Book Review: If Only I Had Told Her  

By Laura Nowlin 

5 Stars 

The long-awaited book If Only I Had Told Her by Laura Nowlin is the second book in the If He Had Been With Me series, following the same story as the first but from a different point of view. If Only I Had Told Her shows new perspectives on the life and death of Phineas ‘Finn’ Smith and the grievances of the people who loved him. Laura Nowlin really knows how to make you cry. This final story in the If He Had Been With Me series is just as beautifully written and heartbreaking as the first. As I was reading Finny’s point of view, I couldn’t stop comparing it to Autumn’s. Reading the same events from different perspectives really shines a light on how you never know how someone is feeling, and the new POVs really helped show how different circumstances affect different people. I also enjoyed the new depth into a lot of characters that weren’t shown as much in the previous book. Learning more about the family and friends from Finny’s life, as well as more on Autumn and Finny growing up, takes this story to another level of sadness. This book really shows the difference between how characters see different things and how nothing is inherently one way or another. It can be multiple things at once. As I was reading the book, I didn’t want to put it down, even as I started to become teary-eyed and had to grab some tissues. I finished it in 4 hours despite it being a good-sized book because of how much I loved this story and its characters.   

Reviewed by Shantel 

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