If He Had Been With Me

Madelyn’s Opinion: 

I would rate If He Had Been With Me a 4/5. This book left me on the edge of my seat, leaving me wanting to read more. The main character, Autumn, navigates her high school challenges, friendships, and relationships throughout the book. Throughout this book I felt connected to almost all the characters, which made me invested in reading it. But I also think some changes could be made about this book. It had a pretty good plot, but it was kind of predictable. Plus, if you have social media, there are a ton of spoilers out there.  I accidentally saw some which affected my enjoyment of the book, but if you don’t look at social media, you should be okay. The ending, like I said, was predictable, but it still had meaning and everything happened so fast it almost felt like I was actually there. Overall, if you're looking for a fast-paced romance book, this is for you!

Jolene’s Opinion:

I would rate If He Had Been With Me a 3.5/5. I thought it was a good book, but there were some things I would’ve changed. I knew the ending before I was finished, so that was probably why I didn’t enjoy the book as much, because social media spoiled it. The plot was a little repetitive, going through the protagonist Autumn’s high school life, but the book was very meaningful and I liked it. The ending was a little confusing for me, but having the spoilers helped me understand. I also thought the cover was a little off, because it’s supposed to symbolize the two main protagonists, but I think there was a better item the author could’ve used to do that, something that was actually in the book with a meaning. Overall, I enjoyed reading the book, but it wasn’t my favorite, and I don’t think I'm going to read the second one. 

If He Had Been With Me is a YA fiction book. It starts with Autumn Davis and Phineas Smith. Their mothers were best friends and neighbors, and they also got pregnant at the same time. So, Finny and Autumn were best friends; they did everything together. Finny was kind and shy and defended Autumn when anyone teased her. They grew up together and even spent holidays together, until they grew apart in high school. Finny starts dating someone, Autumn starts dating someone, they each have their own friend groups, and they stop talking. The book goes through Autumn's life in high school and her hidden feelings about Finny, and the sequel, If I Had Told Her, is about Finny’s high school life. They have to navigate between relationships, family, and friends, starting from when she's a freshman, going through her senior year.  They don’t share their unspoken feelings about each other, so will it be too late before tragedy strikes? And will they run out of time?  

The author, Laura Nowlin, wrote If He Had Been with me,  If I Had Told Her, a sequel to If He Had Been With Me, and This Song is (Not) For You. She wrote If He Had Been with me in 2013, If I Had Told Her in 2024, and This Song is (Not) For You in 2016. She got the #1 New York Times bestseller with If He Had Been With Me and If Only I Told Her. Nowlin’s inspiration for these books came from losing a close friend in high school and reading other books. Nowlin has a Bachelor of Arts in English and an emphasis in creative writing from Missouri State University. Nowlin lives in St. Louis with her husband, her dog, and her cat.