Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith

“It’s true that the world is full of signs. They just mean different things to different people.”

On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan only have one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of twelve hours, they’ll retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night will lead them to friends and family, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?

This new must-read novel from Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, explores the difficult choices that must be made when life and love lead in different directions.

Personal Thoughts:

I love Jennifer E. Smith. I’ve met her before during her visit her in Manila and she is really a sweetheart. I adore her and enjoyed her previous works but unfortunately Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between is a different story.

Unlike with her previous novels, Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between is not about taking chances and serendipity. No more cute meet-ups or getting to know each other stage, instead we have two people trying to figure out where their relationship is going. The characters here are trying to deal with real and difficult relationship issues which really sound mature compare to Smith’s previous work but somehow didn’t work very well for me.

As much as I like stories that are set in short period of time like this one, the whole plot of overnight adventure and taking the path to the memory lane is not enough. This whole trip of Aidan and Clare is not also as fun as I thought it would be. Mainly because Aidan and Clare as a couple are not so much fun in this trip. They are both worried of what will they become after the twelve hours trip.

“Maybe the world isn’t full of signs so much as its full of people trying to use whatever evidence they can find to convince themselves of what they hope to be true.”

I did like Clare in the beginning of this novel simply because I see myself in her being logical and practical that she is. But somewhere along the way she started to sound pessimistic and afraid. She don’t want to take chances and take risk which for me is just plain cowardice. Just like the way she is dragging the breakup. I know twelve hours is a short time in reality but since this whole story of Aidan and Clare is basically set in those hours, it feels longer for readers which is in turn feels like a long wait for Aidan too. Clare is already decided before the twelve hours trip but she still drag the breakup.

I think this book will only work for two type of readers, those who can relate to the characters and their situation, and to those who don’t mind reading stories that nothing much happens. This whole story of Aidan and Clare overnight adventure is nothing but a short phase of two people in a relationship. Nonetheless, it’s a an enjoyable short read that is beautifully written.

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