If He Had Been with Me — Laura Nowlin

Otem and Finnie used to be inseparable. Their mothers were best friends, they grew up in neighboring houses, and they seemed made for each other. However, everything changed when they started high school. Otem joined a group of “oddballs” and creative types, while Finnie became a popular guy, the school’s favorite.

They stopped talking, even though they saw each other every day through the window. Otem got a boyfriend, Finn got a girlfriend, but the inner connection between them never faded. The book takes us through their senior year, filled with unspoken words and hidden feelings, all the way to that fateful evening that changed everything forever.

Key Moments:

A Sense of Tragedy: The book begins with the realization that the tragedy has already happened. From the very first pages, the reader knows the ending, but the entire story is an attempt to understand, “If he had been with me that night, would everything have been different?”

Psychological depth: The author masterfully describes the inner world of a teenager: doubts, the search for identity, and the difficulty of expressing feelings.

Atmosphere: This is a very melancholic book, filled with rainy evenings, an autumnal mood, and quiet sadness.