When Fitz and Juniper cross paths on their first college tour in Boston, they’re at odds from the moment they meet– while Juniper’s dying to start a new life apart for her family, Fitz faces the sacrifices he must make for his. Their relationship sparks a deep connection–in each other’s eyes, they glimpse alternate possibilities regarding the first big decision of their adult lives.
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GENRE:
Young Adult, Contemporary
PAGES:
384 pages
PART OF A SERIES?:
Standalone
RELEASE DATE:
April 21st 2020
PUBLISHER:
Viking Books for Young Readers
SOURCE:
Owned E-Book
YOU CAN PURCHASE THE BOOK AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE/LIBRARY OR THE FOLLOWING LINKS:
GOODREADS SUMMARY:
A boy desperate to hold on, a girl ready to let go.
Fitz Holton waits in fear for the day his single mother’s early-onset Alzheimer’s starts stealing her memory. He’s vowed to stay close to home to care for her in the years to come–never mind the ridiculous college tour she’s forcing him on to visit schools where he knows he’ll never go. Juniper Ramirez is counting down the days until she can leave home, a home crowded with five younger siblings and zero privacy. Against the wishes of her tight-knit family, Juniper plans her own college tour of the East Coast with one goal: get out.
When Fitz and Juniper cross paths on their first college tour in Boston, they’re at odds from the moment they meet– while Juniper’s dying to start a new life apart for her family, Fitz faces the sacrifices he must make for his. Their relationship sparks a deep connection–in each other’s eyes, they glimpse alternate possibilities regarding the first big decision of their adult lives.
Time of Our Lives is a story of home and away, of the wonder and weight of memory, of outgrowing fears and growing into the future.
MY REVIEW
Guys, I adore Austin and Emily to the ends of the earth and back, both as authors AND as people. They’re just awesome. I knew they were something special when I read Always Never Yours and just simply fell in love with the story and their writing. Then I read If I’m Being Honest and loved it even more. They have EASILY become an insta-buy for me. So when Time of Our Lives was coming out, I knew I HAD to have it and I’m…just blown away, guys. This book is INCREDIBLE.
Now I might be biased. I love reading a book where I connect with a character, where I read that character and think, did they capture my brain, my heart, my soul? Characters like Cath from Fangirl and Julia from I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. And now, Juniper from Time of Our Lives. I connected with her instantly. She’s the oldest of six kids, of mixed race, she wants to get OUT, she’s tired of being so responsible for her family and her siblings, she needs her own life. God, it was like reading the diary of 18 year old Sara.
I love my family from the bottom of my heart but when I was in my late teens and early 20s, I had a lot of anger and resentment built up at being born the oldest and being the half babysitter/half third parent for my siblings. I felt pressure all the time to stay home and I sacrificed things I really wanted to stay home. I completely understood where Juniper was coming from so I loved being in her head and I loved following her story. I felt her story was so relatable because I related to it so much. Juniper feels confined, stuck, just needing to BREAK OUT and I can completely understand that. I lived in the same house/neighborhood that my dad grew up in and as a half Mexican girl, family is the only thing that should ever matter. Juniper was a well-fleshed out character that just felt like reading my own story.
But I also related a lot to Fitz as well. While I understand Juniper’s need to get out and be something away from her family, I understand Fitz’s need to stay home and be there for his family – the idea that he can’t leave because his family NEEDS him. That is ultimately the decision I made and so I completely understand where Fitz is coming from. Its scary to leave what you know and its scary to leave those that you’re so used to taking care of, especially since there’s a lot going on with his Mom. These two characters have such different personalities and goals but they’re both very relatable and its just done so well.
I really enjoyed the build up of their relationship too; their friendship and eventual…coming together, I suppose. The book doesn’t cater to sunshine and rainbows and happy endings and I appreciate it. It really made you root for the couple but realize and be on the same page as them – making the relationship work would be SO difficult and I appreciated the realism of that. It was a breath of fresh air. Not that I don’t love romance and happy endings because, um, yeah I love it. But its nice to see something different. Juniper and Fitz are so great together as friends and as more and I appreciate the ups and downs of their relationship.
Lastly, and this is semi-spoiler-y so please stop reading if you want a complete clean reading of the book – I loved the open ended ending. I liked that it was ambiguous. You don’t really know what’s going to happen next, not with Fitz or Juniper alone or with them together and I really LOVED that. I loved that I could imagine what happens next and that the ending made it so…no one was disappointed or anything. I loved that. We could imagine that Fitz stays home or goes off to a college that is his dream or we can imagine that Juniper decides to stay home or that Fitz and Juniper work out or don’t. The possibilities in the ending really make it such a fantastic ending.
Well, I’ve basically rambled long enough here. This book is brilliant. Both characters are incredibly relatable and tackle very adult, growing up, coming of age things that I’m sure a lot of people can find themselves in. The friendships, the relationship between siblings for both Fitz and Juniper, the decisions, the romance – all of it is just written so well. Austin and Emily get better with every book and I canNOT wait for whatever is next. If you haven’t read any of their books yet, why haven’t you? There’s really no excuse. Read, read, read their books.
You can read my review for Always Never Yours here and If I’m Being Honest here.
RATING:
5 out of 5 Stars
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