ALA Booklist
(Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2015)
The end of summer is looming, and for Clare and Aidan, that means one thing: change. In another day, she'll be leaving for college on the East Coast, while Aidan heads to California. For practical, pragmatic Clare, that means a breakup is inevitable ink of all the college experiences they'll miss out on if they stay together! t exuberant, romantic Aidan wants to risk it. On their last night, they revisit all the places significant to their relationship while weaving in and out of interactions with friends and family as they try to find a way to say good-bye to both their childhoods and each other. Their struggles, both in deciding the fate of their relationship and in navigating this in-between time, ring true. Clare and Aidan are well-handled characters with a sweetly believable relationship, and the dynamic both have with their respective parents is especially strong. For those teenagers in Clare's and Aidan's shoes just approaching the end of high school is will be a familiar companion.
Horn Book
It's their last night together before Clare and Aidan leave for college on opposite coasts, and Clare plans to use that evening to decide if they should break up or not. Over the course of the eventful night, Clare and Aidan remember their past and maturely talk about the future. Steeped in nostalgia, this weighty novel takes high school relationships seriously.
School Library Journal
(Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2015)
Gr 8 Up-The author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight (Little, Brown, 2012 ) returns with a sentimental story about high school sweethearts who, on the last night before they leave for college, revisit meaningful locations to decide the fate of their relationship. Clare is the levelheaded and logical pragmatist who thinks they should break up. Aiden is the romantic and spontaneous optimist who thinks they should stay together. But this work is not just about their relationship; it's about the frightening and exciting transition that all new college students go through as they leave everything they've known behind and venture into the unknown. For Clare, high school, her friends, her hometown, and all of what felt so important to her for so many years already seem tinged with nostalgia and are miniscule compared to the life ahead of her. Many readers will be able to identify with that feeling and with the realistic characters and experiences presented in Smith's latest work. VERDICT Students approaching the college transition, those who have already experienced it, and fans of romantic, realistic fiction will most enjoy this relatable, emotive story. Tiffany Davis, Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, NY