We Are Inevitable is a well-written story of grief and addiction. Each character we meet seems to be experiencing one or the other, and it presents in diverse ways to make clear that not everyone expresses or processes their emotions in the same way. The blurb for this book is very misleading, though; there is a bit of a YA love story here, but the book is much more about family, friendship, and finding yourself.

Aaron is an incredibly toxic protagonist from the very beginning. He lies to the people he loves, pushes everyone away, and keeps huge, life-shattering secrets. He does this while holding a grudge against his drug-addicted brother for doing all of the same things. Aaron tells himself that he does these things to protect the people around him, so he is definitely a good person and must be in the right all the time. He's abrasive and rude to those around him, often snapping and starting fights over inane comments or friendly overtures because he's convinced everyone has an ulterior motive. I understand why Aaron is written this way, and it becomes clearer as the story progresses, but it made it a difficult read for at least the first half of the book.

I had a very difficult time wrapping my head around not wanting to own a bookstore (what's wrong with you?!) but everything else felt very realistic. This book is worth reading to get to know Chad and the Lumberjacks who breathe life back into the bookstore and provide a lot of needed lightness to the narrative which can be very melancholic, but there are also a lot of difficult and important topics addressed with refreshing honesty.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

TW: Substance abuse, depression, anxiety

This book was like a love letter to all things literature and bookish.

You may think I'm kidding but books and bookshops–in particular, small family owned second hand bookstores were front and centre in We Are Inevitable. The book follows Aaron, the (begrudging) inheritor of a failing bookstore in a small town in Washington state as he and his dad struggle to regain business after the death of Aaron's brother, Sandy and the separation of his dad and his mum. As Aaron views it, they seem to be like dinosaurs only the asteroid's hit already and it's about time to accept their doom.

A series of events occur that introduces us to a lot of characters. I liked Chad and thought he was pretty funny although sometimes, his dialogue did get a little bit irritating to read with his "oh dawg" sayings. That being said, it did add to his characterisation even if his dialogue and actions were a bit flaky and conniving at times especially with all those incidences at the start of the book, even if it was in the best interests of Aaron.

Aaron, who was the unreliable narrator of the story, was one of those characters you didn't know whether to like or to hate. On one hand he was fairly judgemental of others but on the other, I really enjoyed his sarcasm and his dry humour. I thought his narration was fresh and new even though I kept questioning if I enjoyed it or not. There were times when I did find his characterisation a little over the top especially due to the subtle cosmic "inevitable" love arch which was used in a way as a plot point. The idea of a romance being inevitable is a massive turn off so when I saw it going that way (flashing warning lights ahead), I was glad that it got underplayed and that romance became a lesser focus on this book. I think the romance in general was the reason why I rated this book a bit lower. I felt like we had the meet cute and then the casual meet ups and then the whole "we are inevitable" dialogue that seemed to have occurred without much of a build up. Yes, I understood that Aaron felt like meeting Hannah was something that was "meant to happen" but it was that kind of cosmic love that set the romance up in an unrealistic and cosmic way. It didn't sell the romance to me and it sold Hannah to me short.

Now looking back on it, yes, we saw a lot of Hannah's issues particularly pertaining to substance abuse and yes, we did see her love for music and a bit of her backstory however, I wanted more of it. I wanted to feel something for her character but I never really did. Which was why when the events that occurred later in the book (that shall go unnamed for spoilery reasons) happened, I wasn't too upset about it and that was due to me not having a sense of connection or any emotional attachment to her. If that was branched out more and expanded then I think I would've shipped Hannah and Aaron more than I did. Despite their inevitability, they didn't seem 'right' for each other, they just didn't have the kind of chemistry that would've made me think they were truly in love. Maybe that was a authorial decision? I don't know. My judgements can only be made based on what I read.

In all honesty though, it was the side characters that really made the book up for me. Ira, Ike, Ritchie, Garry and Chad were the squad of young-middle aged men I never knew I needed. They were funny, relatable and the ways they just bantered on with Aaron were the best things I've read in a long time. Especially the ramp incident. I couldn't stop laughing, I would gladly read a spinoff book about those five in a heartbeat.

Characters aside, if we took apart the complex layers of this book, We Are Inevitable was a book about family and grief and how to forgive and let go of the past. We saw a few metaphors linking two and two together such as the extinction of the dinosaurs and the business among many others. I liked how metaphors were used in this way and how Aaron learnt how to cope with his emotions at the end. I think a lot of readers will resonate with this book and would enjoy the messages, themes, humour and the overwhelming sense of community a bookstore can create.

ACTUAL RATING: 3.5 STARS (scaled down to 3 stars overall)

This took me ages to read, which wouldn't ordinarily be a good sign, however, once I saddled up and devoted undivided time to it, I liked it. It is a slow burn, a very slow burn. I was confused at times and found myself a little bit lost with the characters, who was who and where did they fit? What exactly was going on? How did this kid suddenly come to own a bookshop at his tender age? Gradually it became clearer, but I wonder how much tolerance for this the target audience might have. So in that way, it does miss the mark a little bit. It rewards perseverance which most teens are not going to put up with.

In the end, I became attached to the characters, I really liked their quirk and I loved the inclusiveness and the way that diversity of gender and sexuality was just part of their lives. I quite like a YA story where the parents are a bit useless and the teens have to take charge. There are some definite glitches but the overall feeling I had at the end of the book was that it was a good read. Not a great read, but one that is rewarding after the halfway point. I'm kind of damning it with faint praise, mostly because I'm a bit conflicted.

I loved that it was set in a bookshop. I loved that there was a strong music element. I really liked the romance, fraught with difficulty but full of goodness. The parent thing is problematic for me. I'd have loved a firmer hand with the editing to make the beginning of the story as strong as the second half. In the end, I don't think it is memorable, which is a shame, because this author can write wonderful books.

This was a great read and i was really excited to read this. The emotional family story in this book hit close to home. I really liked the diversity in this book and the balance of light hearted jokes and the more sad stuff. overall this was a great read and i would recommend it!

📖Review: We Are Inevitable📖
By: Gayle Forman
Genre: YA Contemporary
Rating: DNF
Provided by: NetGalley and Simon & Schuster (Australia)

🔴 What didn’t work:
↪️ Plot: everything was moving very slowly, which made it very difficult for me to engage with the book ... I would be reading for an hour yet the entire time, absolutely nothing had happened
↪️ Characters: I didn’t feel anything for any of the characters – no connection, no empathy for their situations, etc
↪️ Synopsis: the book didn’t follow along with the synopsis (at least it still hadn’t until about 35% when I stopped reading it) which was what I had been originally drawn to, so that also made me consider whether I wanted to continue spending time reading the book

""Twenty-six letters and some punctuation marks and you have infinite words in infinite worlds." He's gesture at my book, at his book, at all the books in the shop. "How is that not a miracle?"

Aaron's feels stuck. Stuck in his tiny hometown, running the rundown bookshop that was started by his parents. The closure of the bookshop seems inevitable. Just like how the story goes that his parents meeting and falling in love was inevitable, how the death of his drug addict brother was inevitable and then his mother leaving was inevitable.

But then Aaron meets Hannah and suddenly he feels that he has his own inevitable.

In despair over mounting debts and breaking bookshelves, Aaron had agreed to sell the bookshop. But how does he tell his father? And then his teenager tormentor, Chad, comes back into his life. But now Chad is in a wheelchair after falling off a cliff and miraculously surviving. And the local out of work lumberjacks have decided to renovate the bookstore and get it back on its feet - and they won't stop even though Aaron tells them too. Because Aaron just knows that no-one does things like this for free and inevitably it will all come back to create even more problems for him.

Unfortunately, I did not really enjoy this book. I just could not warm to Aaron as a main character and found him selfish and unlikeable. I know that life had conspired to turn him bitter and wary of the kindness of others, but I need something redeeming about him to make me want him to succeed.

My favourite character was reformed bad boy Chad. He wasn't going to let life in a wheelchair keep him down and he recognised his past mistakes and was determined to make up for them. He injected humour and heart into the story.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the review copy for my honest feedback.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I went into reading this book with really high expectations and unfortunately aspects of this book fell short for me. Firstly, I struggled to connect with our MC, Aaron, due to his rude and distant personality. Whilst readers are given insight into the challenges and traumas that Aaron has experiences, that contribute to these traits, I still didn’t feel that justified many of his actions. By providing insight into Aaron’s past, Forman may have been trying to create a sense of sympathy for him, however I struggled to empathise with him for the majority of the story. Secondly, the romance felt very sudden and poorly written. There was a lack of chemistry between Aaron and Hannah and I simply couldn’t find myself warming up to their moments together. Thirdly, the pacing of this book felt off for me; especially at times when it felt like it was going extremely slowly and was monotonous. Finally, the choice of Aaron being portrayed as Jewish, however not exploring that aspect of his character really disappointed me! Recently, I’ve read a few books with Jewish MC’s and side characters and have really liked learning about the beliefs and practices that are incorporated in their day to day lives. It would have definitely been interesting to see this take place in this story, especially considering some of the things that Aaron and his family encounter.

Having said all this, I would say that I did enjoy that the story was set in a bookstore and had numerous bookish references. I also enjoyed the character of Chad, who I felt really carried the book on his shoulders with his witty and charming personality. The themes of family, friendship and healing are explored along with more sensitive topics of addiction and mental health. There was certainly moments where I laughed out loud and moments where I got emotional and truly felt for the trauma that the family had to undergo.

Overall, this was a book that I felt had so much more potential and with a stronger MC and better pacing with more action, I feel could’ve really been a memorable read for me.