If You Were Here out now from Storytide; 304 pages
Content Warning: Death of parent, grief, cheating
About the Author: “Abigail Johnson was born in Pennsylvania. When she was twelve, her family traded in snowstorms for year-round summers and moved to Arizona. Abigail chronicled the entire cross-country road trip in a purple spiral-bound notebook that she still has, and has been writing ever since. She became a tetraplegic after breaking her neck in a car accident when she was seventeen but hasn’t let that stop her from bodysurfing in Mexico, writing and directing a high-school production of Cinderella, and riding roller coasters every chance she gets. She is the author of several young adult novels including If I Fix You and Every Other Weekend” (Bio from author’s website).
Find Abigail Johnson on the following platforms:
After her father’s death, Lili Gardner returns to Nantucket for the first time in six years. There, she discovers that he left behind both a house and an unfinished investigation into disgraced smuggler Kezia Gardner. Determined to complete his research and restore her family’s reputation, Lili spends the summer searching for answers. She enlists the help of Wren McCleave, a history enthusiast frustrated with his father’s tourist-trap museum. As they sift through records and long-buried stories, their partnership uncovers more than just the truth about the past. Along the way, Lili and Wren begin to reconsider what they want from their futures—and from each other.
One thing that immediately stood out to me was how much effort Abigail Johnson clearly put into researching Nantucket’s history. The setting felt vivid and immersive, and it was easy to picture the island while reading. Lili and Wren’s investigation into the past brought in a lot of historical details, and while I occasionally found it a little hard to believe that two teenagers would be so invested in debating historical facts, sources, and research, I still appreciated how thoughtfully Johnson incorporated that material. The characters themselves were well developed and three-dimensional, which made the story engaging even when the pacing slowed down. And slow is definitely the right word here—this is an extremely slow-burn romance, to the point where it barely feels like one at times. I was also frustrated that Wren spends most of the book in a relationship with someone else, especially since Lili forms a friendly connection with his girlfriend. That dynamic made many of their moments together feel uncomfortable rather than romantic. Still, I appreciated that the story tried to explore communication, complicated emotions, and grief in a thoughtful way. If You Were Here also includes strong disability representation and touches of whimsy that younger readers will enjoy.
Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and Storytide for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.
Vanshikha Vij, Pine Reads Review Writer and Website Manager