch her limit herself because of her high school boyfriend. I do think that the author did this intentionally so that the girls reading this book could maybe relate to or learn from Autumn!
I also thought it was incredibly refreshing to see the way that this novel approached mental health, as the author went about it uniquely. She focused on Autumn’s mother struggling with mental health rather than a troubled teen. In today’s novels and television shows, I’ve noticed it’s more common for teens (who are already struggling with hormones, transitional periods, and social issues) to struggle mentally. Still, adults with mental disorders are not as commonly discussed. This novel emphasizes the fact that people of all ages struggle with mental health and serves as a reminder that you are never alone!
Another aspect of the novel that I fell in love with was the method of storytelling. I loved that the author went through each year of high school after giving a brief rundown of Autumn and Finny’s backstory. The author sets up a character base for Autumn and Finny, then adds new characters and we watch those characters grow, regress and develop from tweens to adults. Even characters that are not as significant, like Jamie, Sasha or Sylvie, all develop and mature throughout Autumn’s high school career. This made me fall in love with every character as if they were peers I had grown up with throughout high school.
When my thirteen-year-old sister recommended I read this book, I expected something similar to mindless television. Instead, I was gifted a novel that I have been thinking about, even after I closed the back cover two weeks ago!