Where It All Lands by Jennie Wexler is a YA novel that explores how a simple flip of a coin can alter our destinies in unforseeable ways. This is a story about first love, friendship, and second chances, and it is heartfelt, bittersweet, and compulsively readable.

When Stevie Rosenstein arrives in town, she immediately draws the interest of fellow musical prodigies Shane and Drew, two best friends who have been at each other's side through the best and the worst of times. The pair decide that a coin toss is the best way to determine who will pursue Stevie romantically, and who will be resigned to remain in the friend zone. But this seemingly simple act will determine the course of the next year in ways that the three friends could never have imagined.

Told from the alternating perspectives of Stevie, Shane, and Drew, a common thread of absentee fathers emerges as a central theme, and serves to weave together this angst-fuelled and emotional read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this title.

Told from multiple POV, Drew and Shane see Stevie, new in town, they decide to flip a coin to see who gets to date her. That flip changes everything. As Stevie gets to know both boys while practicing for All —State , she realizes nothing lasts forever and that you need to enjoy the now. Great book.

Where It All Lands follows Stevie, Drew, and Shane and how a flip of a coin can change everything. I enjoyed seeing the book from both sides, it was really interesting to see how Stevie's life was affected differently but also the similarly in many ways. I found that the book was focused primarily on the romance between characters. I wish we got to read more about the characters themselves. This is more of a personal gripe though as I don't read much romance as a central theme books.

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC copy of Where It All Lands!

3 star (maybe 3.5, I'm undecided)

Two besties like the same girl and flip a coin to see who dates her... It was an interesting concept and I enjoyed the book over all, but it did take me a good chunk (about 30%) before I really started to get into it.

Sometimes it's the roads that you don't choose that define you. Or perhaps it is easier to say that sometimes it's the road that someone else chooses that could determine your entire future. Whichever way you look at it, Jennie Wexler's new novel Where It All Lands, leads her readers down a winding path littered with "what if's".

When best friends Shane and Drew meet new girl Stevie, what was once a sweet tradition surrounding a coin toss is now the beginning of a life altering decision. With the flip of a coin, the boys agree to let fate decide who approaches Stevie for a date. What follows is an emotional ride through family, love and the decisions that define a lifetime. Told in alternate timelines, this is a book with sympathetic characters, believable situations and an interesting look at the power of choice.

I really wanted to like this book. It had an interesting, if unoriginal premise, but disappointing in execution. I felt that it had real potential but that the characters were too flat, and generic. Maybe they were all a little too similar? It just didn't really hit home the way it could have with the idea it was putting forth - how different decisions can affect the outcome. It was definitely missing something.

I really wanted to like this book. The premise sounded interesting enough and the cover was cute so I figured I'd give it a shot. Unfortunately, it wasn't what I was expecting at all and I just couldn't make myself read any further than a few pages. I tried getting through at least two chapters, but even that was a struggle in and of itself. The characters weren't sticking in my brain, the plot was weird, and I just couldn't grasp onto anything worthwhile.

The concept was deliciously intriguing: three musical prodigies who are suffering from daddy issues get stuck in a love triangle- sliding doors theme : two boys like the same girl but they are close friends so they don’t want the girl come between them.

So they flip the coin just like every time they have a conflict for letting the fate decide for them. It’s childish but it always works and we see two different scenarios: by witnessing each boy’s winning and asking out for the girl.

Of course each decision they made and each action they take results with different and unique consequences. Did I get your attention? Because this remarkable concept with well developed lovely three characters and lots of music totally picked my interest and pushed me flip the pages as fast as I could!

I enjoyed this bittersweet, heartbreaking, moving story!

Let’s learn more about the characters and their back stories:

Drew is school’s popular boy, who is son of outstanding music manager. His father’s cheating and abandoning him with his mom who is mentally suffering after the sudden breakup affects his new life.

His best friend Shane is always be there with him at each painful traumatic steps of his life. Shane is a unique musical prodigy who is being bullied by football players of the school. Drew tries to protect his friend but he also has complex feelings about Shane’s talented musical skills which are more appreciated by his own father. At some parts he felt like they had better relationship and he felt like third wheel when he spent time with them.

Shane lost his father at young age so it might be normal for him to choose his best friend’s father as a role model which also makes Drew a little resentful.

And Stevie involves into their lives who also suffers from moving to the different states because of his father’s demanding NFL coach job. She cannot live at permanent place, forming longtime friendship bounds, pursuing her musical dreams. She feels trapped, exhausted till she meets with these two boys who will change her life completely.

I enjoyed both of the scenarios even though too many F bombs throughout the dialogues were a little disturbing and the love stories were a little haphazard, instant! But I loved three of the characters and it was fun to read their POVs , learning more about their inner worlds.

So I’m giving four what if, heartfelt, interesting concept, original, musical, growing pains stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

I didn't expect to be so completely flummoxed by the time I finished this book. Nor did I think I would love it as much as I did, but here we are! I was floored by the storytelling of this book, how it surrounded 3 people—Stevie, Shane, and Drew—2 best friends, and one coin toss that would alter their futures.

The description reads that this book was told in dual timelines, so as I was reading the first half of the book, I was wondering when the second timeline would take place and then WHAM! it he me like a sack of bricks and I think I about lost my mind. Part of me wondered what was real and what wasn't, and by the time I got to the end I was flipping through the pages hoping and praying that one timeline was real and the other wasn't. I just couldn't take it.

But wound up between those two timelines was a story of two best friends who had gone through hell and back together and how one coin toss could completely alter the fabric of their friendship—and directly effect the girl caught up in the middle of it all. One choice, one mistake, but very different outcomes based upon who won the coin toss. The beauty of this book was found in analyzing the choices we all make. Sure, maybe some things are destined to happen, fixed points in time if you will—but a single choice, made one way or another, can take us down completely different paths, introduce new conflicts, new beautiful relationships, or tear down old ones.

By the end of the book, you're so desperate for hoping that the coin toss went differently and quite honestly, the reader is left wondering how it *really* happened. But that's the point, encapsulated in the epilogue. At the end, you're left with a beautiful, philosophical idea that I'm sure I'll carry with me for the rest of my life—and many others too. The idea that your choices matter—so make smart ones.

I definitely feel like this should be required reading in high school. Kids these days could use some entertaining, philosophical story about how our choices affect others. If it left such a big impact on myself, I'm sure it will leave an even bigger impact on you.

I'll definitely be buying this one and sharing it with everyone I know.

A lovely debut from Jennie Wexler! I'm always a fan of the sliding door concept, whether it's in a novel, movie, or musical (moments in this one reminded me of If/Then in particular). There were a few moments that felt a bit redundant, but I will admit that's crucial to making a sliding doors story work. I thought Wexler's prose was beautiful and there were plenty of moments in this book where I just paused to re-read a particular sentence or passage that was especially well-written. Overall, an enjoyable read and one that I would definitely recommend to teens.

The flip of a coin can alter everything. This is a good teen live triangle where we see the results from flipping heads or tails. Nice read.

See notes for publisher. Posted on Goodreads too!
Excellent use of voice and choice.
I wanted to say some parts were long. The heads and tails parts were hard because of the repeat. That's the point. Loved the epilogue.

Drew and Shane were best friends, not only next-door neighbors who grew up together, but tied to each other because of their relationships with their fathers. Drew’s father was largely absent, first figuratively and then literally, and Shane’s father, to whom Drew was close, died of a disease. At the time, Drew promised him he would always look after Shane.

When a new girl at school attracted both their attention, Drew suggested they flip a coin to see who would ask her out - it was the way they always had resolved disputes. Stevie Rosenstein has much in common with both of them; she is estranged from her father, and she loves music.

The book follows two scenarios. The first has Drew winning the coin toss and the second has Shane winning. Much of the action is repeated in each section but with a twist depending on which boy won the coin toss.

The underlying theme of the book has to do with how much control we have over our lives, how much is due to chance, and how we should live our lives given that combination of influences. The upshot is that you never know: live your life to the fullest, in the present moment, taking advantage of whatever the coin toss of life hands to you.

Evaluation: This book has an intriguing premise and plot design, and many touching, bittersweet moments. There is a lot to think about and it would make a good book club selection.

Interesting concept about what would happen in the future with 2 different guys decided by the flip of a coin. A sliding doors for the YA crowd. :) I like the dual timeline and the 2 different possibilities.... The large role of music in the book made it more interesting. An unique book. :)

I liked the premise and the dual timeline/Sliding Doors aspect of it. However, I also felt a little disappointed when I got halfway through and it then switched over (though I think it would have been much more confusing to have the stories branch off earlier and try and keep track). This story was very much focused on the first love aspect, though the author did try to bring in friendship, family relationships, etc.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

2/5 stars

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really, really wanted to like this book. I love the idea of dual timelines with different possibilities for what could happen. But I just couldn't bring myself to finish this. I DNF'd around 30%.

Stevie is the new girl in town. Her family moves around a lot, so she never gets a chance to make friends or fall in love. But Stevie immediately hits it off with Drew and Shane, two best friends who are in the school marching band along with Stevie. Drew's parents separated and don't care that he exists. Shane's father died, hurting both Shane and Drew. The two have been best friends for a while now. But they both like Stevie and they toss a coin for the chance to ask her out...leading to very different outcomes.

First of all, this was major insta-love. Both Drew and Shane barely spoke to Stevie and they already had made up their minds to ask her out. From there, the relationship starts pretty much immediately. I felt like we barely had a chance to know them before they were all over each other. Also, I just couldn't get myself to enjoy the story. With the relationship happening so fast that I got whiplash and the lack of anything substantial happening, I just ended up bored with the story. Not to mention, the excessive swearing and inappropriate content. No sex occurred prior to where I stopped, but it was getting close.

I'm giving this two stars simply for the concept and the writing itself. Minus the swearing, I did enjoy the writing style of the author. But the plot, content, and insta-love just fell flat for me.

I see that this book has a lot of positive reviews so maybe it's just me. I'm normally more impressed with Wednesday Books, but this just wasn't the book for me.

I love when I come across a book like this one. I always find it interesting to have a book with dual time lines to see how things could have turned out based on how time unfolded. I like the way it began with a tease of the ending and we had no idea how we were going to get there. I also liked that it kind of showed that things were going to go how they were going to go in either time line and it didn't necessarily matter the choice that was made, sometimes things change but sometimes they don't. Sometimes there is a different route to get to the ending, but maybe it is always your destiny. I know this review is cryptic but I don't want to ruin the plot line of either time line. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA. It was a quick and interesting read.

I thought this story took a very unique spin for a YA book and found that I enjoyed it a lot.

Wexler begins the story with an upsetting event set in the future, without revealing how it happened, which started me off very intrigued. Then we go back to the past a bit, when Stevie, the main character, starts at a new school. Best friends Drew and Shane flip a coin to see who should pursue her, and then the author takes us down two different timelines where we get to see Stevie with a different boy in each.

I loved that music was a huge part of the book. It was very relatable to me because I'm a musician and music teacher myself. I will definitely be recommending this book to my students!

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I really wanted to like this book. In most cases, Wednesday publishes some of my favoite titles. Of course, I was overjoyed to received Where It All Lands.
I DNF'ed this one.
The first thing that I did not like was the excessive use of the f-bomb. To me, it came off as trying too hard to sound like a teenager. I know that some do speak like that, but generally, not every person does it as depicted by this novel.
Secondly, I really could not connect with Stevie. I wanted to because I also love music like she does. However, she came off as spoiled and a bit entitled.

Rating: 1/5 DNF
Lanugage: f-bombs, lots of other words
Romance: lots of sex talk, kissing
Spiritual: some characters are Jewish
Violence: none up to the point where I stopped

*I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. All thoughts are my own and a positive review was not required.

Review will be published to the blog on June 6, 2021.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Where it All Lands in exchange for an honest review.

I love the premise here. After meeting new girl Stevie, two best friends instantly decide that they want to ask her out. To try and preserve their friendship, they decide to flip a coin and whoever wins gets to ask her out. Told in two possible timelines (one where each boy wins the timeline), the reader knows from the beginning that at least 1 ends in disaster. Wexler's writing is pretty good if a little generic for the genre, I just wasn't personally invested in any of the three main characters or their romances. That may have just been a personal preference thing though because I didn't find anything specifically wrong with any of them, but since most of the book is centered around their relationships I had a lot of trouble getting invested.