Unique premise compared to what I normally gravitate to when I'm picking my next book to read. I thought the dual timeline was well done and balanced in a way where I didn't prefer one over the other. Thank you for the early copy!

Riveting, unique storyline. Often I was left wondering and wanting to know what happened to one character as if switched to another, but that just gave the story even more edge. I will say that having read it in ebook, it was much easier to translate the French as it wasn’t always clear through context clues what was being said during the brief French dialogue

There's Going to be Trouble was an absorbing read. I loved Jen Silverman's writing and would read more from her. I appreciated the risky political storyline as well as the romance.

"I am beginning to ask myself: What world do you want to live in? How must the people in that world be treated? What must you do to ensure that this is the version that comes to pass? We keep doing the same things again and again-- and your country, too, what I see in the news, its the same thing again and again. We go in circles, a hundred years pass and the same people are starving, the same people die. What if it could change?"

When i received the ARC Galley of There's Going to Be Trouble by Jen Silverman I was not expecting how starkly relevant it would be to what is going on in America/Canada right now. At the time I was reading this the University encampments were at their most active. Attacks from the police and Zionists at the worst. Although Silvermans work takes place primarily in Paris, France (dual timelines) the similarities to the protests going on at Ivy League Campuses in America- and across the world is almost eerie. Its interesting - as i find myself consuming work like this I wonder if they could have predicted this. They being- Jen. I found myself wondering the same thing the night I wanted the movie Civil War. I highlighted so many portions of this work- which I always find to indicative of the work being a living breathing thing. I really enjoyed the dynamic of Minnow being Activist minded and Keen being very logical and Scientific minded. It was personally relatable for me. The way their relationship played out was interesting and realistic. I had an inkling of what was going on with the two timelines however really enjoyed the mystery of it. As someone who recently connected with a group of Activists I loved seeing the friendship and family Minnow had crafted for herself.

The way depression was represented in this work was flawless. Thank you for that. The sex when it was represented was done in a way that was erotic and beautifully written.

I would read future works by this author.

This novel was a slow burn for me, taking considerable time to engage with and even longer to finish, leaving my feelings about it somewhat ambivalent. The writing is top-notch, and I appreciated the incisive social commentary on politics, protests, and activism.

Both timelines in this dual narrative were compelling and interconnected seamlessly, which is rare. However, the exploration of personal relationships, crucial to the book's themes, fell flat, with the romantic connections feeling particularly unconvincing.

The abrupt ending left much to be desired. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC and the opportunity to read and review this book.

i really really enjoyed this one. i found both the past and current storylines very engaging and i liked the political commentary , especially in the portions about the vietnam war. i look forward to reading whatever jen silverman writes next!

Increasingly intricate and secretive, this novel kept me intrigued and curious for almost it’s entirety, the dual timelines and convoluted chain of rebellion and individualization quite unique and fascinating.

I was excited about this story, thinking it'd be a book I loved. It took me a long time to get into and then a while to finish, I'm a bit conflicted about my experience with the book. The writing was solid, but overall I felt underwhelmed and didn't feel the storylines were delivering in the ways I expected. I will give the caveat that I'm a mood reader, and I feel like I might've forced this at the wrong time. I think some people will really enjoy this and some people will feel meh about it.

Protests serve as the framework for the dual storylines in this novel: the Vietnam War in the US and the more current Yellow Vests demonstrations in France. Needed change underpinned both movements, but a dark side is explored in this novel when frustration becomes anger and violence seems the logical next step. The anonymity crowds and chaos give cover to those who destroy storefronts and vehicles of innocent women and men. For others, it’s about a need to belong as is shown with Keen. In Minnow’s case, it seems she suffers from a predisposition to act without assessing the cost to others or the basic question of whether or not it is her fight. As it is with most of those who tangle in this book, their moral compass will be exposed when they are pressed to make a decision to face the consequences of their decisions or to pass the buck.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Selling Pitch:
Do you want a book that’s a slow-burn character study about a social activist father and his daughter and how their romances impact their political ideas? Do you like books chock full of parallels and callbacks?

Pre-reading:
Don't know anything about this book other than the fact that it has a gorgeous cover.

Thick of it:
I read a lot of books where the main character girlypop’s name is a fish.

Emily in Paris?

Oh god, I literally only speak English. (Thank god for Kindle’s translation feature.)

She reminds me of Marianne from Normal People.

The incident? Oh no, is this another college girl gets raped book? I’m tired, publishing. I’m so tired. (It’s tentatively not?)

And that’s how I met your mother.

This has to be her dad right?

Why am I Keem?
I would get a pamphlet thrown at me and read it.

Romance mentions serial killers sin

I get the feeling Katie may have gone crazy and lit a fire and died after girlypop made her read a book that made her uncomfortable? Like that Criminal Minds episode? (Dead wrong.)

Oh no, is that her dad‘s true love, and her mom is his first girlfriend? (Wrong again.)

Yes, Keen!

This book is aggressively academics in college and I love it.

This book feels very timely with all the academic protests going on.

Peter and Keen are coming off a little gay. Is her dad not dating because he’s gay?

I also agree that angry is better than sad.

OK, but the solution isn’t to humanize women by being like what if they were one of your women it’s just that women are people too. What if it was your family member is still a woman made an object in relation to a man.

I’m so in love with Keen.

Gotta put that fun in funerals.

Very Sally Rooney

I like this book.

Describing the shadows as cyan in this moment was so smart. It immediately triggers an A24 film montage.

I don’t like that she’s gonna break him because I love him. (She does and she doesn’t.

Also, wow, we are 35% in, and I am ride or die for my chemistry boy.

I don’t like Charles. He is setting off all the red flags. Girlypop on the other hand, I’m just like she’s deeply damaged and not ready for a relationship and he’s gonna get caught in the crossfire, but like she’s not intending to hurt him. Versus Charles is gonna be too selfish not to hurt Minnow. (Wrong about Charles.)

Ugh, I like this book.

Also, I’m still assuming Keen is her dad. I feel like that’s gonna be the plot twist at like 80% through this book, and if I’m wrong I’m gonna be a little pissy, or if they’ve already told us the dad‘s name and I’ve somehow missed it-(It wouldn't have been a plot twist if you read the goddamn blurb for the book, Samantha.)

Fuck religion so much.

What the fuck, dad? I was team dad for so much of this book. I'm never team dad! Women deserve the right to their own bodies.

I’m gonna need a good explanation for why her dad thinks it was wrong to drive the student, or he’s dead to me. (Do better, Keen. Ffs.)

Once again, Samantha‘s literary gaydar is unmatched. If only this translated to real life.

I want Peter and Keen to make out.

Yessss. They finally revealed that Keen is the dad. I knew it. I don’t know if this is supposed to be a bombshell. I may very well have just missed his name drop during his first chapter. (It is literally in the blurb, you idiot.)

Please don’t make sweet baby Keen go to war. Oh my god, this book is going to break my heart.

It’s a little Warm Hands of Ghosts given that it’s historical and a character study.

That is one struggle for men that I will never be able to understand, and it makes me so sad for them. The draft is wrong. You should not be forced to die for your country.

This book is so well-paced. It keeps you turning pages.

I think I care more about one side of the timeline, and then the next chapter is like lol no, you care about this one more, and then the next chapter is like lol no, you care about this one more. I think baby Keen has my heart though.

I don’t understand why girlypop is so opposed to people knowing that they’re together. It’s completely legal. They’re not doing anything wrong. She's not that much older, and they're literally colleagues.

But if none of them are so precious that they shouldn’t be used, isn’t that exactly what capitalism is doing that they’re rallying against? That they’re just being used?

Oh my god, I love Keen. He learns the girl he loves’ favorite book.

I am on my period, but the book did make me cry. I just love him so much. He loves his daughter so much.

The parallelism in this book is so good

Why are Keen and Peter not together?

Wait, so she doesn’t even give him the book? Peter does. Why is he not dating Peter? (Such a missed opportunity.)

Who‘s afraid of little old me?

Oh my god, the history repeating itself is so good. So tragic, but so good.

Awww what an ending.

I think Minnow’s arc is a little unsatisfying but also fitting because her ending is just the pure possibility that’s given to her by Christopher, but like also gimmie more.

I don’t love that her arc ends with her resisting in Paris, like Paris isn’t yours.

Post-reading:
I love going into books blind and being pleasantly surprised.

Let’s get this out of the way, I’m a sucker for character parallels. You give me some slow-burn character development with pointed callbacks, and I will eat that shit up every time.

I think the blurb does this book a disservice when it attempts to sell you on the idea that it’s a lit fic romance book. The romances are arguably the most lackluster part of this book. They’re a means to an end to describe the father and daughter relationship that is at the heart of this story.

Keen is such a compelling character. It’s such an effective way to get the book’s theming across that people have always been trying to make the world a better place and that if it was so easy, your grandparents would have done it. It’s so smart to couple the timelines together so that the audience bonds to this young man and his passion for more while knowing it has to all inevitably go ary given the present. It’s deliciously tragic, and the book is appropriately miserable and firmly hopeful given its subject matter.

A subject matter that feels all the more poignant given the state of things and the current campus protests. While the events of the book are fictional, they’re realistic and believable. They’re given the appropriate emotional weight, and nothing is settled all too tidily.

This book is a rare example of a dual timeline where readers are going to care about both POVs equally. It’s paced so well for a book that is probably best categorized as a slow-burn. You’re going to be flying through pages even though the book’s plot passes at the snail’s pace of a slice-of-life novel. The writing feels similar to Sally Rooney’s in that its characters throw around weighty dialogue like it’s nothing and their romantic entanglements suffer from miscommunication.

The book debates its social commentary so well by having so many devil’s advocate characters who have stinging, biting rebuttals. They make salient points. They best our heroes at times. And those heroes feel appropriately naive and grow accordingly.

If you like character studies and love some liberal academic debate, it’s a solid little book and you should definitely pick it up.

Who should read this:
Liberals
Historical political commentary fans
Character study fans

Do I want to reread this:
Maybe? I’m not a huge historical girly, but I would read more from the author

Similar books:
* Come and Get It by Kiley Reid-social commentary, character study, college
* Vladimir by Julia May Jonas-social commentary, character study, college
* You’re an Animal by Jardine Libaire-modern classic retelling, character study
* Sirens and Muses by Antonia Angress-social commentary, character study, college
* The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden-historical, magical realism, character study
* Normal People by Sally Rooney-character study, college
* Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney-character study

- Jen Silverman’s writing makes you feel as though you are reading a nonfiction narrative. Their characters and the world they inhabit feel so real and the prose flows so smoothly.
- This book is slower-paced than what I normally read, and still I couldn’t help but be drawn in to the dual narrative stories of Minnow in the present day and her father in 1968.
- Reading a book starring activists that is half set at the campus protests of 1968 is quite something right now. This book raises many questions we have seen repeated since then and right now - what style of action will make the most impact? Can you live with yourself if you don’t protest? How much are you willing to sacrifice for your cause?

When Minnow finds herself in the middle of a public scandal because of her role in helping one of her students with a controversial decision, her life begins to unravel. Seeking a clean slate, she accepts a teaching position in Paris. There she meets Charles—a young activist with a powerful French family. Minnow finds herself pulled into more and more dangerous protests, and things finally reach a tipping point that she is unaware mirrors a tragedy from her family’s past.

Decades earlier, Keen is pursuing his PhD at Harvard and praying he won’t be drafted for the Vietnam War. He falls in love with Olya, a radical activist who persuades him to join her cause. He could never predict the consequences that would follow him afterward.
The novel jumps back and forth in time between modern France and the student movements of the late sixties. It’s a story about the cost for standing up for what you believe in and a warning to make sure that you’re standing up for your own beliefs instead of adopting someone else’s. It’s about how infatuation can blind us and how our choices shape us. It’s about legacy, creating change, and the way history repeats itself.

Reading this just as the campus protests were beginning around the country felt surreal and ominous. I can’t imagine a more timely book for people to read right now.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

What does it mean to be revolutionary? What does it take to enact true change? These questions are at the heart of Silverman's latest as we get two stories across generations from Harvard to Paris. A father and daughter find they have more in common - their revolutionary spirit - than they realize and the truth slowly comes out during a fraught time in France's history in 2018.

Minnow, a young activist, finds herself in the center of controversy when she helps a student of hers make a difficult decision. Finding herself under ridicule and scrutiny, she flees to Paris, where she falls for a radical activist. The two begin an intense affair against the background of major societal and political upheaval that becomes more dangerous as Minnie gets more involved with Charles and his friends. Meanwhile, flashing back to 1968, another group of young Harvard activists , including keen and firey olya, are protesting Vietnam. Tensions begin to mount and keen and olya are faced with difficult and life-altering decisions that still have consequences in the present day.

This book reminded me of the nix-in a good way. The alternating timelines and political upheaval are similar, as are the strained parent/child relationship that drives the heart of the narrative. The prose is easy and it’s a compulsively readable book, even if there are some heavy social and political themes. The Paris setting is also evoked well and it becomes a character at times. A recommended read for literary fiction readers, lovers of political fiction, and family drama.

Thanks to the publisher for providing this arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an interesting read with two separate timelines to follow. I truly enjoyed the amount of political/social commentary. As a sociologist, I really appreciate when authors can pull it off well! the writing in this book was astounding, but I had a difficult time connecting with any of the characters and their stories felt underwhelming. I am unsure if that had to do more with or the writing. The characters and the jarring ending were big draw backs for me and led me to rating this book lower than I anticipated.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book 💗

After being fired from her job at an American university, Minnow flees to Paris, where she takes up a job covering for another professor. As she struggles with coming to terms with the life she left behind, the 2018 protests are in full swing. People and violence swirl around her, and she is caught up in a passionate affair with Charles, a much younger colleague and political activist.

It is 1968, and young student Keen is head over heels in love with a young activist protesting the university’s relationship with ROTC on campus. Keen is swept away into the group’s political movements, until a demonstration goes incredibly wrong.

Review:
This was an all-around great book; from the dual-story structure to the characters to the poetic writing, I was hooked. There’s Going to Be Trouble switches between Minnow’s perspective to her father's, alternating between 2018 and 1968 seamlessly, without losing momentum in the story. This is an impressive and ambitious novel, one that Silverman pulls off. Silverman is a playwright, and you can tell from their development of action and characters.

But what I resonated most with is the overarching message of the intersection of politics and personal lives. There’s Going to Be Trouble displays how our personal relationships impact our political activism through the father-daughter relationships. The novel humanizes these massive protests and movements on a much smaller and more personal scale.

Silverman highlights how much of our political views and actions are inspired by the relationships we create with others. Politics is personal, and both Minnow and her father are sucked into major protests due to their infatuation with colleagues.

I would not say this is an all-encompassing book about all protests, as it only takes place during the 2018 French revolts and the 1960s student protests, so in that regard it is limiting to the story that it tells. But I loved how Silverman focuses on how politics and relationships intertwine: how political idealism and optimism turn into disillusion and the real-world implications of political acts.

I read the description for this book, and the tagline is “one choice can change your life,” which makes this seem like a thriller book. Don’t let the advertising fool you, this is a phenomenal book that is just so much more than “making a choice.” Rather, it is an exploration of two politically charged movements in time, and how a combination of our personal choices and relationships impact large-scale political movements.

There’s Going to Be Trouble will be published on April 9th, 2024.

RATING: 3.5/5

There’s Going to be Trouble is a historical fiction with a dual timeline focused on two main characters - Minerva ‘Minnow’ (2018-19) and her father, Christopher ‘Keen’ (1968-69). The story follows these characters as they discover their own beliefs on activism, revolution, and love in both America and Paris.

The main characters were well-fleshed, smart, and independent thinkers. I loved the way the author is able to have the reader question their own beliefs and understandings of the world and political protesting through her inquisitive writing style. The author is a screenwriter and playwright as well, and it is evident in the way the novel flows. This was a big plus for the story, because it was cinematic in style and palpable, even with heavy topics of violence, war, and abortion. I could see this being an incredible movie one day!

I took my time with this, pondered and had conversations with friends and family thanks to this topical read, and ended up adding all of the authors published work to my TBR thanks to it. Thank you for writing and sharing this incredible work with me and allowing me to enter a world I would never had discovered otherwise!

This was a book for a different audience. I thought I was getting something from the perspective of women that expressly felt with the issues of women and politics. This was not what I was expecting,. It was OK for what it was. It just wasn't what I was offered.

This is a dual timeline story taking place alternately in 1968 and in 2018. There's really nothing wrong with this book but I don't think I'm the right reader for it. There was a little too much politicism, if that's the right word, for my personal liking and the characters didn't speak to me at all. Although there were bits and pieces of the story that I enjoyed, I'll probably remember very little of it in a few weeks ... or maybe a few hours. And the chapters are soooo long! If you're interested in reading this historical novel, check out some of the more positive reviews.

My thanks to Penguin Random House Canada via Netgalley for the invitation to read an advance copy of this novel. I'm sorry I didn't enjoy it more. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: April 9, 2024

“𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙨?”

Minerva “Minnow” Hunter accidentally stumbles into a protest while in Paris, where she teaches at a university. Swept up in a sea of protestors known as gilets jaines (yellow vests), what she knows about them is vague at best or from television. Minerva understands only that they are mad at Macron about the fuel tax. She catches sight of fellow teacher Charles Vernier, charismatic, handsome, aristocratic, and beloved by his students, a man who has barely noticed her before, likely because she is quiet, swallowed up in the background. But here, he recognizes her, surprised by her presence, and finds himself drawn to her curiosity, enlightening Minnow about what the people are fighting against, the control and suffering; that it goes far deeper than passing politics and silly signs. His intense anger and passion illuminate her, but it is his attention she hungers for. Her father wouldn’t approve, she has spent her life measuring herself against her father Christopher’s character, values. A steady man and chemistry professor who raised her by himself, he has already been disappointed by the trouble she created at her last teaching job. Against her better judgement, she was engaged in helping a troubled student that slowly became threatening, overstepping her place according to the rules. For once, she wants to be her own guide, to vanquish her father’s voice in her head, to not be a parrot of his beliefs, his mirror. Right now, they are not in contact, and it is her chance to assert herself in her own life. She is oblivious to the fact that she is not the trailblazer in the family, for another has found himself involved radical acts.

It is 1968, Keen spends his days in a chemistry lab, with a two-year deferment from the Vietnam war, he is free to attain his PhD at Harvard. A life of science is all he cares about, until he falls in love with Olya, a beautiful activist who invites him to readings and teach-ins against the war. Keen doesn’t yet know about the involvement she has in protests. It isn’t long before she is exerting an influence on him, making him see the reality of what is happening on campus and the horrors of war, forcing him outside the basement. He is no longer viewing life through his perspective and dreams alone, now his mind is clouded by her vision, her fight. He finds himself enlisted in something as dangerous as the war itself, an act that will forever change the trajectory of his life.

Minerva has never understood her father’s fears, his exaggerated anger about parts of history, only that his views shaped her universe. She doesn’t know much of her parents love, the reason for her mother’s absence from their lives nor the shame and guilt that haunts her father’s days but fate has a way of coming full circle.

This novel is clever, and as much as Minerva pulled me in, it was Charles whose choices stunned me. It is a novel about the weight of politics, whether you are fighting or indifferent, but also about the sway of love, passion, and parenthood. How can you sink into the status quo when a fire is driving you to be the change? Some are anchors, others are fire, but no one can avoid the world as it is transforming.

Publication Date: April 9, 2024

Random House