Hello!
Today I am joining the Write Reads Ultimate Blog tour for If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come by Jen St. Jude, with a book spotlight and a look at what some of the other bloggers on the tour have been saying about this apocalyptic YA romance.
Disclaimer – I received a copy in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own.
Book Summary:
Avery Byrne has secrets. She’s queer; she’s in love with her best friend, Cass; and she’s suffering from undiagnosed clinical depression. But on the morning Avery plans to jump into the river near her college campus, the world discovers there are only nine days left to an asteroid is headed for Earth, and no one can stop it.
Trying to spare her family and Cass additional pain, Avery does her best to make it through just nine more days. As time runs out and secrets slowly come to light, Avery would do anything to save the ones she loves. But most importantly, she learns to save herself. Speak her truth. Seek the support she needs. Find hope again in the tomorrows she has left.
‘This book should not just be marketed for YA (Young Adult) because I think anyone who has ever felt like they were the loneliest person in the world needs to give this book a chance. There will be moments in this book where the might characters break your heart, stomp on it, and put it back together again. This book weaves together grief, pain, yearning, hope and love all at once. It’s not just about trying to survive an asteroid crash, but it’s also about trying to survive whatever pain you are going through.’
‘This is a book written with an enormous depth of feeling, and that translates into something which leaves no shortage of impact. Deep and introspective throughout, it uses an apocalyptic premise to confront some extremely sensitive topics in a most thoughtful way that turns a story that begins with desperation into one of empowerment.’
‘This book packs an emotional punch. It’s beautiful. It’s poignant. It’s thought provoking, fosters understanding, and encourages conversations about gender identity and mental health. It hit me right in the feels even if I’m not the target demographic.’
‘I particularly liked the way Avery’s relationship with her parents evolved over the course of the book, and her romance with Cass felt so painfully true to life for a young queer woman figuring out who she is.’
‘Jen St. Jude has done an extraordinary job of covering so many hard-hitting topics in this book yet still leaving the reader feeling hopeful and happy by the end of the story.’
‘It might be a small story, just nine days in the life of a teenage girl, nine days she wouldn’t have even had if she’d carried out her plan. But the way it is told, its beauty, its emotion, its empathy, is completely overwhelming.’
Lambda Literary Fellow Jen St. Jude (she/they) grew up in New Hampshire apple orchards and now lives in Chicago with her wife and dog. She has served as an editor for Chicago Review of Books, Just Femme & Dandy, and Arcturus Magazine. When she’s not reading or writing, you can find her cheering on the Chicago Sky and Red Stars. If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come is her first novel.
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Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US | Toppings & Company | Waterstones
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