Book: If He Had Been With Me

Author: Laura Nowlin

Reviewer: Zara Jackson, 9th Grade

The main character, Autumn, is a normal girl at high school with her friends and her boyfriend. Finn, her neighbor, is a popular guy who got into a car accident. The two students used to be best friends until they slowly drifted apart, but Autumn always felt like something should have been different. Although they were in two different crowds, Autumn put in the effort to try to mend their relationship. Autumn is the only one who knows the reason Finn got into the car accident, and she always thinks back on how she could have prevented it.

Laura Nowlin, the author of If He Had Been With Me, created this brilliant but heartbreaking romance novel. The pacing of this story is perfect, there is not one part that is too rushed or too slow. The reconciliation of both Autumn and Finn is played out wonderfully as they slowly reconnect and become more than what they were before. The suspense of learning what argument caused Finn’s accident gets more and more interesting until it’s finally revealed at the end. I think that all teens who like romance, angst, and sad books should definitely read this saddening love story!

5/5 Stars