He is one of those characters that make you wish he were real and make you want to find your very own version of to love. He is sweet and quiet and loving and just all around the perfect guy that you’re rooting for the whole way through. Phineas is a character I immediately fell in love with. She is funny and quirky and relateable, carrying that weirdness that we all have a little bit of and wearing it proudly. Autumn is a character I liked from start to finish, which is rare, as unfortunately, female leads start to annoy me around the half way point in most novels. There are so many quirks that each character carries which to me, make them seem like much more than just characters. The characters have been created so carefully in a way that makes them so unique and so memorable.

It’s a story of deep friendship, first love that never leaves and the tragedy of ‘what could have been’s’. I can’t compare it to anything else I’ve read as I really do think it is far superior and way too unique for any kind of comparisons. The story is truly beautiful and I’ve never read anything quite like it before. It’s set over the course of 6 years and the ups and downs involved in the life of teenagers, who grew apart but never quite let go. The book, published April 2nd 2013, centres around the story of Autumn Lange, a girl from Missouri, and her childhood friend, Phineas Smith. I’m not going to include spoilers in this, because this is a book that deserves to be read without already knowing what’s coming, but I will give you a brief outline. The book is one I had never heard of before (which greatly frustrates me because it is so wonderful) and the author, Laura Nowlin, was the same. I read the blurb, then I put it down, then I picked it back up again and I’m so glad I did. ‘If He Had Been With Me’ was a book I saw on the shelf and was drawn to by the title, as it reminded me of the kind of title I’d choose for one of my own books, mysteriousĪnd sounding like there’s an incredible story behind it. I have read multiple books since getting my card, but none of them stayed with me as much as the one I want to tell you about. A big dream of mine is to get one of my stories published one day and my reasoning behind getting a library card involved this. I wanted to read more to get my head around the style of writing I wanted to develop and try to improved my skills by learning from others.

Something you’ll discover about me, I am an extremely passionate writer. Earlier this year, I went to my local library and got a library card in an attempt to start reading more like I did when I was younger. Yesterday I started and finished an incredible book.

He had been with me book