If Tomorrow Doesn't Come

By: Jen St. Jude

Narrated by: Georgina Sadler

Bloomsbury presents If Tomorrow Doesn't Come by Jen St. Jude, read by Georgina Sadler.

We Are Okay meets They Both Die at the End in this YA debut about queer first love and mental health at the end of the world—and the importance of saving yourself, no matter what tomorrow may hold.

Avery Byrne has secrets. She’s queer; she’s in love with her best friend, Cass; and she’s suffering from undiagnosed clinical depression. But on the morning Avery plans to jump into the river near her college campus, the world discovers there are only nine days left to live: an asteroid is headed for Earth, and no one can stop it.

Trying to spare her family and Cass additional pain, Avery does her best to make it through just nine more days. As time runs out and secrets slowly come to light, Avery would do anything to save the ones she loves. But most importantly, she learns to save herself. Speak her truth. Seek the support she needs. Find hope again in the tomorrows she has left.

If Tomorrow Doesn't Come is a celebration of queer love, a gripping speculative narrative, and an urgent, conversation-starting book about depression, mental health, and shame.©2023 Jen St. Jude (P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Beautiful

There was so much said in this book that I have felt my whole life, but have never been able to put into a coherent string of words. It was beautifully written and narrated. The plot was beyond brilliant, and I will be forever changed by these wonderful characters. It was so easy to picture everything and every detail was integral to the story. The memories shared in the middle of the plot were related and nothing felt like filler. I loved every second and I am so sad it’s over.

The writing of depression that feels like mine

This is a great, though not altogether happy book. It reminded me of things I've been through, and things I want to do, yet.

Story is great but the performance ruined it

I really enjoyed this book.

But the choice/performance of accents seemed really strange to me - why did half of the characters based on northern New Hampshire have very strong Boston / New York accents (I feel like they flip back and forth)? It was very distracting.

There were also a few points where the words were cut off. I kept going back to see if it was my audio or headphones but it was like they censored words and skipped over them.

Overall it was a fantastic book, but would recommend getting a physical copy to read if possible.

Be prepared for THE romantic tragedy

Amazing book with a good premise, but one of the saddest books I have ever read. Do not take the content warning lightly, if you or loved ones have issues with suicidal ideation, clinical depression or religious trauma, it can hit REALLY close to home. In some senses, its refreshing to see such a real depiction of it, its just so so REAL that at times it was hard for me to continue listening.

On the romance side, its pretty cute, kinda bog standard romcom set-up where main character and her childhood best friend fall in love but never confess their feelings because they don't want to ruin the bubble they built. The relationship between the girls and the main character with her brother give you enough good vibes to push through the tougher parts.

POTENTIAL SPOILER WARNING:
There is an Inception-style like open ending and no epilogue, so if that bothers you, maybe don't give this one a go.

Beautiful and real

Wonderfully written! A sad but beautiful story. The emotions of the characters ring true and seem so real. The language is not dumbed down as happens in many young adult books these days, which is very refreshing.