A touching story of loss, longing, the fragility of relationships and how ‘family’ can take so many different shapes. Most of all, this book is a love letter to community bookshops and how important they are to the people who hold them dear. I absolutely loved all the book references, and the fact that there is a bibliography at the end. YA just like I like it!

This book was everything and more. I won’t lie I requested the book because of the gorgeous cover and because I enjoyed a previous novel by the author! However, I’m so glad I did because it was incredible. 

Any book with a major character who has a love for reading has my heart. And Aaron was adorable and funny and relatable. You could feel his personality oozing from the pages. I fell in love straight away with his love of dinosaurs and books and his loyalty to his dad.

The other characters were all so lifelike and funny and had personality that jumped from the pages. It was almost so easy to know who was speaking because they all had distinct speech patterns and mannerisms. 

The plot revolved around Aaron’s family and their family bookstore, which was failing. The family was plagued by addiction and loss and although Aaron wants to sell the bookstore and move on, his dad is desperate to save it. There was also a brief romance but not much, the story primarily was revolved around the bookstore and the characters. Thanks to the publisher, author and Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

I always forget how emotionally hard-hitting the end of Forman's books are... Still, I'll try to summarise my feelings on the book. Overall, I was very happy with the book - it was readable, largely enjoyable, and a love song to the world of books that captured the complexities of the modern world really well. Plus, Forman had some incredible handling of rather difficult and sensitive themes.

On the other hand, I was definitely not into the side romance. I agree that there needed to be something else alongside the rise and fall of the bookshop, but the relationship felt sudden and forced. Admittedly, this was probably not helped by my moderate dislike of the protagonist. He was arrogant and selfish, and whilst Forman made an attempt to explain and justify these traits, I was still unconvinced.

As someone who had been stuck in a rut of mediocre and poor books prior to reading this, I found this a refreshing and light-hearted read, although it is not without its setbacks. Still, I think an easy and relatable tale for any book lovers out there.

This book was such a pleasant surprise for me! I didn't really have any expectations going in as I had no idea what it was about at all. I hadn't really read the synopsis so was going in completely blind. However, I am glad that was the case because, if you go into this thinking it is a romance, I think you'll be disappointed. The synopsis leans heavily on the romance aspect of the plot but this actually took a backseat for me. It's hard to describe the book because of spoilers but this is actually a powerful story about grieving and how the living let go of the pain of the death. It also deals with some pretty big topics surrounding addiction which was again something I wasn't expecting and added that extra depth and emotion to the story. This is so much more than a romance and definitely fits more into the contemporary genre than anything else. It also acts almost like a love story to bookstores, a regeneration of a store at the brink of collapse. Given that this novel was written during the pandemic, its hopeful message of the reopening of stores was also beautiful to read about. Bookstores really are a magical, communal place.

To start with the characters: Aaron, Chad and Hannah are the biggest characters here but, we mainly focus of Aaron and his journey, the rest of the characters fall to the wayside a little bit. I thought that this was especially the case for the builders who came across as quite childish at parts. We got a brief look into one of them and a few of the extra characters but, not too much. This book is only fairly short though and I understand that it was the younger generation that were the focus here. Chad was the most interesting character in my opinion. He was the bad-boy hotshot at school from the sounds of it however, a tragic accident leaves him in a wheelchair. There was some great representation within this book as we have a queer character and disability representation. With this came a commentary on the accessibility of various venues for people with wheelchairs and it brought a lot to my attention that I didn't consider. It definitely makes you think about that and made me almost feel guilty for it note being something I had considered before. It is a problem that needs addressing. Hannah was also a great character as, I felt as if she had a lot of depth and most importantly, was willing to be selfish and do what was best for herself. I really liked that about her. She was considerate and a great friend though too.

That just leaves us with Aaron. I'm warning you that you have persevere with this book. Aaron is a pain in the a*s at the start of this book and I really disliked his character. That may seem harsh considering his trauma but, he thinks he is better than everyone else from his town. He thinks he is more intelligent and doesn't deserve to be stuck in his town with the rest. This affects his treatment of others too. He fails to see the change in Chad after his accident, caught up in the past and condemns the builders as stupid just because of what they do and where they live. I was really praying that we got some good development at the end of the book. And we did. I won't spoil it too much but, if you're thinking about giving up because of his character, it does become worth it in the end. However, the development did happen a little too quick for my liking. Like I said above, this book is quite short so I felt as if the ending was a little bit rushed. I would have liked a slower and more carefully unpicking of his emotions. I also think that the development didn't go all the way. Part of me believes that Aaron still believed that he was better than the others because they were happier with a smaller life. I'm a little torn because, completely changing your ideas and personality would be unrealistic but it still irked me a little bit.

Aaron is also described as struggling to read because the letters move around the page. However, I am unclear whether this meant that he had dyslexia or if it was more a psychological impact of his trauma. He disliked the bookstore and his life position so much that he could no longer concentrate enough to read. This was just one area that was unclear.

In terms of the writing style, I have very few complaints here. I really loved the inclusion of music and literature together within this book. Sometimes, books about reading and bookstores can be a little heavy handed but I don't think it was here. They were seamlessly tied into the plot line and didn't feel forced in anyway. I would say because of my detachment from the main character, I wasn't as emotionally invested in the story despite the more hard-hitting topics that it covers. Regardless though, this is a beautiful story about coming to terms with grief and I'm very glad that I read it.

We are inevitable tell the story of Arron, whos parents own a once successful bookstore however things have taken a sharp turn for the worse and they decide to pass it on to Aaron to avoid it being declared bankrupt.

This was not the life he had planned, he wanted to go to collage like his high school friends. Instead he is one of the only ones left behind in this dead end town.

But we join the story when the shop is yet again on the "precipice of financial ruin" and Aaron is out looking for an easy, quick sale. He feels he can't fight the inevitable closure of the sale.

The "Inevitable" being the recurring theme of the book, "knowing something bad is going to happen whether you want it to or not" examples such as death, seeing that people are going to end up dead if they behave in a certain way, seeing a parent leave, friens leaving but also good things such as falling in love.

Overall I enjoyed the majority of this book especially the character Chad who is hilarious. But Aaron, the protagonist, I did not like, he came across as both rude and slightly bitter. The asteroid and dinosaur metaphors were a bit much!

Also the ending was slightly rushed and that, for me, is always off putting. 

Thanks to Netgallery and the publishers for giving me a digital  copy of this

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of "We Are Inevitable"

I absolutely love Gayle Forman books so when I was accepted to read and review this one I was stoked! With that being said this book did not disappoint. This book is definitely one for readers as it centres around a father and son that own a used bookstore and how their lives primarily evolve around books. The one thing that I didn't enjoy however was the main character, normally pessimistic characters don't bother me but Aaron is so pessimistic that it made reading the story from his POV really annoying at times. But other characters, especially Chad and Ira, made it worth the read. Finally, the ending wasn't the type of ending you necessarily want but exactly the kind of ending that you need if that makes sense. It came together so beautifully.

There is also talk about addiction and over dosing in this story and from Aaron's POV it is a very negative outlook. However I appreciate that the author included a note to the readers at the end of the story addressing the way Aaron views addicts and recovery and how his thoughts are problematic.

I was looking forward to reading this as I've read other books by Gayle Forman and loved them but I just didn't like this one that much. The plot was slow and I didn't really like Aaron so I wasn't that interested in him. I also felt that Hannah either needed to be a more prominent character or not be in it as she didn't seem to really do all that much.

I did, however, like most of the other characters and I loved that it all centred on them trying to save the bookstore. This was the main reason I kept reading as I was enjoying seeing it all play out!

DNF
This really wasn't for me. I didn't enjoy the writing, the storyline or even the characters. It fell flat and I didn't have the inclination to continue at all. I'm sad as I loved Gayle Formans other books but this definitely isn't for me.

I’m no stranger to Gayle Forman as I’ve read all her YA books and I sort of knew what to expect from We Are Inevitable; a story and characters for me to fall in love with. And I did.

We Are Inevitable is fast-paced and delivers everything really well - so well actually that I finished it in one sitting. Forman is a master at weaving words and creating characters that you can’t help but get attached too. I really loved our main character, Aaron, and his journey to deal with what’s going on in his life. He’s far from perfect but that’s what makes him so real.

Moreover, this book is a love letter to books and bookstores and as a former bookseller, I’m all for it. We Are Inevitable is full of book titles and references as well as music, my two favourite things in the entire world.

I know this book is nothing ground-breaking but I still loved it and would 100% recommend it because it is just inevitable, Gayle Forman is a talented author that will keep making me fall in love with her words.

I requested this book because it was Gayle Foreman and because it featured a bookshop. The bookshop in question had been built up by Ira and his wife, but his wife had left and business had decreased as online sales picked up. There was no obvious order to the books – Ira alone knew where to find stock, the books were piled up haphazardly and the town was not a touristy town. They did have a main street location going for them however.
Ira had signed over the shop to his surviving son Aaron after money trouble caused by trying to help his other son out of his drug habit, although this ultimately caused his death. Aaron had then felt obliged to stay, while his peers had left home and experienced more of what life had to offer. Aaron was torn between love of his Father and a desire to escape, especially tempted by a local ruthless business woman who wanted to get her hands on the prime siting of the bookshop.
When first Chad, a friend of Aaron’s brother and who had been paralysed in an accident confining him to a wheelchair, enters Aaron’s life, his force persuades Aaron to experience activities he hadn’t previously contemplated and then Hannah enters his world. Aaron falls completely for Hannah and finds himself following her and her band, whilst still maintaining he does not like music.
Aaron’s pessimistic outlook on life is upturned when Chad galvanises others in a way Aaron never would and everyone comes together to help the bookshop. But by then Aaron has done what he thought was for the best and he can’t extricate himself from this.
Addiction and the effects on others is tackled. There is friendship and love which do win out and the characters are not by any means perfect but make great reads.

This was a DNF for me. It was too slow, and the whiny protagonist got on my nerves. There were continual allusions to things that had happened in the past, and while I was curious, it wasn't enough to keep me reading. Other reviewers have mentioned that the last third of the book picks up, but I couldn't get that far.

(Review copy from NetGalley)

I’m going to be honest I wanted to love this and I really didn’t. It was miserable seeing the situation the main character was in and seeing the way it played out was odd. I found it incredibly frustrating

CHAPTERS TITLED AFTER BOOKS? ABSOLUTELY MAGICAL IDEA!
But let’s backtrack for a second, I’ve never read Gayle Forman before, I’ve seen the If I Stay movie, always telling myself I’d read the book, but I still haven’t, and I didn’t think I ever would. But I may now.

We Are Inevitable follows the life of Aaron, a young lad stuck in a small town, running a failed bookstore with his Father, always fearing the inevitable. After his drug addict brothers death, Aaron basically gives up with life, surviving but not really living, just waiting for the end. The bookstore his Mother and Family build is in his name, it’s his and he’s in charge of its future. Aaron does something he knows his Father will hate, especially after a group of people come together to help out.
He meets Hannah, a reader in a band, she’s quite a likeable character whereas Aaron is shown as kind of a dick, but it’s not in a way that makes me dislike him?
Thinking she may be his answer to his problems, he begins to fall for her. But no one else is ever the answer to your problems.

Friendships are build, memories are haunting, but I want you to know, this is NOT a love story. Well, it is, but it’s not a romantic love story.
This book focuses on the love of family and friends and that anything is possible when you come together.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of this in exchange for an honest review!

Aaron’s life isn’t going to plan. While all his friends have left home to go to college, he is left behind running a struggling bookstore with his dad.

Enter Hannah, a distraction from all the bad things that are happening at home. Could she be the answer to his mundane life.

I really thought this was going to be a romance... it was much more than that. Incredibly heartwarming

I've read everything that Gayle Forman has written since If I Stay and I find her consistently enjoyable. Her characters are so well drawn and unexpected and it was actually the supporting cast in this story who really made it for me. It's a wonderfully quirky, heartfelt and moving novel - the bookshop setting was a treat for a book worm like me and the love story at its core at once familiar but also unconventional. Very good.

“Twenty-six letters and some punctuation marks and you have infinite words in infinite worlds.”

The author calls this book a “love letter to books, and to booksellers” and there are so many bookish delights:

📖 I got to read about other people who love books as much as I do.

📖 The chapter headings are book titles! Why didn’t I think of that?! [Must borrow this idea if I ever write a book…]

📖 Bookish references in abundance! Books within books are one of my top five favourite bookish things. Book titles are casually scattered throughout the book. Storylines of well known books are mentioned. Movies that began their lives as books are discussed (the book was better).

“Seriously? It was also a book first?”
“Seriously.”
“Are all movies books first?”
“Just the best ones.”

If you’re like me and likely to panic around the halfway point when you wish you’d been making a list of all of the books that have been mentioned, don’t worry; there’s a bibliography at the end.

📖 Independent bookstores! We get to hang out in not one, but two of them! With booksellers who desperately love books and about making sure the book the reader needs finds its way to them.

“Tell me: What’s the last book you read that you loved?”

📖 The main bookstore has genres grouped together in a way that makes so much sense.

I could happily spend my entire review talking about the books, bookstores and booksellers but there’s more to this book than books. We also come face to face with some pretty difficult topics. Multiple characters are dealing with addiction, either their own or a loved one’s. Likewise, multiple characters are grieving. Chad, my favourite character, is living with a spinal cord injury.

I adore Chad, although I expect I wouldn’t have been a huge fan of him before his accident. He’s had some pretty impressive post traumatic growth and his attitude is amazing. I could have done without him saying “dawg” and “son” all the time but I guess no one’s perfect.

Speaking of not being perfect, Aaron (our main character) is definitely a work in progress. I really didn’t like him at all for a good portion of the book, during which he basically treats everyone around him like garbage. He did begin to make more sense to me as I got to know him but until then, ugh!

I loved Aaron’s father, Ira, because he loves books so much. The fact that he’s still so passionate about them, despite grief, anxiety and depression, made me love him even more. He truly comes alive when he talks books and that resonated with me.

I liked the Lumberjacks, getting to know Ike the best. He came up with my favourite line (pardon his French):

“Fudge a duck on a hot sidewalk!”

You might be interested in this book because of the romance, which is pretty insta, but it’s not the main focus of the book. Aaron, a young man who doesn’t like music, falls for a young woman who’s in a band.

“Every time I see her, I feel that thing: the inevitable.
The thing is: I don’t trust the inevitable.
I mean, what has inevitable done for me?
Ruined my life is what.”

I was ready to love Hannah but never formed an emotional connection with her. Her purpose seemed to be to act as a mirror for Aaron. I didn’t feel like I got to know Hannah that well and her bandmates are even more of a mystery to me. I really wanted to find out more about Jax, especially when it looked as though they were going to become more integral to the story, but pretty much all I know for sure about them is their pronouns (they/them).

A few things didn’t make sense to me. [SPOILER - If Aaron’s brother’s addiction cost their family so much (and right now I’m only talking about the cost to their finances), how did he ever manage to collect such an extensive collection of rare vinyls? Wouldn’t he have spent that money on drugs? Even if he did manage to accumulate so many, in the grips of addiction, wouldn’t he have sold them? I know he gave them to Aaron but that only explains the final five months of his life.

Also, early in the story we learn that Ike’s wife’s fibromyalgia symptoms stopped her from being able to come to the bookstore years ago. Towards the end of the book she’s at the bookstore several times. It is mentioned once that she has a walker but it didn’t ring true to me. If she‘s well enough to be at the bookstore now, wouldn’t she have already been there before the renovations began? - SPOILER]

““Are the answers to all life’s questions in books?”
“Of course,” he says. “That’s what makes them miracles.””

Content warnings include mention of addiction, disability, grief, mental health and suicidal ideation.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children's Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster UK, for the opportunity to read this book.

We are Inevitable was a poignant story that tackled sensetive subjects and provided a strong message.

The story follows Aaron who doesn't want to own a bookshop and is going to sell it. But then come Chad and his ideas to renovate the shop. This puts Aaron in a dilemma. He meets Hannah and thinks that they are inevitable but things don't work out the way he wants them to. The story also handles the topic of loss.

I loved the writing style and the overall plot but I found that the story was a bit slow paced which made the read a bit less enjoyable. The whole 'inevitablity' aspect was a bit lacking and there wasn't much focus on it.

Hannah, I found, a bit flat and I wished she had a bit more character. Other than that the story provided many memorable messages and I enjoyed this book!

I would recommend this. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the E-arc!

We Are Inevitable tells the story of a young man who is scarred from a lifetime of trauma, the struggling bookshop business that marks the most recent part of his suffering and the relationships that might be able to save him from a fall into emotional chaos that he sees as completely inevitable.

When the economic situation with Aaron and his father, Ira’s, business continues to go downhill, Aaron is convinced that he has to take matters into his own hands. But whilst he’s busy trying to make everything right, he finds himself completely preoccupied forming unexpected friendships with a girl in a band that he feels he may be destined to be with and a guy from his school that he used to despise.

This is a touching book about friendship, community spirit, young love and perseverance. The characters in this book were incredibly well-developed and I instantly connected with Aaron, Ira, Ike, Chad and Hannah, so it was great to have such a well-rounded group of people to root for. The developing friendship between Chad and Aaron was one of my favourite aspects of the entire book, maybe more so than Aaron’s developing friendship with Hannah, and it was so refreshing that the community as a whole played such a large part in the story.

There are some very sensitive topics discussed in this story – primarily addiction – but these were handled maturely and understandably, in a way that I have come to expect from Gayle Forman’s books. This is a very large part of the story and is discussed frequently, so this should definitely be taken into account if you are sensitive to this topic and planning to read this book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a quick, easy, but very poignant read, in a setting that I loved – a bookshop. The dialogue was witty, the writing was thought-provoking and it was generally a really enjoyable, unique contemporary that I would absolutely recommend.

I thought this book was really powerful, and really uplifting. It has the easy-reading of a great YA book, but it also included a lot of different stories that teach us something. I struggled a little with the chaos and some of the unnecessary themes, but not in a way that hindered my enjoyment of the story at all. The different characters were genuinely an absolute joy to read about, and I think the setting of the book is unbelievably charming, in such a way that the whole story leaps off the page. Ultimately, this is a book about the power of fiction, which is something we should definitely champion. From start to finish, it was an absolute delight.

"A love letter to bookshops & books", this moving account of grief, addiction & community hit me hard! The perfect unreliable narrator & the pretence of YA/teen romance, a gritty start with a philosophical ending. It even has a bibliography & apt book titles for each chapter.
Not sure the blurb/categorisation does this wonder justice, but I loved it and will be seeking out more by this author, as well as lots from the bibliography as well!