Review: Hello, Goodbye & Everything In Between by Jennifer E Smith

Publication Date: September 1^st 2015
Publisher: Headline
Length: 256 pages

Thanks to Netgalley and Headline for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan only have one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of twelve hours, they'll retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night will lead them to friends and family, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?
This new must-read novel from Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, explores the difficult choices that must be made when life and love lead in different directions.

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’.