AUTHOR: Jennifer L. Armentrout
RATING: 5 Stars
PAGES: 384
PUBLISHER:
SERIES: n/a
SOURCE: eArc provided kindly by the author
Lena Wise is always looking forward to tomorrow, especially at the start of her senior year. She's ready to pack in as much friend time as possible, to finish college applications and to maybe let her childhood best friend Sebastian know how she really feels about him. For Lena, the upcoming year is going to be epic—one of opportunities and chances.
Until one choice, one moment, destroys everything.
Now Lena isn't looking forward to tomorrow. Not when friend time may never be the same. Not when college applications feel all but impossible. Not when Sebastian might never forgive her for what happened.
For what she let happen.
With the guilt growing each day, Lena knows that her only hope is to move on. But how can she move on when her and her friends' entire existences have been redefined? How can she move on when tomorrow isn't even guaranteed?
Until one choice, one moment, destroys everything.
Now Lena isn't looking forward to tomorrow. Not when friend time may never be the same. Not when college applications feel all but impossible. Not when Sebastian might never forgive her for what happened.
For what she let happen.
With the guilt growing each day, Lena knows that her only hope is to move on. But how can she move on when her and her friends' entire existences have been redefined? How can she move on when tomorrow isn't even guaranteed?
(synopsis taken from Goodreads)
I went into this book unsure how I would be changed when it was over, because I knew that this book would alter me.
If There's No Tomorrow challenges the ideal that we are invincible, that "oh, that could never happen to me" mindset. And just how silly it is to truly believe that, because life is beautifully and tragically unpredictable. Some incredibly tough subjects are approached and analyzed, in such a well-rounded and touching way, Armentrout handles the topic of guilt and healing in such a realistic way that as the story unfolded I found myself cheering along for Lena and her friends.
"I made an art form of looking toward tomorrow instead of focusing on today."
Lena is your mostly typical teenager, she has a job to help pay the bills, plays a sport, has a tight knit group of girlfriends to binge eat oreos with, and a crush on her best-friend/boy-next-door Sebastian. I feel that it's also worth mentioning that Lena is referred to as being more curvy than not and has realistic body insecurities. As a fellow curvy girl I appreciated the representation of a different body type then the slender and willowy frames most YA heroines are given. I also of course appreciated the face that Lena is an avid reader, and has a love for ACoTAR! But what Lena doesn't know, and all too soon learns, is that sometimes in life we make choices and those choices in turn may have devastating consequences. In what seems like a single moment Lena's world is forever changed.
This book is filled with laugh out loud pop culture references, beautiful friendships, complicated family dynamic and a very handsome boy next door. It is also filled with heart-breaking moments and sweet forgiveness. The characters were so easy to grow attached to their personal lives more fleshed out. It is so great to see Armentrout continuing to grow as an author and develop more dimensional side-characters!
If There's No Tomorrow Armentrout gives us a story that will have you questioning your own choices, and the aftershock effects those choices can cause. This book will pull you in, it will hold you tight and it will break your heart. But, it will also piece you back together with the beauty of friendships that hold you up in the darkness and a family that will carry you when sometimes the weight of the world is just too heavy.
"One night had irrevocably changed all of our lives. One choice had altered the course of what we all were supposed to become."
There are so many endearing characters in this book. From Lena's hardworking mother who is doing the best she can regardless of the situation to steadfast Sebastian who is possibly one of the most dedicated friends. There are so many fantastic relationships in this book aside from just a romantic relationship. Armentrout has appeared to really challenge herself in this book to branch out the connections her characters make with each other. Friendship is such a key element of this story and the healing strength and forgiveness found in those relationships.
If There's No Tomorrow is an emotional read, but so worth picking up and cherishing.
"I want today to be the tomorrow I kept putting off."
Please note I was given an Arc in exchange for an honest review. All quotes in the review are subject to change in the final copy.
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