If Tomorrow Doesn't Come is a powerful and poignant debut YA novel. Jen St. Jude writes with honesty and sensitivity about the challenges of living with depression and the fear of coming out as queer, as well as the joys of finding love and acceptance when you least expect it.

Our protagonist, Avery, is a relatable girl-next door whose life looks perfect - she's smart, pretty, loves her family, she's a star soccer player but she has hidden secrets. She has a crush on her best friend Cass but had never told and she suffers from depression and masks it all. She has a strained relationship with her deeply religious Catholic parents who don’t recognise her sexuality and are completely unaware of her mental health issues.

When we met her, as a freshman in college, things have reached a point where she’s about to drown herself but for a call from Cass who informs her that an asteroid is going to destroy the Earth in nine days and can then spent the rest of their time together back in their hometown. As the countdown begins, she realizes that she can't hide from herself or from the people who care about her. She has to face her fears and speak her truth, even if it means risking rejection or hurting others.

The book is not only a gripping story of survival and self-discovery, but also a stunnimg Sapphic love story and celebration of queer love and friendship. I loved both Avery and Cass and I couldn’t stop myself reading on to understand if or how the world was going to end for them.

It's a powerful YA story that will make any young person who is struggling with depression or questioning their identity feel seen. St. Jude does not shy away from showing the dark aspects of mental illness, but also offers hope and healing through compassion and connection. The book does not romanticize or trivialize depression or suicide, but rather portrays them with realism and respect

This is a book that I’d highly recommend to the YA Audience
Edited · 5d

I absolutely loved this book . I literally couldn't wait to pick it back up again and I keep thinking about it. There are so many emotions in this book, love, self loathe, hope, fear. we see how Avery sees herself and doesn't see herself good enough for anything or anyone. Seeing her come to terms with her sexuality and trying to be someone she isn't just to fit in with other. Also seeing her suicidal thoughts was also hard and I found it so sad I just wanted to reach into the book and hug her and tell her it will be ok 😭 We see her struggle to fit in and try and disciver who she is. She blames herself for everything but we also see the kindness that radiates from her. I love her & Cass.
I can't say enough about this book, I loved all the characters and how they came together and just blended.
Thank you so much @thewritereads and @jenstjude for this arc, it was a privilege to read this book as an early release and I highly,.highly recommend this book!!

IF TOMORROW DOESN'T COME is a love story wrapped up in the end of the world.

What happens when the world is going to end in nine days? The book looks at both the large scale world-engulfing chaos of riots and destruction and the far more intimate tale of a family trying to come to terms with it all. That up close and personal struggle is what gave the book its heart, contrasting the selfishness of the world with the kindness of the family drawing others to them.

The book alternates between the present, as the world counts down to its end, and the past. The past followed Avery's life building up to it the final nine days, how her relationship with Cass evolved with him and how she learnt about her own identity. It allows for plenty of backstory and really helps you understand how isolated and overwhelmed she feels.

The book talks about a lot of tough topics, including suicide. It's never shown on page, but it's very present theme. It felt very carefully handled, acknowledging the crushing reality of depression but also leaving space for a hopeful love story (and the book never has a "love cures all" or anything that would imply an "easy cure" for it.)

I really liked the way it ended, the ambiguousness of it. It fits the uncertainty of it all and makes the characters' final decisions feel like they mean more because it doesn't give them clear endings, reflecting the uncertainty they made their own decisions in.

On the morning that Avery Byrne plans to kill herself, the world discovers that an asteroid is heading to Earth and there is only nine days left to live.

With time running out, Avery rushes to get home to be with her family and the girl she's been in love with her whole life. But can Avery try and save her family, the girl she loves and, maybe, even herself...

Before I go any further, I want to say that this book does have triggers. This book does contain discussion on suicide, mental health and homophobia (awareness of and conversations of it). Also, our main character, Avery, has undiagnosed clinical depression. If you are affected by these, just be aware and please look after yourself while reading.

I think this will be one of my Fave Books of 2023 because it's one of those books. One that worms its way into your brain and you think about it. It lingers and I can't help but think that this book will be essential to young people who are struggling or who are worried about their mental health. This will be a lifeline.

And the representation! THE REP, PEOPLE! We have gender, race, religion, sexuality, mental health and it all felt natural. None of it felt like the author was ticking off a list. It felt effortless and it was glorious!

I do admit that maybe the astroid storyline wasn't as fleshed out as I thought it would, but it's more a background threat. This book is about Avery and looking into her past to see the events followed that ;had her to the start of the book and then her and the people around her trying to cope with something so out of their control that everyone look inwards at themselves and begin to think...

Now, I have never read They Both Die At The End or All That's Left In The World (people keep compare this book to these two) but I know that these are tearjerkers. So, if you cried while reading these and you want to read this, stock up on tissues. Then you will throw the book across the room as IT CAN'T END THERE! (I'm not a crier while reading books, but I did turn the pages going "No. No. No, Jen, you can't end this here! I need a few more pages. Just a page more! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE!")

I fear I will be pushing this book into so many people's hands over the next few months. Yeah, If Tomorrow Doesn't Come is that good!

This was a tender and heartfelt story that managed to make the end of the world feel hopeful.

Avery Byrne decides to take her own life on the day it is announced that an asteroid is going to hit the Earth in 9 days, wiping out everything. The story follows Avery through those 9 days, as well as her past.

I really appreciated the writing style in this. From the author’s note to the end so much care and love went into approaching these heavy topics, all while keeping it appropriate for younger audiences who will benefit greatly from a voice like this. I enjoyed the story, the family dynamics and the way Avery’s battle with shame, guilt and depression was explored completely and categorically broke my heart and then put it back together. My heart was in my throat the entire time.

My issues were minor and I think purely subjective. I found myself questioning if what the characters were doing in certain situations was reasonable considering the end of the world and the state of humanity at that point but I can’t go into details without spoiling and ultimately, it was well portrayed for young adults and just my mind running away. I also felt like some of the side characters could’ve been a bit more fleshed out, but nothing too much.

This is a beautiful, beautiful story that will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to Penguin UK and TheWriteReads for providing this advance copy.

Today is my stop on the tour for If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come by Jen St.Jude, thank you so much The Write Reads & Penguin Platform for my beautiful copy and for having me on the tour!

I knew that this story was going to tear my heart in two but I didn’t anticipate sobbing on a Friday night 😂 It was so beautifully written, I couldn’t help but fall in love with Avery & Cass and this is definitely a book that is going to stay with me forever!

I must admit, it has been a struggle to write this review because how can I put into words how deeply this book affected me? It’s not often that a book comes along and speaks directly to your soul. I’ve struggled with depression in my life, not to the levels that Avery reached, but that hopelessness that she faces, the need to do better and yet feel like you’re never doing enough is something that is so crushing and I can’t even begin to describe how badly I wanted hug Avery at those points!

The way the author has managed to capture these big emotions that can feel so overwhelming and confusing and lay them out so clearly is simply brilliant. Plus, the background of an impending apocalypse was such a beautiful metaphor for struggles with depression, I really appreciated the message of just *wanting* to survive is enough! I also loved how the author showcased how powerful and important hope is! Like my messiah Ted Lasso says “it’s the lack of hope that comes and gets ya” and although it’s not a magic cure, the belief in hope can be life changing!

If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come is heartbreaking, earnest and beautiful and I want to thank the author for such a moving and relatable story that I’m never going to forget!

Thank you to The Write Reads, the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for providing me with a free e-book in exchange for an honest review! All opinions contained within are my own.

If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you’ll know that I’m not a big contemporary reader. I like my reading to take me to new, fantastical worlds, what can I say? However, I have yet to read a contemporary book for a The Write Reads tour that I haven’t enjoyed. If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come is no exception to that rule!

In this novel, we mix contemporary with a little sci-fi. On the day that our main character, Avery, has decided to die, she finds out that the world is literally going to end in just over a week. There’s a huge asteroid streaking towards Earth and no way to stop it. Now, Avery decides to push through nine more days to spare her loved ones anymore pain. She heads back home to be with her family and her best friend, Cass, who is also the girl she’s been in love with for ages. Avery has so many secrets, so much sadness, but the next nine days will a pivotal turning point for not just the world, but herself.

My goodness, what a powerhouse of a book. This was such an emotional and raw narrative that had me all in my feelings from page one until the end. I’ve not read a depiction of depression that felt so visceral before! I would highly suggest that, if you’re in a fragile place, please check trigger warnings because the author definitely doesn’t shy away from the topic and how it can affect someone and they do it in such an amazing way. I felt Avery’s pain, I felt her fear, and it made the reading experience that much more compelling. Also, I can’t tell you how cathartic it is as a woman who grew up Catholic but has moved away from the church to watch Avery struggle with a lot of the same questions I had as a kid. I’m not queer, but my brother is and it never sat right in my soul that people who would smile in my face at church also thought my brother was going to burn in Hell. Jen St. Jude does a fantastic job depicting that questioning and indignation and I truly appreciated it.

Now, can we talk about the incredible characters in this book? I’ve already spoke to how real Avery felt with all her flaws and her heart. All the characters in this book, however, truly shine. Cass, Aisha, Peter, Georgia… all of the side characters had such nuance and depth that I was immediately invested in their story. I loved their dynamics, how they revolved around each other, and seeing how much each of these people meant to Avery. I will say that I got a bit of whiplash with how Avery’s parents reacted to her queerness, but they were still intriguing characters and even they made me feel so hopeful.

And that’s the thing that I think I enjoyed about this book so much. This is very much a book about depression and feeling numb, useless, and like you’re a burden to everyone around you. But, in the end, it’s also so damn hopeful. I loved that we get to see and feel both sides of the coin and I think the author did an incredible job of intertwining the two. The fact that this is a debut boggles my mind! I can’t wait to read whatever they write next.

Covering depression and flashbacks to coming out, while during the end of the world, I didn't expect to enjoy this as I did and finished it pretty much in one sitting

“I thought, I would hold your hand through anything. Even the dangerous things. Even the hard things. I always want to be your best friend. For the rest of the summer. For the rest of my life.”

CONTENT NOTICE: This book contains discussions of suicide, mental health and homophobia. There are no graphic scenes of this content actually happening, just awareness of and conversations about it. A central character deals with undiagnosed clinical depression.

I was so tense reading this book. There’s a countdown to the end of the world and the characters are trying to find a way to survive, whilst also trying to live what they have left. It was a very strange feeling to be so tense and happy and sad and hopeful all at once, so props to the author for achieving it.
Avery is a sad character. She’s depressed and lonely and doesn’t know how to ask for help. She’s spent her whole life being bright and brilliant and the best and, when finally left on her own, she doesn’t know how to cope. She doesn’t want to disappoint anyone so she bottles it up and makes it worse. I wanted to give her a hug, but I don’t think she’d take it. She just needed to learn to be loved by those who already love her.
I think the author really carefully created this sense of impending doom. I kind of didn’t want to read on, knowing it was all about to come crumbling down. (I did start reading it on holiday but had to put it down because I was a plane flight away from Sam and then I got really stressed about what I would do if I suddenly couldn’t get home to him because the world was ending.) It was hard to feel any hope at the start, I guess because Avery doesn’t feel it, but you start to feel it at the end.
I loved the family the author created and this overwhelming sense of love that Avery gets surrounded by. Each character was important to her and you came to love them too. However, with the inclusions of flashbacks (still counting down) you had another sense of tension, knowing that Avery couldn’t always feel comfortable in her family.
I was really sad towards the end, but I did really enjoy it. I think the ending was perfect, ambiguous and hopeful and peaceful.

lesbians at the end of the world? yes pls. this book was full of emotion & character!!! i can’t wait to recommend this book to literally everybody i know

I say this at the start of every YA review nowadays, it feels like, in one of two ways: to explain why I didn’t like it, or to express surprise that I did like it. I don’t read that much YA anymore. I have aged out of it for the most part (some authors aside). So I’m glad to say that I really liked If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come, a book I’ve been hoping and praying would beat the not-for-me-because-it’s-YA allegations. It did! Let us rejoice!

The book opens with an attempted suicide — it covers some quite heavy topics in that respect — which is interrupted when Avery gets a call from her best friend Cass, who she’s in love with, to say that there’s an asteroid heading towards Earth which might well kill them all. What follows next is a dual storyline, taking us both towards the suicide attempt and away from it as the end of the world approaches.

If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come is frequently a gut punch of a book, one that will leave you feeling raw and hollowed out. Yet, for all the heaviness of it at times, everything is treated with such kindness and grace that, despite it being the end of the world, you know that things will turn out okay. That it might feel bad for Avery at the time but she can and will pull through it. Throughout the book, there’s that kindness inherent in the narrative when it comes to all of the characters, not only Avery.

And it’s a cast of characters who you’re guaranteed to love (mostly… you’ll notice the exceptions). All of them feel like they’re fully fleshed out, not only Avery. Sometimes, it feels like that’s the case, that the central character is the only one who’s at all realistic, but not so here. Such care has been put into each and every one of the side characters too, their journeys and their growth.

This is also a very immersive book — when I finally looked up from reading it, it took me a moment to remember that we weren’t 9 days from the end of the world — and I think that’s part of why the emotions of it work so well. This is a book that tugs on your heartstrings, makes you empathise so deeply with its main character, and part of that is how easily absorbed you get by it.

So, if this is a book you’ve had your eye on, then let me say it won’t disappoint. And it’s definitely one that makes Jen St. Jude an author to look out for.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and I was so sure it would be 5 stars. And yes, sometimes overhyping books for yourself is a recipe for disaster.

Not to say that this book is a disaster, it's not a bad book by any means. But while there were strong parts, overall I didn't feel pulled in emotionally like I expected to be. I found the writing to be chaotic and hard to follow, especially with the frequent time jumps, in a way that I didn't think worked for the book. At least it didn't work for my brain, and I found myself confused and feeling a little distant from what I was reading, which is not what I hoped for with this book.

Avery Byrne is about to take her own life when she receives the news that a huge asteroid is headed for the earth and everyone has just nine days left to live. This spurs her to reconnect with her family and her best friend, Cass, who she has been secretly in love with for years.

It’s an incredibly arresting opening - you know that the book is not going to end well, but you’re still thoroughly invested in Avery sorting out her relationships in the time she has left.

In between her family’s attempts to stockpile food and prepare a basement bunker in the hope of surviving the fallout, we see through flashbacks how Avery’s friendship with Cass unfolded over the years, as well as Avery’s struggles with her mental health.

Avery is someone who has always succeeded at anything she has tried, but her success is a brittle veneer over the depression that has haunted her for her whole life. When she goes away to college and struggles to keep up with the work, she fears that she has the same deep sadness inside herself as her aunt who walked into the sea to her death, on the day Avery was born.

I have some pupils who are big fans of ‘All That’s Left in the World’ so I’ll definitely be recommending this to them. It also reminded me of ‘The Forevers’ by Chris Whitaker.

This book is definitely about emotional resolution more than death-by-asteroid resolution, so if you’re expecting a high-stakes dystopian thriller, this is not that book. It is, however, a beautifully rendered picture of a friendship developing into a romantic relationship as well as a sensitive and nuanced exploration of depression. I thoroughly enjoyed this - a heartbreaking and yet surprisingly hopeful read.

This story was layered with hope amid chaos ar the end of.the world. Was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book and it will be one to purchase on release day!

If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come is a good, well-written YA novel, but it didn’t quite meet my expectations, which were admittedly high thanks to early reviews. It has great characters and a fantastic premise, but in the end I felt the asteroid plot was under-utilised, and the ending underwhelming. I can’t fault the idea or the way in which the story unfolds, and maybe it’s just that I was expecting more Deep Impact than Melancholia.

I enjoyed my time with Avery and her family, along with best friend Cass, and the descriptions of her depression and suicide ideation were nothing short of brilliant. Sometimes there really is no rhyme or reason to feel sad or lost or alone, and Avery showed that here. As far as representation goes, If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come had it all — gender, race, sexuality, and mental health were present and discussed, and it was all so effortless, like everyone was exactly who they were meant to be, and that’s that.

Although I didn’t like this book as much as I thought I would, it could honestly be invaluable to any readers struggling with their mental health. Now that I know how it plays out, I may re-read it one day and see if my enjoyment changes without prior expectations of disaster films and Téa Leoni facing down a deadly tidal wave. I expect it to be a big hit with readers young and old, and I look forward to seeing what Jen St. Jude writes next.

3.5/5.