You Can Go Your Own Way is everything I thought it’d be, and more. It’s a love letter to pinball machines, an exploration of grief, a story of friendship and community, and a story about two lost kids who are simply trying to figure themselves, and their world out. Told in a dual POV, You Can Go Your Own Way follows Adam Stillwater and Whitney Mitchell — childhood best friends turned social-media-rivals. After losing his dad, Adam’s determined to cling onto the last thing he has of him: the pinball arcade. He dedicates most of his time to the pinball arcade, trying to fix broken machines, reading about them, and trying to protect the arcade from being bought and turned into a gaming cafe. Whitney, on the other hand, is just trying to hold everything together after her parents’ split, breaking away from her toxic friend group, and being dumped by her boyfriend. After a series of events, Adam and Whitney find themselves trapped in the pinball arcade during a snowstorm, leading them to confront things they’ve ignored for far too long.

There were so many things that I enjoyed about You Can Go Your Own Way, but one of my favorite things was Adam and his grief. Adam’s grief is such a tangible thing. Adam’s father — and his grief, by extension — are just as big a part of him as his heart, his wit, his talent, and his passion about pinball. For me, personally, grief stories are very hit or miss — either they really resonate with me, or they don’t. Something that really stood out to me was not just how Adam’s grief seeped through his every action and thought, but how it impacted his relationships around him, how hard it is for him to let people in, how he latches onto anything he has left of his dad, and how hard it is for him to move on. From the get go, I was invested in Adam and his journey to finding himself and the right path for him. Adam realizing that he had to live his life for himself, and not his father, was something that just really resonated with me.

While Adam is trying to come to terms with the possibility that they’ll have to sell the arcade, Whitney’s trying to keep everything together by taking on social media responsibilities for her father’s business, and cleaning up her brother’s mess. In a manner that reminds me of Pepper from Tweet Cute, Whitney has taken on the role of social media manager for her father’s business so she can spend time with him. Watching Whitney struggle and feel like she had to fight for her father’s attention broke my heart a little. I love how Smith tackles familial relationships with such care and complexity, whether it’s Adam, trying to live up to his father’s legacy, or Whitney, who is dealing with the aftermath of parents’ divorce. I just really wanted to give Adam and Whitney a big hug. For Whitney, in particular, she’s also dealing with unhealthy friendships, and what makes a good friend. Learning that who she is with her “friends” isn’t someone she’s proud of is such an awful feeling, and I truly felt for her. High school is such a tumultuous time, with the added difficulties of their family situations, and everything else they had going on.

The close proximity, trapped-in situation felt like something out of fanfiction, or a very tropey romance movie, and I loved it. The cozy, winter-weather vibes in You Can Go Your Own Way were immaculate, and the vibrant community Smith describes makes it all the better. Where Whitney fails to have a strong community, Adam thrives — the other employees and neighboring store owners, his friends, and his dad’s friends, were all so supportive and wholesome. The backdrop of the winter festival, and small businesses working together and supporting one another was so heart-warming, and so neighborly.

Although I really enjoyed You Can Go Your Own Way, I felt like the storyline with Whitney’s boyfriend felt unnecessary, and made me question how much Whitney cared for him, if she was able to move on for Adam so quickly. I also wished that there were more dialogue between Adam and Whitney, as I felt like they would’ve been a stronger pairing if they had talked out what had happened while they stopped being friends, or just talked more in general. There were also a couple of timeskips, or moments that happened off-page, that I wished we got to see! That being said, I really did enjoy Whitney and Adam’s banter, and their dynamics overall.

Overall, I really enjoyed You Can Go Your Own Way, and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, cozy read!

A cute young adult novel with a classic enemies-to-couple plot. This was a cute read. I was hoping for more of the romance, it felt like it came late in the story. I really loved the supporting characters in this story, they were the highlight. And, of course, as a lifelong Philadelphian, I appreciated the author's dedication to showing off the city. A book perfect for a snowy winter evening (and maybe a game of pinball after).

Inkyard Press this is the type of Young Adult story I absolutely love to read!

You Can Go Your Own Way by Eric Smith was flipping amazing.
It was funny, A tear jerker and all around a very heartfelt book!
The way this book has a way that can connect you with these characters is honestly something amazing.
The way these two connected with each other by the end of the book was amazing and made my heart melt.
I adored, loved and couldn't get enough of this outstanding story!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read it.

Snow storm? Trapped inside an arcade? Sign me up please!
You Can Go Your Own Way by Eric Smith checked a lot of boxes for me!
Loved the friendship and connection between Whitney and Adam.

This book was everything I ever wanted and more. I originally requested this book because I grew up near Philly and wanted something to remind me of home. But man did this book not disappoint.

From the wide range of references that made me chuckle to the heart wrenching storyline, Go Your Own Way is sure to give you as many tears as it makes you laugh.

Eric Smith is an author I've heard a lot about and I was excited to read one of his book, but I simply didn't connect with either of the main characters in this one and had to dnf it. I still recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA contemporaries, it simply was not for me.

Thank you for this arc.

I enjoyed this book a lot overall! I felt like it was lacking in a few spots - I felt like Whitney and Adam's friendship/budding romance came about pretty quickly after being enemies for so long. I also wasn't totally happy with the ending - after the misunderstanding, it seemed like they just suddenly decided to be over it and we didn't see much of the thought processes involved. As a whole, some of the writing wasn't really for me, particularly how it got into so much detail about engineering and how to make pinball machines, and even Whitney's plants. It felt like too much information on topics I didn't need to know about. But overall, I liked the story and the characters and did enjoy it.

You Can Go Your Own Way, was such a fun read! Being from the Philly area really made me invested in this story as it takes place in the city. All of the little nods to Philadelphia culture were spot on. The story goes back and forth between two points of view, Adam and Whitney who used to be childhood best friends. These days Adam and Whitney have a strained relationship because her father wants to turn Adam’s family pinball arcade into one of their high tech e-cafes. After many tense Twitter exchanges with each other, the two have a run in and end up getting snowed in together during a blizzard. Adam and Whitney start to reminisce about the days they were friends, only this time around there might be a little something more there! A wonderful read about two arcade loving teens coming together and setting their differences aside in the beautiful city of Philadelphia.

Huge thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy to review!

Okay let me start by saying I have been DYING to get my hands on this book! Ever since I saw the first post about it on the author's Instagram, I knew it would be high on my TBR!

Eric Smith kind of came out of nowhere for me as an author. I was sent his book Don't Read The Comments by the publisher when it came out and immediately fell in love.

One of my favorite things about his writing thus far, especially in You Can Go Your Own Way is the number of good pop culture references.

Eric, lives locally to me, so getting to read about so many places I recognized and hearing about so many things I love was an absolute treat.

Another thing I really love about Eric's writing and specifically in You Can Go Your Own Way is the character building. None of Eric's characters ever feel flat. They are the kinds of characters who stay with you long after you've closed to the book.

This book feels like a coming of age story that is suitable for all ages, in the sense that Eric did a great job of touching in a topic we have all had to navigate in someway.

If you are looking for a really well written, refreshingly honest, and heart-felt story, definitely definitely pick this one up!

I will most likely be re-reading this when the physical copy comes out!

You Can Go Your Own Way by Eric Smith is considered a YA contemporary romance. It is, but it is so much more than that. YCGYOW is about family dynamics, friendships that grow distant, understanding who you are and who you want to be, and it is about understanding grief. Smith writes authentic characters, but I think his strength is writing their dynamics.
It was easy to read this novel and feel a kinship toward the main characters. Adam and Whitney, our two main characters whose first person POV’s we switch between, are complex just as all people are. They are teenagers who deal with a lot of things that teens deal with: picking friends, losing friends, trying to understand who they are and if that is who they want to remain. Many adults go through periods of redefining themselves and trying to sort out the things they do for others and what they do for themselves. A lot of adult fiction includes that aspect of redefining oneself and living for yourself, but I think we forget a lot of that begins when we are teenagers. Smith shows that clearly and the reactions to that from those around us.
We talk about teenage rebellion a lot in literature and life, but Smith redefines that and shows the complexity of teenagers going against their parents and the strain on those dynamics. Set in a wonderful winter in Philadelphia, Smith brings warmth and awareness to what it means to be a teenager and what the relationships surrounding us can do for us. If you enjoy young adult fiction that tackles thoughtful subjects with a sprinkle of romance, this is the perfect book for you (and lovely for winter reading).
*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. *

I love feeling like I'm learning when I read a novel, so Adam's knowledge of pinball really appealed to me. I also liked the idea of holding on to something that was sort of dying, that retro appeal. As a male who's always looking for non-"genre" novels to recommend to male readers, I love finding male protagonists who feel like actual people, guys that my guys can identify with, and so Adam (and his friend - Chris?) is a godsend. This is not to discount Whitney, whose own struggle is, while a bit more predictable, no less compelling. I think anyone - male, female, nonbinary, agender - can learn how to move forward from this one.

This book was such a cute story and I really enjoyed the characters! This was a great contemporary read!

I couldn't put down this read. Some of my favorite literary devices, friends turned enemies turned something more? Trapped together in a snow storm? And the strong sense of place that is Philadelphia in this book. It's a wonderful ode to friendship, pinball, and Philadelphia.

Wow, I thought this was such an AMAZING book. Once I got started it was hard to put down. I think that Eric Smith is a great author. I love his YA contemporary books. I think that Adam and Whitney are such great main characters. I love how we go back and forth behind both characters. Both Adam and Whitney use to be best friends until they start high school and they both go down different paths and become enemies. Adam is still working at his family Pinball Arcade and trying to help keep it a float and Whitney is the social media manager for he dad's video game cafe's. Then one day they both get stuck in Adam's Pinball Arcade during a massive snow storm. I love how very atmospheric novel it is and how Eric Smith really brings Philadelphia to life and now I want to go visit. Plus I now want to know how to build a pinball machine and really want to be better with succulents.

My policy when reviewing books is that I’ll only write positive reviews, not negative ones, for my college newspaper and my personal platforms, so NetGalley is the only place where this review will go. You Can Go Your Own Way just didn’t really work for me—the pacing felt off, and the plot didn’t really seem to match what was promised in the blurb. I expected the romantic plotline to be much more prevalent, and I certainly expected the snowstorm to happen much earlier than it did. That being said, there were parts of this story that were fun, and I definitely learned a lot about pinball.

The Quick Cut: Two teens on opposite sides of a business battle find themselves working together when they're stuck together in a snowstorm.

A Real Review:
Thank you to Inkyard Press for providing the ARC for an honest review.

They say opposites attract, but what if they're also sworn enemies? How much are you willing to put aside to work with someone who you have only disagreed with? These are the questions for Adam and Whitney.

Adam is trying to hold together the pinball arcade. It's the only piece of his dad that he has left and feels consistently frustrated by how much people don't seem to appreciate old school games. Whitney is the social media manager for her father's very successful gaming cafes. Her job mainly involves trading barbs with the Adam & the pinball arcade. These two can't stand each other until a snowstorm leaves them trapped together. Can these two work together to survive the storm? Or will they rip one another apart?

I did really enjoy this book, especially the old versus new concept it has going on. Pinball machines are something I rarely see nowadays, so the nostalgia factor is strong if you enjoy that type of thing. The plot itself is good as well, making you wonder how this could end up. So why the average rating? It comes down to one thing: chemistry.

Adam and Whitney are sold as a couple who are flirting while they bicker with one another, but in the midst of their interactions, I never got anything more than a friend vibe. The romantic aspect felt like the author was trying to really sell these two together and all I wanted them to do is at most be business partners. Ending up as a couple route also feels super cliche.

The chapters have alternating narrative between Adam and Whitney. It's a rare occasion of the writing style done well because each character is well developed and has their own set of motivations. To understand how the plot continues, you need to have a solid grasp of both character's situations and you get that here.

I also enjoyed the world building here. It takes place in Philadelphia and the writing makes you feel like you're really in that city. Seeing how the different businesses in the area interact made me smile too.

A sweet story with the wrong relationship type.

My rating: 3 out of 5

A quick, fun read! I loved the characters, who weren't over-the-top dramatic but also had very real problems. I liked Whitney's POV in particular. Always love enemies-to-lovers and any variation thereof. The setting is basically a love letter to Philadelphia, which occasionally threw me off, because I didn't know any of the places that were mentioned, but I'd think that someone who knows the area will enjoy the references. I could tell how much the author loved the city, even though I knew nothing about it. Absolutely love the premise as well – which is why I was a little disappointed *spoiler alert* that they weren't stuck in the snow storm for very long and the book wrapped up pretty quickly afterwards.

Did someone say best friends to enemies to lovers?? This is the first book I have read from this author and I loved it. I loved Witney's point of view the most. The book was written well and is a nice and easy read. I think the characters were adorable, memorable, and I got attached to them very quickly. The author got me to care easily, which is not easy to do. Plus, the banter between these two was absolutely impeccable.

This book was… spectacular. Not just because it was a nice and heartwarming YA romance, but because it had a much deeper meaning between the lines. It was about forgiveness, and about letting go when it doesn’t do any good to hold on anymore. Whether it’s a place or people without their best interests for you. Even if letting go is one of the most painful things ever. Eric Smith did such a fantastic job with this, and finding a good balance between pop culture references and the characters. Although I question Whit’s favorite Mass Effect game, I loved seeing bands like The Wonder Years and REO Speedwagon showing up in conversation.
I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a book where you need a little push. A little philosophy mixed with games and the amazing world of a pinball arcade and an esports cafe colliding.
There were so many quotes I’ve highlighted (a first for me!) that I know I’ll return to later on this year. I’ll leave one of my favorites here.


“So much about pinball is about letting go. Pulling the plunger and taking the journey. And there’s a lot I need to let go of. But it’s so much easier playing a game, than living a life.”

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.