Review: Hello, Goodbye and Everything In Between

Review:

I received a copy from Netgalley.

I really loved the first Jennifer E Smith book I read (This is What Happy Looks Like) which put the author on my must buy list. I requested this title not really expecting to be approved, then I was!

I read the first 10% or so, and admittedly it was a while before I picked it up again. When I picked it up again last Sunday I pretty much finished the whole thing in a few hours. Couldn't put it down.

A very enjoyable, sweet and moving story. A couple of high school sweethearts, Clare and Aidan about to go to separate colleges, miles and miles apart, try to decide should they stay together or should they break up and have a clean slate? Its their last night with their friends and classmates as well. Clare has a plan to visit all the memorable places of their relationship before the night is over.

Though you kind of get the impression from the get go that she has already made up her mind what to do. She's the organized one of the pair, while Aidan appears to have a more go with the flow nature. The depth of emotion and feelings the two have for each other is evident as the story progresses. Of course nothing goes according to The List or Clare's plan. There's sweet, romantic bits as you learn from little flashbacks about the relationship and why the places she wants to visit matter. There are twists and turns as unexpected drama occurs and they battle with the answer to the inevitable question - to break up or stay together?

Drama of course thrown in from family members, though mostly on Aidan's side when something about his college applications comes to light. It gets a little silly in the drama thrown in at places, its like if something going to go wrong - its going to majorly wrong. But then again, its balanced out by some funny stuff as well.

The story is quite moving in parts, and a few chapters made my eyes water as Clare and Aidan try to figure out what's important to them and where to go from here. Pleased to say its not predictable in the slightest and had, at least for me, a surprising conclusion.

A quick read, but a very enjoyable one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for approving my request to view this title.

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