Hello (From Here)

Chandler Baker · Wesley King

Sep 2021 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

A heartfelt, witty, and thought-provoking YA love story about two teens who fall for each other while forced apart during quarantine, written by two New York Times bestselling authors, and for fans of Five Feet Apart, Anna and the French Kiss, and My Life Next Door

Maxine and Jonah meet in the canned goods aisle just as California is going into lockdown. Max’s part-time job as a personal grocery shopper is about to transform into a hellish gauntlet. Jonah’s preexisting anxiety is about to become an epic daily struggle. As Max and Jonah get to know each other through FaceTime dates, socially distanced playground hangs, and the escalating heartbreaks of the pandemic, they’re pushed apart by what they don’t share and pulled closer by what they do.

As thoughtful, probing, and informed as it is buoyant, romantic, and funny, Hello (From Here) cuts across differences in class, privilege, and mental health, all thrown into stark relief by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s a novel that looks at the first two months of the quarantine, and adds falling in love to the mess.

"Hello (From Here) isn't just a book about the pandemic." —PopSugar
"It's also a funny, poignant romcom about the unpredictability of love in chaotic times. . . . Excellent." —BCCB
* "Satisfyingly banter-filled." —PW, starred review
“Sweet . . . Effectively rendered.” —Kirkus
"Realistic." —SLJ
"Not your typical romantic comedy, [it's] a timely update of the genre." —Booklist
"Witty, entertaining . . . endearing and relatable.” —Common Sense Media
"An unputdownable story that YA readers will adore.” —Brightly
“Funny, romantic, and eerily familiar.” —author Kelly Loy Gilbert
“Witty, hilarious, heart-filled, and romantic.” —author Jeff Zentner
"In a category of its own. . . . Wonderful.” —Postmedia

Ratings and reviews

This book was solidly okay. I read it, it was fine. There was nothing I hated, but nothing I particularly loved either. The characters made choices that were pretty stupid and hard to accept, but they were also often emotional choices in times of unprecedented duress. Plus they're teenagers so like the height of emotions, right? The fights and conflicts in this didn't impress me. Despite the pandemic setting, the triggers for things felt somewhat insignificant and at times uncontrollable. That doesn't necessarily mean they aren't valid, just that reading about it without the investment of the person experiencing it made it hit pretty weakly. A kind of, "oh... that's what you're mad about??" reaction. Of course the draw and main point of this book is that it's set during Covid 2020. That alone draws up a lot of conflicts, and one theme highlighted in here is the class difference of how folks were affected. The contrast of having to still go out and risk working face-to-face while living in a small apartment and desperately trying to make enough money to survive, versus an experience that borders more closely on a forced family vacation at a private villa. The same tensions that came to a peak during Covid are seen in here, so if that's the kind of thing you're looking for, this pretty much nails it. I can see this being an eerily good book to read for future generations learning about Covid 19. Excellent classroom book for sure as it has a lot of validation for experiences -- as well as experiences missed.

Hello (from here) almost feels like historical fiction because the beginning of the pandemic seems so long ago. This book is like a time capsule. The authors were right alongside the characters processing the pandemic, fearful and uncertain about what would happen. I'm not sure that they envisioned that we would still be in the middle of it at publication time. Hello (from here) tells the story of two young people, Max and Jonah, who meet at the beginning of the pandemic in a grocery store, fighting over toilet paper. Each has their own very different and serious struggles that could derail a relationship even under normal circumstances. Their lack of communication regarding these issues leads to further problems. The characters are relatable and there is a lot of great, witty banter. I also loved the side characters, especially Olivia and Max's friends. There is humor and hope in this novel but also a lot of heaviness, because, well, COVID. Hello (from here) is an enjoyable, emotional, and thought-provoking read, but there is a lot to unpack. Be aware of triggers: death, loss of parent, anxiety disorder, panic attacks, isolation, AIDs, COVID, poverty.

About the author

Chandler Baker is the author of five young adult novels, including This is Not the End. Her adult debut, Whisper Network, was a New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, and her follow-up, The Husbands, is slated for summer '21. Chandler lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and two young children. She can usually be found listening to audiobooks at two times the normal speed, overspending at bookstores, or obsessing over true crime.

Wesley King is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of eleven novels, including the Wizenard series with Kobe Bryant, the Edgar Award-winning and Bank Street Best Book of the Year OCDaniel, and the Junior Library Guild selections The Vindico and The Feros. He lives in Nova Scotia, as well as on a 1967 boat that he's sailing around the world.