We Are Inevitable

Gayle Forman

Jun 2021 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

"No one writes about love like Gayle Forman. Lose yourself in her passionate mash note to rock music, indie bookstores and best of all, the miracles that can happen when you take chances on other people." — E. LOCKHART, #1 New York Times bestselling author of We Were Liars and Again Again

A poignant and uplifting novel about the power of community, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay.

Aaron Stein used to think books were miracles. But not anymore. Even though he spends his days working in his family's secondhand bookstore, the only book Aaron can bear to read is one about the demise of the dinosaurs. It's a predicament he understands all too well, now that his brother and mom are gone and his friends have deserted him, leaving Aaron and his shambolic father alone in a moldering bookstore in a crusty mountain town where no one seems to read anymore.

So when Aaron sees the opportunity to sell the store, he jumps at it, thinking this is the only way out. But he doesn't account for Chad, a "best life" bro with a wheelchair and way too much optimism, or the town's out-of-work lumberjacks taking on the failing shop as their pet project. And he certainly doesn't anticipate meeting Hannah, a beautiful, brave musician who might possibly be the kind of inevitable he's been waiting for.

All of them will help Aaron to come to terms with what he's lost, what he's found, who he is, and who he wants to be, and show him that destruction doesn't inevitably lead to extinction; sometimes it leads to the creation of something entirely new.

Ratings and reviews

=This book was fantastic in making me feel a range of emotions. It had suspenseful moments that made me wonder what the outcome would be, emotional moments that made me stop in my tracks to take note of just how sad I was and a romance that I was totally rooting for. The father-son relationship portrayed in this book is rocky but realistic and shows the impacts that regret and relief can have. This book shows how important acceptance and closure is. I found the writing to be easy to follow and understand and very effective for the target audience. I found the plot to be really engaging with the right amount of events and twists and turns. This story didn't drag on for me at all. I loved the range of characters as well as the messages they all have. Overall, I thought this book was a great read. It deals with heavy topics like death of a family member as well as other family issues, grief and accepting things that we as individual human beings do not have any control over. This book made me stop in my tracks and think about how much I worry about things that I really cannot control and I think that is a really powerful thing. ** I received a free copy of this book from Bookishfirst and Viking Press in exchange for an honest review**

Despite this being a mere 288 pages, it destroyed my emotions. It wasn't what I was expecting, but it was everything and more than what I wanted. I feel like the relationship between Hannah and Aaron was done extremely well. Neither one of them was ready for a full relationship yet I was conflicted the entire time. I wasn't sure if I wanted them together, or if I wanted them to heal separately. I loved the way the title starred so prominently in their story, and how this didn't make all relationships seem easy. It was gritty, heartbreaking, and frustrating, which is everything I want from a book. I also loved the conflict with the bookstore. If I'm honest, I cared about it more than I did about the relationship between Hannah and Aaron. Watching an entire family form around the bookstore was so touching. Everyone cared so much, so it was so hard to see them struggling. Even the secondary characters like Chad and Ike were developed amazingly well, and the bookstore was the perfect aid for this. Finally, I loved the relevance of the dinosaurs in this. It was the perfect metaphor for this book, and I loved watching it change throughout the book. At the beginning, I was worried I wouldn't like this because of the metaphorical writing, but I loved the way it was used here. Although the synopsis led me to believe this was more of a romance, I love that it wasn't. Instead, this was a tale of family, fear, love, and healing. I already know I'll be rereading this book and sharing it with all of my friends, it was that good. Thanks to BookishFirst for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

I usually devour books that have anything to do with libraries, bookstores, and people who love books but I had a hard time getting into this book because Aaron is bitter and rude and generally not likable right from the start. I agree it is understandable considering the stress and grief that he is going through with poor business, the store falling apart, his father spending money he doesn't have (after declaring bankruptcy) and piles of debt, but it was difficult to sympathize with him at times. Be grateful when people try to help out, not rude! And stop telling them to shut up! That is what I wanted to yell at him. Not everyone is out to "Lucy you." Every other character was better than Aaron, with the exception of Penny and a certain bouncer, and they were the reasons that I finished the book. I wanted a happy ending for Chad and Ira and Ike and the other guys that helped with trying to make the Bluebird Bookstore a better shop. I did like the ending and Aaron got a little better. He evolved a little, though could still work on his people skills. My takeaway is that this book would be better without Aaron, and just be about figuring out how a community comes together to save a bookstore.

About the author

Gayle Forman is an award-winning, internationally bestselling author and journalist. She is the author of Just One Day and Just One Year, and the companion e-novella Just One Night, as well as the New York Times bestsellers If I Stay and Where She Went. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and daughters.