We Are Inevitable tells the story of a young man who is scarred from a lifetime of trauma, the struggling bookshop business that marks the most recent part of his suffering and the relationships that might be able to save him from a fall into emotional chaos that he sees as completely inevitable.

When the economic situation with Aaron and his father, Ira’s, business continues to go downhill, Aaron is convinced that he has to take matters into his own hands. But whilst he’s busy trying to make everything right, he finds himself completely preoccupied forming unexpected friendships with a girl in a band that he feels he may be destined to be with and a guy from his school that he used to despise.

This is a touching book about friendship, community spirit, young love and perseverance. The characters in this book were incredibly well-developed and I instantly connected with Aaron, Ira, Ike, Chad and Hannah, so it was great to have such a well-rounded group of people to root for. The developing friendship between Chad and Aaron was one of my favourite aspects of the entire book, maybe more so than Aaron’s developing friendship with Hannah, and it was so refreshing that the community as a whole played such a large part in the story.

There are some very sensitive topics discussed in this story – primarily addiction – but these were handled maturely and understandably, in a way that I have come to expect from Gayle Forman’s books. This is a very large part of the story and is discussed frequently, so this should definitely be taken into account if you are sensitive to this topic and planning to read this book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a quick, easy, but very poignant read, in a setting that I loved – a bookshop. The dialogue was witty, the writing was thought-provoking and it was generally a really enjoyable, unique contemporary that I would absolutely recommend.

I thought this book was really powerful, and really uplifting. It has the easy-reading of a great YA book, but it also included a lot of different stories that teach us something. I struggled a little with the chaos and some of the unnecessary themes, but not in a way that hindered my enjoyment of the story at all. The different characters were genuinely an absolute joy to read about, and I think the setting of the book is unbelievably charming, in such a way that the whole story leaps off the page. Ultimately, this is a book about the power of fiction, which is something we should definitely champion. From start to finish, it was an absolute delight.

"A love letter to bookshops & books", this moving account of grief, addiction & community hit me hard! The perfect unreliable narrator & the pretence of YA/teen romance, a gritty start with a philosophical ending. It even has a bibliography & apt book titles for each chapter.
Not sure the blurb/categorisation does this wonder justice, but I loved it and will be seeking out more by this author, as well as lots from the bibliography as well!

I read this book in almost one sitting, it was a very easy read and I really enjoyed my reading experience with this book overall.

Things I liked:
• the bookshop setting - as a book lover I love anything set in a bookshop.
• the main characters
-Aaron, I really liked him although he was a bit of a mess throughout this entire story and could at times come across as selfish and rude, but I could also see his character growth and the more you read the more you understand why he is how he is and why he makes the decisions he makes.
-Chad, again I really liked Chad. He turns out to be a good friend to Aaron throughout the story and tries to help him as much as possible, you can also see how Chad has grown as a person from the person he used to be before he had his accident to the person he is now.
-Jax, they weren't in the story much but it was never brought to attention that they were non-binary or made a big deal out of by any of the characters, it was just a natural part of the story and I also liked how you could see their relationship with Chad developing subtly in the background.

I will say that going in to this book I thought it was going to be more centred around a romance, which it wasn't and the romance that was in it happened pretty fast and was almost instalove, at least from Aaron's side. Hannah was very realistic in how she reacted to Aaron given that they did't know each other that well at all. The ending also caught me off guard because I felt like there was still more story to tell and then suddenly it just ended rather abruptly.

Overall I think this book is less of a romance and more a book about dealing with grief, finding yourself again and learning to let others in and accept help.

Genre: YA Fiction

Release Date: Expected 1st June 2021

Trigger Warnings: Drugs, Alcohol, Addiction, Debt, Injury, references to death.


"Twenty-six letters and some punctuation marks and you have infinite words in infinite worlds ... how is that not a miracle?"



Aaron is used to the bad things in his life being inevitable. In the last year, everything has changed. His mum is gone, his brother is gone, and his dad Ira might still be physically there but mentally he's been gone a long time too. While all of his friends have gone off to college to start their lives, Aaron finds himself the reluctant owner of Bluebird Books - his families failing and debt-ridden business. But the most he reads these days are credit card statements and overdue notices.

It might have even been inevitable that one day, he bumps into Chad, someone he hated in school but started a chain reaction of events that led him to Hannah. It felt like they were supposed to meet that day, that something was drawing them together for reasons they didn't even know yet.

I've always loved Gayle Forman, she has a way of writing that invokes so much emotion and never fails to make me laugh and cry along with her - this was no exception. Aaron was the perfect unreliable narrator - so unsure of the world around him and certain he couldn't do anything to change it. He was awkward and shy and I just wanted to give him a hug.

Now, this might look like a love story on the surface, about two people who find each other and are destined to fall in love - but it's so much more than that. The characters who came together because of the bookstore were a beautifully mismatched group that no business knowing each other - but they were the real love story here. I expected to hate Chad right away but he won my heart in a matter of seconds. The unexpected friends Aaron finds on his way to try and escape the inevitable were the absolute stars of this book and it took me by surprise in the most amazing way.

This was a book for book-lovers - the amount of book references scattered throughout the chapter titles and the story itself was the best little easter egg. Heartwarming and heartbreaking all at once, this book really was a miracle in twenty-six letters.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐



Thank you to Gayle Forman and Simon + Schuster UK for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I've only ever read one Gayle Forman book before this one and I was so excited, because I really loved I Was Here when I read it three years ago. Which is why I was sad when I was like 20% into the book and almost wanted to quit. I just couldn't get into it. It was so hard to keep going. I didn't really like the characters, didn't understand the storyline just yet and thought the writing was confusing. So many conversations without them being any relevant.

But I kept going. I pushed myself through it and around 50% I actually began to enjoy it a little more. Once things speed up and you realize what Aaron's story is about, you find a connection and want to keep going. I'm grateful for that otherwise I wouldn't even have considered writing a review.

So, there is the topic of addicition in this book, of having debts, of loving loved ones, of being different than anyone else. All very important subjects and some are better dealt with than others. Especially that whole being-in-debt-situation. Why is it that they can still afford driving through the whole country? I didn't understand that, but maybe I am one of those readers overthinking things and facts instead of just going with the flow. Is that a flaw? Not sure.

Also, I thought it was super cute how obsessed Aaron was with Hannah. I totally got this whole YA-swoony-immature-love kind of vibe from it, but considering even the reader didn't know a damn thing about this girl other than her being in a band, I was relieved when things turned out the way they did - that seemed very realistic and I liked how the author dealt with that matter instead of romancing her way through the story, making up excuses. And though it was never really addressed how Chad treated Aaron in the past (spoiler alert: poorly!), I liked how their friendship developed and also how Gayle Forman pointed out that there's this unconditional kind of friendship, a give-and-take, 100% there for you when you need it. I think that was one of my personal highlights of the book.

Working at a library, I always enjoy the scenery of stories taking place in a bookstore, a café while talking about literature or even a library. If the setting and the writing is good, of course. Gayle Forman managed to create a home-atmosphere, so there is that. Kind of weird that Aaron is calling his father by his first name, did I miss something? Is there a reason for that? Especially since he calls his Mom, Mom. Uhm...

All in all I was a bit disappointed by the story, but am still glad I managed to get through the lump I felt when picking it up and kind of liked it when finishing We Are Inevitable.

I admit that I didn't expect much from this book when I first started it, it felt very typical YA which I very rarely enjoy these days, but I honestly loved this reading experience.

In the best possible way, this read like a Hallmark movie. From the cliche villain Penny to the seemingly impossible happy ending, everything felt like a warm Hallmark hug.

Another thing that I loved was the non-binary representation. The character of Jax was never referred to with gendered pronouns but that wasn't actually part of the story, it was just natural, I think we need more characters that have their gender identity acknowledged but aren't defined in the plot by that.

A contemporary YA novel about reading and music, set in a bookstore, should have been an immediate hit with me. And yet... as much as I loved the secondary characters (Chad and the lumberjacks especially), I couldn't get past the fact that protagonist Aaron was a giant douchebag. Did I understand why he was mean and grumpy and horrible to everyone? Yes of course. Did I think it was a realistic portrayal of a pretentious book-loving teenager who's undergone trauma? Actually, yes. But I didn't like him at all, even after the redemptive story arc, and it was virtually impossible to understand why other characters were willing to put up with him for so long, which meant a lot of the plot just didn't ring true. So, overall a 3 stars from me.

Aaron’s Dad Ira believes that books are miracles. “Twenty-six letters and some punctuation marks and you have infinite words in infinite worlds….How is that not a miracle?”

I think he’s right. I am in awe at the way some authors – in this case, Gayle Forman – can use those twenty-six letters and some punctuation marks to create stories as beautiful as We are Inevitable.

We are Inevitable tells the story of Aaron and Ira and their failing business, the Bluebird Bookshop. It’s a story of love: a love of books, a love of music, young love, parental love and fraternal love. It’s a story of friendship too and about amazing places where community is creative. No wonder I loved this book. I wish there was a Bluebird Bookshop in my town and that I could visit every day to drink the wonderful coffee and eat the crumb cake whilst perusing the titles on offer.

This is the kind of book that I wish I had the skill and the talent to write. I’d be content to write something a fraction as good as this, but it nevertheless spurs me on to writing my next chapter and booking myself on the next writing course, in the hope of learning to arrange those twenty-six letters into something that others might want to read.

This is the kind of book that makes me rush to finish it because I want to know what happens, only to immediately be full of regret when I realise the characters I’ve come to love won’t be part of my life anymore. Well, at least, not till I’ve forgotten the story enough to justify reading it again.

A final thing: I totally loved the number of other books that this novel refers to. It’s a lovely quirky touch. I will never look at The Giving Tree in the same light again!

We Are Inevitable follows the story of Aaron. He lost his brother to addiction, his mom to grief, all of his friends to college and even his love of books and reading. All he has left is his father and their failing, neglected bookshop. He’s tired of his life, the town, Ira (his father) and Bluebird books, he just wants to escape it all. A chance encounter with someone he used to know (and never liked) will set him on a course that will change everything.

Now, if you’ve read the blurb, I’m sure you’ll think this is a romance but actually you’d be wrong. Although a very small part of this story is romance, this book is predominantly about grief, depression, addiction and how letting people in and accepting help can change your world, so I kind of feel like the blurb was misleading, I went in to this book expecting one thing and got something totally different. I did still enjoy the book though.

The writing was good, which was no surprise to me as I’ve read other books by Gayle Forman. It’s a short book at only 288 pages, so it can be read easily in just one sitting.

“Twenty-six letters and some punctuation marks and you have infinite words in infinite worlds.”

I really liked the characters she created, particularly Chad and the Lumberjack guys. I loved their little group and the dynamics between them. Surprisingly I liked the MC the least out of everyone, I understand he was going through some things but I found him to be quite selfish and rude at times.

Overall, I enjoyed We Are Inevitable, it was a nice change of pace for me to read a contemporary after reading a lot of fantasy lately. I would recommend this book but just know you won’t be getting a book that’s heavy on the romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

From a 12 yo girl:
'We Are Inevitable' is a book about a teenager (Aaron) who runs a dying bookstore with his father, and wishes to escape that town and store he's been stuck in all his life. Then he meets Chad who introduces him to the lead singer-Hannah- of the best local band and he falls in love...

I enjoyed this book because I liked the fact it wasn't just a romance that sugar-coat love into this perfect thing as lots of other books do.
I liked Aaron awareness of the real world, for example he knew people were greedy and he didn't easily trust. It was good to see his development and his becoming a happier person.

Aaron seemed unable to decide if he hated his father, or felt sorry for him- or if he felt betrayed by his mother or happy that she left and that was interesting to witness as I believe every child goes through such a dilemma at one point or another.

This book was very emotional and heartfelt, and I really enjoyed reading it.

What reader doesn’t want a book set in a bookstore?

This book follows a lot of sensitive topics like addiction and depression which was nice to see included and to learn about through the book. The book sounds like it would follow more romance but that’s definitely not the case in the book as it focuses more on friendship, family and healing. I found it a bit hard to like the main character at times, but I understand he was going through a lot. I absolutely loved Chad, who was disabled after an accident, he made the book for me.

The ending was very open-ended and definitely not where I expected the book to go. I wish the book did include a better love story as it felt like it was kind of just chucked in, but I understand why it happened to help Aaron heal but I wish to have learnt even more about him and what happened.

Overall it was a nice book but I wasn’t exactly as I expected and I wanted more.