Laura Nowlin hit readers in 2013, and most recently (thanks to the surge of BookTok), with her jarring, yet meaningful book, If He Had Been With Me. Nowlin has just released her sequel to the New York Times bestseller, If Only I Had Told Her. The book is one of the most highly anticipated reads in 2024, yet people have expressed that they don’t know if they are ready to embark on this emotional rollercoaster once more.
In this new sequel, the main point of view is through Finn, Autumn’s childhood best friend and crush, while also mixing in Jack, Finn’s friend, and a little bit of Autumn. The book first starts in Finn’s mind, as it replays the events leading up to the car crash that ended his life. He talks about his feelings for Autumn through flashbacks and present memories about how he felt like she never liked him back, and it was so obvious that he liked her. Unknowingly to Finn, Autumn always had feelings for him as well, but thought he never liked her back. As their feelings for each other become apparent and their love emits, he has to make the tough decision to break up with his girlfriend of four years, Sylvie, when things go wrong.
Nowlin switches to Jack’s point of view, and through his mind, we can see the hardships of loss that are taking a toll on everyone close to Finn. It hits Autumn and Finn’s mom the hardest, but Jack is still in disbelief. He can’t wrap his head around the fact that Finn will never get to experience certain things anymore and will never get to feel again. Jack has a hard time expressing his grief and pushes it down. It isn’t until he moves off to college and into the dorm that he was supposed to share with Finn (now occupied by a new boy, Brett) that he realizes nothing will be the same. Brett and Jack share more in common than they had originally thought, including the death of a brother figure. This brings them closer, but Jack still refuses to get close to someone that’s not Finn.
When she changes it up to Autumn’s point of view, we find out an interesting change of events that alters the reality of everything that has happened. Finn is still gone but now living on through something more. Autumn has to decide whether she wants to keep living for the piece of Finn that’s left or leave it all behind to be with the old him.
Nowlin writes about the difficulties of losing someone and learning how to cope without the one person who’s always been there. Through this compelling and heartwrenching story, all three points of view share a different side of feelings, emotions, and a sense of forgiveness. The people closest to Finn understand that even though he’s gone doesn’t mean he’s forgotten.
If Only I Had Told Her is not just a love story lived short by childhood friends, but a story about regret and the complexity of love itself. The book shares what happened after the events partaking in If Only He Had Been With Me and continues on the story of how everything changed after. It shows how taking the chance to tell someone they’re loved can be more meaningful than one thinks. Nowlin had never anticipated writing a sequel until she listened to an audiobook of her original piece and felt that Finn’s voice needed to be heard. With little bits of spice and lots of heartbreak to be held, we finally get to experience what really happened in this captivating continuation of Finny and Autumn’s love.
