Cover Image: Four Days of You and Me

Four Days of You and Me

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Before reading this, I went back through all of Miranda Kenneally's prior books, aka the Hundred Oaks series, which totally held up. I'm glad I did that, except that I think it got my hopes for this even higher up, and it didn't really live up to that. Four Days of You and Me is an interesting book and does a lot of things well, but I found a lot of it frustrating.

First off, the title is misleading. It's more like Four Days (and Many Flashbacks) of You and Me. The story takes place over all four years of high school, focusing particularly on four days of the school's year-end field trips. About half of the book takes place on those four (okay it's more like six or seven because the junior and senior trips are longer than one day) days, but those days are alternated with flashbacks from that year so you can understand where Alex and Lulu are on the senior trip. I get the appeal of the concept, but I'm not totally sold on this method of storytelling.

There are some great ship moments in Four Days of You and Me. One thing that's absolutely convincing is the chemistry between Alex and Lulu. However, I couldn't really invest fully in their romance because of the way it was told. A lot of their cutest moments happen when you know that they're going to break up or when you know Lulu's keeping a big secret from him. The switch between the field trip and the past year adds a lot of dramatic irony, which isn't something I enjoy. I'm not going to be able to let my heart fully invest in them knowing they're just going to break up by the end of sophomore year.

In general, it's also just not the sort of romance I'm most going to like. Their hate to love roots as competitors were adorable for sure, as was the beginning of their relationship. But then they break up and date other people before getting back together but she's keeping a secret and just I found it very frustrating pretty much the whole time. I think it might have worked if it were linear, but because of the alternating, there was no time at which things were entirely happy. That said, there's a realism to it that I enjoyed, particularly the way, even though she liked him, Lulu felt physically uncomfortable being touched by Nick, because that is a real-ass thing that you basically never see in fiction (thus why I didn't know to listen to my body when I experienced it in my first relationship).

Also, this is a bit of a petty gripe, but the sophomore field trip took place at Six Flags Over Georgia, a place with which I am quite familiar. And a lot of the descriptions of it are inaccurate. The roller coaster names are right, but at one point Lulu mentions looking forward to riding the teacups, but there's no teacup ride at this Six Flags. Worse, they go from the bumper cars to the water park (with a wave pool) back to the bumper cars. There's no water park in Six Flags Over Georgia, and there's certainly no wave pool. There are some water rides interspersed throughout the park, but there's no specific water park within it. However, there is Six Flags White Water, a water park which has the lazy river and wave pool and all of that.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Six+F...

Click the link for a Google map of the trip from Six Flags Over Georgia to Six Flags White Water. It's a 30 minute-ish trip, assuming good traffic and getting right in. Even if they did have tickets to both parks, they would have had to take a bus or something. And there's no way they would have switched from one park to the other and then returned to the first on a field trip. Had that been the case, the whole class would have either chosen a park and gone on separate buses or had the morning at one and the afternoon at the other. I get that artistic license existed, and Kenneally wanted the awkwardness of the scene where she loses her bikini top, but I don't get why she set this at a real park that exists rather than a fictional one. That wouldn't have bothered me at all, but the degree to which this is not accurate does bother me.

I absolutely don't think this is a bad book at all. It's very readable, and I really liked parts of it. I wish the story had been told in a different way, because I might have loved it. As it is, I went with two rather than three stars because, as much as I love Kenneally's books, I don't think I could ever reread this one.

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The characters were quirky and adorable but the story jumped around so much I could barely keep up. This will probably be loves by many readers, especially teens. It just wasn't for me, unfortunately.

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for the ARC ebook in return for my honest review.

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I think student's would find the clever concept of this book appealing. The dynamic between the leads works really well, an kids would find it relatable. This is also a departure as most of the author's previous works have had more of a sports focus.

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Unfortunately, I DNF"D this book at around 33%. I found the writing style was not to my liking, especially since the chapters jumped around a lot & I was having trouble keeping track of what was happening. However, while this book wasn't for me, I definitely think that other readers may enjoy this one! It just sadly didn't connect with my personal preferences.

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The story sounded incredibly interesting in the blurb but it didn't capture my attention as I delved into the story.

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I was really excited for this book after reading the synopsis. However, I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been, and the characters weren't as relatable or fleshed out as I would like.

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First, I would like to thank both the author, Miranda Kenneally, and NetGalley for sending me this arc for an honest review. This book is such a sweet and romantic story that appeals to YA readers! I found this book extremely addictive from the first page, and the character and relationship build-up very smooth and natural. This book will tug on your heart strings a bit, but in the end it's so worth it! I would absolutely recommend this book to all the readers out there that love a little bit of romance in their life!

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I've read a few of Miranda's other books and really enjoyed them, this book did not disappoint. The characters of Lulu and Alex were relatable and fun to follow. The chemistry between them was natural and their friendship was special. I appreciated the growth of the characters over the years, it made the story even more realistic.

Four Days of You and Me was a great read that was full of laughs, heartbreak, and love.

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Lulu’s high school takes an annual class trip every May 7th, and every year she finds her relationship with Alex getting more and more complicated. From a museum trip to an amusement park, to New York to London, their relationship changes each year: enemies, boyfriend & girlfriend, ex’s, a solid pair. While their relationship looks a little different each year on May 7th, there is one constant: Lulu and Alex are always connected.

Four Days of You and Me is a sweet contemporary romance told in a unique format. We get to see Alex and Lulu on May 7th, across four years of high school, with flashbacks to fill us in on what has happened in the previous year. I loved this unique timeline--it was so shocking to get to the next class field trip chapter and see how much Lulu and Alex’s relationship had changed since the previous one, and the flashbacks made it into a puzzle as the reader pieces together how they got there. This is a story about how relationships change, and it was so sweet to see Lulu and Alex both grow and change in their own right as well as in their relationship.

While there is a large cast of supporting characters, Alex and Lulu and definitely the focal point and they’re both fully-formed characters. Lulu is passionate about the environment and is a devout vegan who is advocating for her high school to adopt sustainable practices; this was a theme throughout all four years of the timeline and I loved to see a socially responsible character who wants to create change in her community. She’s also a comics fan and is working to draft a graphic novel throughout most of the book. Alex is an athlete and has grown up working in his family’s Greek restaurant, where he must reconcile his dreams with his family’s.

Perhaps one of the things I enjoyed the most about Four Days of You and Me is how the author treats high school relationships with love and respect. Alex and Lulu have a complex relationship that changes so much throughout the book, and their voices, experiences, and communication methods mature greatly. I love that this book showcases teens communicating, talking about their problems, working on their relationship, and developing a meaningful partnership. YA certainly needs more examples of these themes, and ultimately, I love seeing a YA rom-com that shows teens that their relationships and feelings are valid.

Ultimately, it’s the format and unique timeline of Four Days of You and Me that sets it apart; readers who enjoy following characters over several years or non-linear timelines will love this one. While there are supporting characters of color and queer characters (Lulu’s cousin is part-Hawaiian and her best friend is gay), it is worth noting that Lulu and Alex are both cis, straight, white characters who are also portrayed as being thin and conventionally attractive. As such, I strongly recommend pairing this book with a YA rom-com that centers characters who are POC, queer, and/or fat, such as I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee, I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest, You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson, or Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno. There are mentions of sex, though there is nothing graphic and the sweet, romantic tone of the story makes it appropriate for younger teens as well as older ones. YA readers who love Jenny Han and Kasie West will adore this one!

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Every year, the students at Coffee County High get to go on a special school trip. The trips get larger each year, starting with a museum outing in their freshman year and ending with an international trip in their senior year. Each of these trips marks a pivotal moment in Lulu and Alex’s romance, such as their first kiss on their freshman trip. Each of the following trips pushes them together, leading them to make important decisions about their relationship.

This story shows just a few snapshots in their relationship. It covers about four days, with a few other brief scenes from throughout the year. It was amazing to see how their relationship is defined by their actions in these few days. Their relationship and feelings changed so much throughout the book that I wasn’t sure if they would end up together at the end.

This book brought back so many high school memories for me. We went on a bunch of school trips, though none as lavish as the later ones in this book. Lulu and Alex, as well as their friends, deal with the complicated feelings that come along with first loves and discovering yourself. It made me laugh and it made me cry. This book has all the feels!

This was a great high school romance!

Thank you Sourcebooks Fire for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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In this novel, the reader follows Lulu and Alex's romance on four field trips across four years. The reader sees how their relationship progresses as they grow and mature. The concept sounded so adorable. If only the execution made more sense. I found myself struggling to really be invested in Lulu and Alex's relationship. At one chapter they hated each other and the next they loved each other. That being said, I definitely get how this would be made for young adult readers. This entire book is a day in the life of one of my students!

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Thanks Net Galley for the preview!

I liked this book! The characters were cute and I enjoyed the little details about them. The portrayal of a high school hot and cold relationship felt very authentic. The back and forth kept me reading! I think the timeline got a little fuzzy but I still enjoyed the heck out of the jumping around.

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This was a great premise, but for me it didn’t deliver wholly. The prose jumped around a bit too much and it didn’t have that “unputdownable” feel unfortunately.

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This was a DNF at fifteen percent. The premise was great, but that was it for me. The writing felt like it wasn't finished and polished. It jumped around far too much for me to get a grasp of what was going on at one time. The characters were flat and very unlikeable, I would dare say stereotypical.

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I was not able to finish this book, or even make a dent in it. I was shocked to see it was considered YA, it reads much more like a middle grade, middle school novel. I'm not sure if any teens/young adults can relate to this.

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I've been a huge fan of Miranda Kenneally for years and though this new kind of book from her was bound to be a new favorite. Unfortunately my expectations did ruin that a little for me, but this was a cute story overall.

The book generally focuses on Lulu and Alex every year on May 7th, when their class goes on a field trip, and shows how their relationship ebbs and flows over their high school years. I was hoping this would ONLY take place each May 7th but there were a lot of disjointed chapters that went back in time as well. While they provided more context that I appreciated, the format was really hard to read and keep track of sometimes.

I LIKED both characters enough and Lulu's journey to publish her graphic novel was fun to read (albeit slightly unrealistic for a high schooler, no?)... but there really wasn't as much chemistry as I hoped? They had some good moments and I understand the pining after one another but I wasn't super duper invested in their relationship... I more wanted them to get together so I didn't have to read any more back-and-forth. I will say that I loved how their relationship did genuinely grow and mature throughout high school though. It was so realistic that they acted like selfish morons freshman year and realized their mistakes by senior year.

Overall, totally appreciate what Kenneally was trying to do here but I wish it worked more for me.

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First of all, thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for approving my request and sending me an eARC in exchange for a honest review.
You have to know English isn’t my first language, so feel free to correct me if I make some mistakes while writing this review.


Real rating: 3,5 stars.


I think this book is a perfect summer reading - sure, it's not without flaws and I'll talk about those shortly, but if you're willing to pass on it, "Four Days of You and Me" is a light and carefree reading to spend a few hours in total relax.

The narrative style of this novel is particular: the main focus is on four days specifically, May 7th of each school year, because they represent the day of the field trip for our characters.
The rest is all a flashback, but these flashbacks do not make up the entire past year - instead, they only tell us the key moments functional to the story of Lulu and Alex.

Lulu and Alex initially start off as enemies in their first year of high school: coming from two different middle schools, Lulu still knew Alex somehow because he was her cousin Grace's friend and now they're competing for class president.
It's on the first school trip that things change when, after a hesitant friendship and some flirtation, they get stuck in the museum's escape room and and then become something more.

From there it's a back and forth in their relationship - which is not too difficult to follow, even if from what I am telling you it would seem so.
We see them being together, break up, dating other people, thinking about their mistakes and choices, always ending - at their hands or at the hands of others - rotating one in the orbit of the other.

Normally the push and pull annoys me in a novel and for that I tend to avoid them when I feel even the slightest presence in the blurb. Here, however, it was different because we first know Lulu and Alex when they are 14/15 years old and it's all about the immaturity of being kids experiencing their first love - we see Lulu's desire to have Alex only for herself in every free moment and to be with him as much as possible and the frustration of feeling put in the last place when Alex is busy with baseball training and helping his family in the restaurant they own and we see Alex accusing her of being selfish because Lulu never seems to make an effort to understand he cares about her but he has obligations.

And there's no denying that Lulu and Alex are co-dependent, that they inevitably hurt other people because on an emotional level they always end up "betraying" them by continually thinking about the other, but it's something that would have bothered me more if it were adults involved.
Instead they are kids - yes, even at eighteen as seniors I consider them kids, although more mature than they were at the beginning - and therefore it's easier for me to "condone" them, even if a cynic would say this means creating a dangerous precedent for adult life. But this is a young adult and so I'm fine with it.

Undoubtedly the narrative style does not allow you to read the natural and progressive development of their relationship, it's a novel where too much is told and a little is shown - and the same can be said of the characters because, apart from some features, they are not studied in depth - but one can still grasp their maturity, their awareness on a personal and a relationship level.
I found the friendship Lulu had with Marcie and Dana towards the ending hardly credible, since there has always been rivalry and jealousy between them for more than half the book - also because of Alex.

I enjoyed the days dedicated to the last two field trips: New York and London are perfectly described and especially with the latter, it felt like I was back there five years later.
Above all, they made me feel nostalgic for my school trips - and regret even those that I didn't attend for lack of the necessary number in my class.

Sure, this book isn't something unforgettable, but it's still a cute and absolutely suitable novel for this season.

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Four Days of You and Me was so incredibly cute and fun. I LOVE Miranda Kenneally so when I saw she was making more books I jumped at the chance to read her newest one. It was the perfect mix of fun and light hearted romance. I enjoyed the growth of the characters a lot and the ability to see how they change throughout the four years.

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When I requested this novel I was into the ideal of reading this novel but I discovered that I was unable to provide feedback on this book due to the series being archived prior to download and file/download issues. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience of not being to review and thank you for taking the time to provide me an ARC of this novel.

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I have read almost all of Kenneally's Hundred Oaks series and have greatly enjoyed most of them. Since I rarely read YA contemporaries anymore, figured since this one was by an author I have good experience with that I would give it a try.

Even though the time jumps in this book sometimes kind of confused me, I think I like how she did it. The concept of her revisiting the same periods of time through the course of four years showed a lot of Lulu and Alex's growth over the course of high school which we really don't get to see much of in other YA books. I thought their on-and-off again relationship was really realistic which always gets big bonus points from me and I liked how the book ended. Overall I really enjoyed this quick read and I will probably continue to read anything she puts out!

Huge thanks to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for allowing me to read an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

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