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

Title: Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Format: Paperback received from publisher for honest review
Pages: 256
Rating: 4/5
Blurb: One night. A life-changing decision. And a list...

Of course Clare made a list. She creates lists for everything. That's just how she is.

But tonight is Clare and Aidan's last night before college and thislist will decide their future, together or apart.

It takes them on a rollercoaster ride through their past - from the first hello in science class to the first conversation at a pizza joint, their first kiss at the beach and their first dance in a darkened gymnasium - all the way up to tonight.

A night of laughs, fresh hurts, last-minute kisses and an inevitable goodbye.

But will it be goodbye forever or goodbye for now?

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

I have enjoyed all of Jennifer E. Smith's books ever since I picked up The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight on a whim years ago! So I definitely expected, going into this one, to enjoy it. 

It's a lot shorter than I had anticipated which did worry me at first - I am usually a fan of long books or at least books that make it over the 300 page mark, but I needn't have worried. Despite the short length of this book I became attached to the characters very quickly and found myself crying over their goodbyes to friends and family. I hadn't expected the emotional impact of this book and I was actually pleasantly surprised by it.

The female main character Clare (already loved her based on the name alone) obsessively makes lists which immediately appealed to me since I do the exact same thing constantly. Aidan was slightly different for me, I didn't find him as immediately relatable which meant it took me a little longer to get attached to him but by the end of the book I was fully rooting for both these characters and they felt so real which I always love.

Plot wise there isn't a lot going on in this book so if you're reading for excitement and thrills and plot twists - this probably isn't the book for you. But if you, like me, find that characters tend to come first - then you will probably love getting to know these characters and watching them grow over the course of a book that is, more or less, set over only one night. This book is an exploration of the highs and lows of the two main characters relationship and I was amazed by how much I genuinely cared about their decision! I needed these two to stay together.

I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone so I will try to avoid spoilers when I say that I really liked the realism of this ending. It was more or less what I had expected which meant I wasn't high on suspense when reading but I thought it was a mature and well thought out ending that ultimately made the most sense for both the characters and their relationship. I should also mention that this book manages to introduce and flesh out some compelling side characters - which is impressive given how little page time they get - and yet I still loved their characters.

Overall, I would say that this wasn't my absolute favourite of Jennifer E. Smith's and if you're new to reading her it might be better to start with one of her other books but if you have read and enjoyed her books in the past then I definitely recommend this one. And if you've experienced the joys and sorrows of going off to College/University then this book will definitely have a fairly emotional kick to it.

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading