We Are Inevitable by Gayle Forman || Review

 

We Are Inevitable by Gayle Forman

Publisher: Viking

Publication Date: June 1st, 2021

Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance

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Source: Huge thank you to Times Read for the review copy in return for an honest review

Buy Links: Kinokuniya Malaysia | MPH Online

Rating: 4.5★

Blurbs

'I got this whole-body feeling... it was like a message from future me to present me, telling me that in some way we weren’t just bound to happen, that we had, in some sense, already happened. It felt... inevitable.'

So far, the inevitable hasn’t worked out so well for Aaron Stein.

While his friends have gone to college and moved on with their lives, Aaron’s been left behind in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, running a failing bookshop with his dad, Ira. What he needs is a lucky break, the good kind of inevitable.

And then he meets Hannah. Incredible Hannah – magical, musical, brave and clever. Could she be the answer? And could they – their relationship, their meeting – possibly be the inevitable Aaron’s been waiting for?

Review

[Meaning] 

Inevitable: Unavoidable, certain to happen

TW: Drug addiction, overdose, grief

I am so grateful to receive this book from Times Read. I knew and I heard about Gayle Forman before but I didn't pick the book up because I was afraid it may not suit me. I was wrong. SO WRONG! Gayle Forman is absolute a fantastic writer. I am for sure will read more of her book soon! For that being said, thank you Times Read for expanding my reading genre. 

We Are Inevitable is a story of Aaron who runs a bookstore in a small town right after he graduated from high school together with his father. He is struggling to maintain the bookstore as there are not many customers, not making enough profit, and such. It is not easy and he knows how much the bookstore means a lot to his father but still, it is a struggle for him. SO, he decided to sell off the bookstore to Penny without his father knowing. Aaron's life is not an easy one with his brother passing and his mother left. There is so much anger in him, honestly. One day, he runs into Chad (one of his schoolmates) and met Hannah things start to change. Will he save the bookstore? Is everything going to be okay?

Right from the beginning, I was pulled in by the story and getting curious as the page goes by. It gets me into thinking a lot throughout the books. Like so many things. I don't say I relate with some of the stories in this book but it makes me think is there any inevitable happened in my life that I may not sees it? It could be I don't realize it or maybe I just think that it is bound to happen, guess so. 

"In destroying ourselves, we also learn to create ourselves."

With everything happening in Aaron's life and the need to manage the bookstore by himself to operate regularly with so few customers is really hard. My heart shatters when he sells the bookstore, however, I understand why he has to make the decision to let go of the bookstore although he can actually save it. But, when your mind and your heart are not with it, it is bound to make that decision because, in that time, it is the good one to make. I guess that happened with Aaron. When Chad and the lumberjacks appear in Aaron's life, I can feel something good going to happen in Aaron and his father's life. They are like the sun comes into their days and shines brightly after the rainy day. With their witty remark, it does lighten up the day.

“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I read the opening lines of the book, and it’s like my own pages are coming unstuck. For so long, all I’ve felt is fear, and all this time, it was grief. I continue reading, remembering why I used to love books. Because they show us, in so many words, and so many worlds, that we are not alone. A miracle, in twenty-six letters.”

We Are Inevitable is a self-discovery book that is a heartwarming, emotional, and hopeful story that will stay in my heart for a long time. The author has written a complex yet beautiful story that could make us feel the sadness of the characters and joyous when the best times comes to them. Every people comes into our lives either they bring you positivity or the other way round. Just so you know, this is not a romance story but it is a beautiful story of family and friendship. I love it and really recommend it to you.