"This love is difficult, but it's real."

Is it possible to feel sick with joy? Because that is what I'm feeling.

TW: abusive parent (flashbacks, emotional and indirectly physical), parent in prison, estranged relationship with parent, panic attacks, anxiety, depression, childhood trauma

Most contemporaries don't need a sequel. Most works of art don't need one actually. Continuing a story that was successful just because you want to build off that success is cheap to me, a scheme for capitalism. A way to wring out something beautiful so all that remains is threadbare art. I have passionate feelings about sequels and their lack of necessity.

But I have discovered an exception to that general rule.

Rachel Lynn Solomon did not intend to write a sequel* to the beloved TODAY TONIGHT TOMORROW, even after it got some BookTok popularity. But she had an idea, wrote it all, and didn't tell anyone at first. And I think that the birth of PAST PRESENT FUTURE is what gave this story the life typically MIA in sequels—there was no ulterior motive, no corporate finger wagging. PPF was born out of passion and an idea that needed to be told to bring together Neil and Rowan's story. Their story didn't end in book one.

"...dating Neil McNair isn't actually all that different from sparring with him. We just get to make out afterward."**


This book feels meta in many ways. Rowan is an aspiring romance writer, and the book opens with her musing on the parts of romance novels we never see: what happens after they get together. What happens after "I love you." What happens after "The End." And we zip through their summer of love, the story instead centered on their long-distance relationship while in their first years of college—what it's like navigating a still very new relationship miles apart while simultaneously growing into their own selves as fresh adults.

Another reason why sequels usually flop is because there isn't a compelling enough story to carry a whole other arc. T3 is told only in Rowan's POV, but PPF is dual POV. Neil's character had a lot to explore in this story, something I wanted more of T3. (I always say T3 is a near-perfect book, and it would be more perfect if we had dual POV to begin with.) Rowan's character also had interesting developments. All of which is spoilery for both books, so you'll just have to read it. ;)

"Forelsket (Norwegian): the euphoria you experience as you begin to fall in love; or, how I feel whenever I'm around you."**


PAST PRESENT FUTURE is deeply romantic. Fitting snugly in the New Adult category that publishing doesn't acknowledge, Rowan and Neil have conflicts outside of their relationship, but they still have things to figure out within their own budding relationship too. All facets of it, actually, from emotional to physical and mental.

I don't think there are many books that explore that part of a relationship. What happens when the honeymoon phase is over? What happens when shit hits the fan, but you're miles apart? How can you stay connected emotionally and physically if you can't do the usual gestures, like bringing them soup when they're sick? Everything looks different. Passion has a more frenzied feel, a clock ticking down. Communication has to shift from what worked IRL to finding what works apart, then return to the original way when reunited. All the second-guessing that accompanies separation. It's not easy to experience or to write about.

I started this review with a Taylor Swift lyric, from the iconic "Love Story." The whole time I read PPF I kept hearing those lines in my head. Straightforward lyrics, nothing to win a Printz over—but the truest statement an 18-year-old girl can write in her bedroom. I like to think Rowan is a Swiftie, partly because Taylor is *the* songwriter of our generation, and I think her music would be a comfort for all the nights of uncertainty and all the nights of contentment. And there are few relationships that I believe in as much as I believe in Rowan Roth and Neil McNair.

I never doubt Rachel, and I never have reason to. I will be forever grateful that she entrusted me with the secret that this book existed in the first place, and then each title and cover development. Rowan and Neil are going down in history as one of the best YA couples to ever be written.

Rep: Mexican-American Jewish main character, Jewish main character with depression, side sapphic couple, side character with they/them pronouns

*I know this because she told me herself.
**Quotes are from the arc copy and may not reflect the finished version.

Thank you to Simon Teen for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. <3