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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
I wish I could’ve given a higher rating for this book, but I can’t. There’s really not much plot except for the main couple arguing while driving around town, and I had expected so much more. The other thing I dislike about this book is how the main characters keep saying “I know.” It’s frustrating because one person would talk and the other cuts them off with an “I know.” But yes overall it wasn’t a totally sh*tty book, again, my expectations were just too high.
i can't believe this whole book revolved around one night. i am baffled and confuzzled. it was cute though.
i liked the fact that clare and aidan were already in a relationship; so many books are centred on the development of a new relationship that it was quite refreshing to read one where the relationship had already been cemented, and the characters had years of history together. that being said though, i would have liked a few more flashbacks, or something of the like, to significant/not so significant points in their relationship, just so i could understand the clare and aidan a bit more and feel more invested in their relationship.
the bittersweet tone of the novel was perfect though, and i did enjoy the fact that smith depicted the love they had for each other, as well as the little suppressed resentments that so often pop up in relationships because it made it seem so much more realistic.
while i know the novel was focused on clare and aidan and the course of their relationship, i would have liked to see more about scotty and stella as well, seeing as they're supposed to be their best friends. i know when i moved away for uni, i was trying to spend as much time with my friends as possible - saying goodbye and spending time together should have been a much more prominent thought in clare and aidan's minds i think!
aside from that, my main critique of this novel was just the fact that it didn't stir up that many emotions in me. a breakup, especially when it's simply because of external circumstances and TOO MUCH love should be heart-wrenching, and yet, i didn't really feel much in terms of clare and aidan's relationship; i was honestly more pre-occupied with the fact that they weren't spending time with their friends. as always, it's probably my own cynicism and lack of experience in that regard, but perhaps if i had connected with the characters more, i would have felt more as well.
i liked the fact that clare and aidan were already in a relationship; so many books are centred on the development of a new relationship that it was quite refreshing to read one where the relationship had already been cemented, and the characters had years of history together. that being said though, i would have liked a few more flashbacks, or something of the like, to significant/not so significant points in their relationship, just so i could understand the clare and aidan a bit more and feel more invested in their relationship.
the bittersweet tone of the novel was perfect though, and i did enjoy the fact that smith depicted the love they had for each other, as well as the little suppressed resentments that so often pop up in relationships because it made it seem so much more realistic.
while i know the novel was focused on clare and aidan and the course of their relationship, i would have liked to see more about scotty and stella as well, seeing as they're supposed to be their best friends. i know when i moved away for uni, i was trying to spend as much time with my friends as possible - saying goodbye and spending time together should have been a much more prominent thought in clare and aidan's minds i think!
aside from that, my main critique of this novel was just the fact that it didn't stir up that many emotions in me. a breakup, especially when it's simply because of external circumstances and TOO MUCH love should be heart-wrenching, and yet, i didn't really feel much in terms of clare and aidan's relationship; i was honestly more pre-occupied with the fact that they weren't spending time with their friends. as always, it's probably my own cynicism and lack of experience in that regard, but perhaps if i had connected with the characters more, i would have felt more as well.
This was just fine.
Clare was not a good friend. She was incredibly self-absorbed and also a moron. I don't think I was supposed to hope Aidan would break up with her.
Clare was not a good friend. She was incredibly self-absorbed and also a moron. I don't think I was supposed to hope Aidan would break up with her.
3.5 stars. I've really enjoyed all of Jennifer E. Smith's books, but this one was possibly the saddest. It follows 18 year old Clare and Aidan on their last night in their home town before leaving for college. They revisit all the important locations from their two year relationship while trying to decide whether to attempt long distance (he's going to UCLA, she's going to Dartmouth) or break up.
There were some cute moments and way more feels than I anticipated. But it was kind of hard to really get involved in the story when it takes place over the course of one night... And holy hell, this book was really white and really straight. Which made me sad. It would probably be a three star book if it weren't for Scotty's run in with an ink pad and an adorable dog.
There were some cute moments and way more feels than I anticipated. But it was kind of hard to really get involved in the story when it takes place over the course of one night... And holy hell, this book was really white and really straight. Which made me sad. It would probably be a three star book if it weren't for Scotty's run in with an ink pad and an adorable dog.
Jennifer E. Smith novels have been the highlight of my year every year. It started with This Is What Happy Looks Like and then last year, The Geography of You and Me, I don't think I can really rank them in order because they are all so special in there own way. They will always be my most anticipated read, why, because in each novel she explore love in so many ways and Hello, Goodbye and Everything In Between, was just another one that just made my heart swell and my love for Jennifer's novel grow a little more.
Clare and Aidan have been together two years. What a wonderful two years it has been but they knew that this time is coming where they can't follow each other, where they have to make their own path for their future. Both of them have applied to universities, Clare got accepted in Dartmouth and Aidan, UCLA on opposite ends of the country. They take this one night before they leave as a way to go on a scavenger hunt, of their relationship, so Clare has a list of their first's, they favourite places and which ones meant the most to them. Going back in time to where they first kissed, said "I dove you", and where they first met. Through this lifetime of events, will it change or confirm both of their decision to stay together or break up? That is the ultimate decision. In a novel as short as 256 pages, Jennifer takes us through one night of memories and a ultimate choice.
What I loved was the fact that it was written for just one night, the timing of the novel was different and unique. I was able to relive the whole night indefinitely. So it didn't matter it took me a week, I just continued from the next moment in time. But the whole novel started with a note, a list and you know how I feel about those in novels. Its the best type of novel especially in a contemporary one. Enough said really. I won't bore you with my rant of notes and lists in a book. You've heard it all before. Clare started from the moment they met in chem class in high school to where they have a personal booth in a pizza place known as Slices. Each chapter was a new adventure and a new memory for you to really get to them as character that they were together. Whilst it would have been nice to have seen their individual side, personally I didn't really mind that as we this novel was solely about them and their relationship.
Clare for me was a little overwhelming at times, I felt she can be quite a complicated and difficult person to get to know. I admire her saying she's a bland person to begin with but I think we need too as readers decide for ourselves. I felt though that she'd given up a lot with Aidan, although she couldn't see beyond him, she was trying to think of the less painful way in or out in their relationship. Like it was an instantaneous decision without considering what could happen. Clare is very black and white, that's a better way to describe her, and I think she need to vent off toward the colourful areas.
Unlike Aidan, I know he really doesn't want to break up, and he's adamant about that. Aidan is 'Easy-Breezy' as he like to say and I like that a lot. For Aidan it's tough being that as he constantly battling with his father about universities and not going Havard, which was his father's dream not his, you can see where this is going. But Aidan wants to be part of the sport's finest Lacrosse Team in UCLA and maybe go into a programme about it. What's so bad about that and following your dream and the girl you love too. Aidan is the Knight in shining Armour and I love that he wants to fight for her too.
However as we got to the end it was Clare who really surprised me the most as well as the ending. Which really made me cry with happiness. It was such a touching ending and it fitted it perfectly. This is the perfect summer novel this year and even in those rather cloudy days that we (the UK) seem to be having of late.
Rating - 5
Clare and Aidan have been together two years. What a wonderful two years it has been but they knew that this time is coming where they can't follow each other, where they have to make their own path for their future. Both of them have applied to universities, Clare got accepted in Dartmouth and Aidan, UCLA on opposite ends of the country. They take this one night before they leave as a way to go on a scavenger hunt, of their relationship, so Clare has a list of their first's, they favourite places and which ones meant the most to them. Going back in time to where they first kissed, said "I dove you", and where they first met. Through this lifetime of events, will it change or confirm both of their decision to stay together or break up? That is the ultimate decision. In a novel as short as 256 pages, Jennifer takes us through one night of memories and a ultimate choice.
What I loved was the fact that it was written for just one night, the timing of the novel was different and unique. I was able to relive the whole night indefinitely. So it didn't matter it took me a week, I just continued from the next moment in time. But the whole novel started with a note, a list and you know how I feel about those in novels. Its the best type of novel especially in a contemporary one. Enough said really. I won't bore you with my rant of notes and lists in a book. You've heard it all before. Clare started from the moment they met in chem class in high school to where they have a personal booth in a pizza place known as Slices. Each chapter was a new adventure and a new memory for you to really get to them as character that they were together. Whilst it would have been nice to have seen their individual side, personally I didn't really mind that as we this novel was solely about them and their relationship.
Clare for me was a little overwhelming at times, I felt she can be quite a complicated and difficult person to get to know. I admire her saying she's a bland person to begin with but I think we need too as readers decide for ourselves. I felt though that she'd given up a lot with Aidan, although she couldn't see beyond him, she was trying to think of the less painful way in or out in their relationship. Like it was an instantaneous decision without considering what could happen. Clare is very black and white, that's a better way to describe her, and I think she need to vent off toward the colourful areas.
Unlike Aidan, I know he really doesn't want to break up, and he's adamant about that. Aidan is 'Easy-Breezy' as he like to say and I like that a lot. For Aidan it's tough being that as he constantly battling with his father about universities and not going Havard, which was his father's dream not his, you can see where this is going. But Aidan wants to be part of the sport's finest Lacrosse Team in UCLA and maybe go into a programme about it. What's so bad about that and following your dream and the girl you love too. Aidan is the Knight in shining Armour and I love that he wants to fight for her too.
However as we got to the end it was Clare who really surprised me the most as well as the ending. Which really made me cry with happiness. It was such a touching ending and it fitted it perfectly. This is the perfect summer novel this year and even in those rather cloudy days that we (the UK) seem to be having of late.
Rating - 5
I’m going to be brutally honest in this first line of my review: I did not like this book nearly as much as I’ve liked Jennifer E. Smith’s other novels. It was still very good but it didn’t quite hit the same mark for me. Maybe it was because it wasn’t about a new romance, or maybe it was just too much of a sad story without the same fluff I normally get from romance, but either way I just didn’t love it as much.
Now, that doesn’t mean I didn’t like it. The writing and characters were very good. I laughed and I was sad for them. I haven’t gone through this stage of my life yet, but leaving everything and everyone you know to go to college is a very normal thing and I think Hello Goodbye did a very good job of portraying that bittersweetness.
Hello Goodbye and Everything In Between is a very good book, and much more hard hitting than Jennifer E. Smith’s previous YA Romance novels.
Mini-Review: Jennifer E. Smith, an established YA romance author’s latest novel follows a pair of high school sweethearts the night before they part ways to attend separate colleges. Throughout the book they revisit their favorite high school memories as they decide whether they will try to stay together in college. I did not enjoy this book as much as Smith’s previous works, but it was still a very well written and thoughtful novel that is worth the read, especially if you are nearing the end of your own High School career.
Now, that doesn’t mean I didn’t like it. The writing and characters were very good. I laughed and I was sad for them. I haven’t gone through this stage of my life yet, but leaving everything and everyone you know to go to college is a very normal thing and I think Hello Goodbye did a very good job of portraying that bittersweetness.
Hello Goodbye and Everything In Between is a very good book, and much more hard hitting than Jennifer E. Smith’s previous YA Romance novels.
Mini-Review: Jennifer E. Smith, an established YA romance author’s latest novel follows a pair of high school sweethearts the night before they part ways to attend separate colleges. Throughout the book they revisit their favorite high school memories as they decide whether they will try to stay together in college. I did not enjoy this book as much as Smith’s previous works, but it was still a very well written and thoughtful novel that is worth the read, especially if you are nearing the end of your own High School career.
First, a huge thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. I'm a huge Jennifer E. Smith fan and I'm always so happy to read her work!
Let's start with a quote that I think sets the tone for the novel, "...she realizes again how entwined their lives are. They're like two trees whose branches have grown together. Even if you pull them out by the trunks, they're still going to be twisted and tangled and nearly impossible to separate at the roots."
As always, Jennifer E. Smith delivers a sweet story about relationships that have to deal with Issues. In this case, it's Clare and Aiden, who are about to head off to colleges on opposite coasts. I'm always a fan of stories that take place in a finite amount of time, and the 12 hours we spend with Clare and Aiden are enough to learn about their past and to look ahead to their future.
I felt like both Stella and Scotty were underdeveloped and were just thrown in as foils to the main characters because there had to be best friend characters. Also, maybe because I've been trying to read diverse books, the lack of diversity in any of the characters annoyed me.
The ending...
Overall I really enjoyed the book as a whole, but it's definitely not my favorite JES, but one I would definitely recommend to people looking for cute YA books. Maybe it's more 3.5 stars, but we'll see on reread.
Let's start with a quote that I think sets the tone for the novel, "...she realizes again how entwined their lives are. They're like two trees whose branches have grown together. Even if you pull them out by the trunks, they're still going to be twisted and tangled and nearly impossible to separate at the roots."
As always, Jennifer E. Smith delivers a sweet story about relationships that have to deal with Issues. In this case, it's Clare and Aiden, who are about to head off to colleges on opposite coasts. I'm always a fan of stories that take place in a finite amount of time, and the 12 hours we spend with Clare and Aiden are enough to learn about their past and to look ahead to their future.
I felt like both Stella and Scotty were underdeveloped and were just thrown in as foils to the main characters because there had to be best friend characters. Also, maybe because I've been trying to read diverse books, the lack of diversity in any of the characters annoyed me.
The ending...
Spoiler
not surprising at all. I mean, I'm glad they will get their second chance and a new prologue, but also I kind of wish they had both moved on and started new lives.Overall I really enjoyed the book as a whole, but it's definitely not my favorite JES, but one I would definitely recommend to people looking for cute YA books. Maybe it's more 3.5 stars, but we'll see on reread.
On their last night in town before heading separate ways for college, Clare and Aidan revisit meaningful places, avoiding the inevitable conversation - will they break up, or won't they?
I was here for the ride. Every up and down, every little bump in the road. This book drew me in and made me feel like I was right there with Clare and Aidan. It was emotional and adorable and I really enjoyed it. I do want to know how things went with Scotty and Stella, though. I know they were side characters, but I was invested in their relationship as well!
I was here for the ride. Every up and down, every little bump in the road. This book drew me in and made me feel like I was right there with Clare and Aidan. It was emotional and adorable and I really enjoyed it. I do want to know how things went with Scotty and Stella, though. I know they were side characters, but I was invested in their relationship as well!
Original review
Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between tells the story of Clare and Aiden. It's their last day before college and they still don't know if they should stay together or break up. Clare thinks about breaking up, but Aiden wants to stay together. What will it be?
Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between is such a real story. I'm going to college since last week and even though I'm not travelling for hours, I do miss my boyfriend. We don't live that close and going to him takes some time. And because of college I don't really have time for him, only in the weekend. So I can really relate to this book in many ways!
Jennifer E. Smith did a great job in writing this book and making these characters as realistic as possible. When I was at the beginning I thought it was going to be a happy ending, with Clare and Aiden still being together. When I was further in the book I still thought so, until the end. I was so scared. I love Clare and Aiden's relationship, it reminds me of my own relationship. And because of that I didn't want that the book would end with a broken relationship. And then I read the last sentences of the last page... Tears were filling my eyes. Not tears of sadness, but tears of joy. It's such a perfect end!
I love Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between so much, that I want to read more books written by Jennifer E. Smith and I highly recommend Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between to everyone!
Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between tells the story of Clare and Aiden. It's their last day before college and they still don't know if they should stay together or break up. Clare thinks about breaking up, but Aiden wants to stay together. What will it be?
Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between is such a real story. I'm going to college since last week and even though I'm not travelling for hours, I do miss my boyfriend. We don't live that close and going to him takes some time. And because of college I don't really have time for him, only in the weekend. So I can really relate to this book in many ways!
Jennifer E. Smith did a great job in writing this book and making these characters as realistic as possible. When I was at the beginning I thought it was going to be a happy ending, with Clare and Aiden still being together. When I was further in the book I still thought so, until the end. I was so scared. I love Clare and Aiden's relationship, it reminds me of my own relationship. And because of that I didn't want that the book would end with a broken relationship. And then I read the last sentences of the last page... Tears were filling my eyes. Not tears of sadness, but tears of joy. It's such a perfect end!
I love Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between so much, that I want to read more books written by Jennifer E. Smith and I highly recommend Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between to everyone!
This review was written for The Review Diaries
You can read the full review here
Thanks to Netgalley and Headline for sending me a copy in exchange for and honest review
I absolutely adored ‘The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight’ so I was eager to get back to Jennifer Smith with her latest novel. Whilst it did have a cute story and I swept through it in one sitting, it never really grabbed me in the way I was hoping it would. In fact, if I’m completely honest the overwhelming feeling I was left with on finishing it was ‘meh’.
It didn’t really feel like there was a huge amount of point to the novel. The entirety of the action takes place over one night as Clare and Aidan attempt to work out if they should break up or stay together and take their relationship long distance. A lovely premise, except Clare gives every impression right from the start of the novel as already having decided she wants to break up and as a result the entire novel feels like one long protracted mope session as she wails and is generally indecisive – see sawing back and forth between the two options.
That might have worked had the characters been remotely likeable or relatable. But Aidan remained flat and one dimensional throughout, and I never particularly warmed to Clare. I wanted to, but she’s so black and white in her opinions – there is no middle ground. As a result I just felt bored by her dramatics and inability to make a decision and stick with it, or to learn to be a little more flexible. She starts to comprehend that the world isn’t built up of yes and no questions towards the end of the novel, but it just felt like too little too late.
So whilst it’s an engaging story, and I did enjoy reading it, and I loved the subject matter tackled (after all it’s a relatable story for anyone going off to college or uni who is faced with the prospect of a long distance relationship) it never really took off for me. I closed the book feeling meh about the entire thing and wondering what the point of it had been.
If you’re a fan of Smith’s other works then you’ll enjoy this latest offering from her, but be warned this is far from her best work. And if you haven’t yet discovered Smith’s heart warming love stories I don’t recommend starting with this one. Instead pick her up infinitely more engaging debut novel ‘The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight’.
You can read the full review here
Thanks to Netgalley and Headline for sending me a copy in exchange for and honest review
I absolutely adored ‘The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight’ so I was eager to get back to Jennifer Smith with her latest novel. Whilst it did have a cute story and I swept through it in one sitting, it never really grabbed me in the way I was hoping it would. In fact, if I’m completely honest the overwhelming feeling I was left with on finishing it was ‘meh’.
It didn’t really feel like there was a huge amount of point to the novel. The entirety of the action takes place over one night as Clare and Aidan attempt to work out if they should break up or stay together and take their relationship long distance. A lovely premise, except Clare gives every impression right from the start of the novel as already having decided she wants to break up and as a result the entire novel feels like one long protracted mope session as she wails and is generally indecisive – see sawing back and forth between the two options.
That might have worked had the characters been remotely likeable or relatable. But Aidan remained flat and one dimensional throughout, and I never particularly warmed to Clare. I wanted to, but she’s so black and white in her opinions – there is no middle ground. As a result I just felt bored by her dramatics and inability to make a decision and stick with it, or to learn to be a little more flexible. She starts to comprehend that the world isn’t built up of yes and no questions towards the end of the novel, but it just felt like too little too late.
So whilst it’s an engaging story, and I did enjoy reading it, and I loved the subject matter tackled (after all it’s a relatable story for anyone going off to college or uni who is faced with the prospect of a long distance relationship) it never really took off for me. I closed the book feeling meh about the entire thing and wondering what the point of it had been.
If you’re a fan of Smith’s other works then you’ll enjoy this latest offering from her, but be warned this is far from her best work. And if you haven’t yet discovered Smith’s heart warming love stories I don’t recommend starting with this one. Instead pick her up infinitely more engaging debut novel ‘The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight’.