What a great idea for a book! This was just released and I'm thankful to NetGalley for the ARC for the purpose of this review. Three stars! Fast-paced, great male MC energy and a mystery! It's all included.

5 Stars

You might not know this, but I don’t typically finish books within one day. It usually takes me anywhere from three days to a week to finish a book. Obviously, there are times where I deviate from this like with this story. I finished this book in one day because I couldn’t put this book down.

I’ll Stop the World is a multi POV murder mystery story that throws in an unexpected element: time travel. Young Adult mysteries aren’t really known for having time travel, but after reading this story I need more time travel in the mystery novels I read. The time travel element was one of my favorite elements as it adds more complexity to the mystery keeping the reader on the edge of their seat wanting to know how it will all play out.

The mystery was executed brilliantly as it weaves itself through multiple POVs and you’re left guessing how it all happened. Thoman is able to build and balance all these POVs and timelines flawlessly without it coming off as messy and confusing.

While this story has multiple POVs, Justin and Rose shine in this story. While they are from two different time periods, their stories parallel each other acting as a grounding force for one another when all hope seems lost. Thoman effortlessly includes many nuanced conversations among the characters about race, class, and sexuality as well.

Behind all the characters and mystery aspect though is a wonderfully crafted story encapsulating themes of second chances, sacrifices, and what it truly means to be human.

I’LL STOP THE WORLD by Lauren Thoman is an enthralling, smart, humorous, and vulnerable multiple-POV story with a diverse cast that kept me guessing and gasping until the very end. I could not put it down. And when I had to, my mind was still in 1985 twisting and turning trying to figure out what was going to happen.

This book has time travel, romance, tragedy, mystery, and multifaceted relationships. Thoman expertly weaves storylines and timelines together in a way that will keep your emotions and attention highly engaged. The cause-and-effect of actions people take, no matter how small, play an important role in this book, sparking larger conversations around fate, our purpose, and the meaning behind who we are and where we are.

The details in this book are excellent, from the observations of being human to the call-outs of differences between 1985 and 2023 (which both made me laugh and forced things into perspective). These characters leap off of the page and feel so real that I was able to easily cheer them on while also feeling heartache for them. The ending left me teary, and I still get chills when thinking about how the events unfolded throughout the story. What a gripping and stunning debut!

I’LL STOP THE WORLD will be out on April 1, 2023, and you can pre-order it now. Thank you to Lauren Thoman, Mindy’s Book Studio, and NetGalley for this book. All opinions are my own.

I'LL STOP THE WORLD is a great debut for Lauren Thoman! Reminiscent of PAPER GIRLS, we follow multiple characters throughout different time periods on an urgent quest to stop a singular event and, hopefully, change the future forever. Or at the very least get home where if things aren't perfect, they're at least a known quantity. The characters are well fleshed out and Thoman does a fantastic job navigating the inherent paradoxes in time travel. The twists are great and the ending is both satisfying and surprising. Loved this awesome, nostalgic, YA!

Nostalgia, pop-culture, time travel, and musings on the world and everything in it- this debut story from talented writer Lauren Thoman is a good one. No foolin’, you won’t want to miss “I’ll Stop the World when it comes out next April 1st!