What If 

Genre: YA / New Adult

By Rebecca Donovan

Synopsis

A new novel by the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Breathing Series . . .

What if you had a second chance to meet someone for the first time?

Cal Logan is shocked to see Nicole Bentley sitting across from him at a coffee shop thousands of miles from their hometown. After all, no one has seen or heard from her since they graduated over a year ago.

Except this girl isn’t Nicole.

She looks exactly like Cal’s shy childhood crush, but her name is Nyelle Preston and she has no idea who he is. This girl is impulsive and daring, her passion for life infectious. The complete opposite of Nicole. Cal finds himself utterly fascinated-and falling hard. But Nyelle is also extremely secretive. And the closer he comes to finding out what she’s hiding, the less he wants to know.

When the secrets from the past and present collide, one thing becomes clear: Nothing is what it seems.

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Michel’s Review

What If by Rebecca Donovan is one of those books that leaves the reader with lasting impressions and thoughts. It was meticulously written with a unique style. The story is told through multiple POV. It is a story of childhood friendships that leave a lasting impression on the main characters as they leave childhood behind and become adults. Their connections throughout the story are memorable and the reader begins to understand how these connections mold the story into what it is.

We have all had those “What If” moments in our lives. We have questioned our actions and reactions to moments in life that have impacted our future. What If is the story of three girls and one boy that have a powerful friendship in their childhood years. As they begin to become young adults their lives start to take different directions. Their friendships start to drift into more of acquaintances. But below the surface those deep bonds of friendship will be with them throughout their lives.

One friend, Richelle has abruptly moved away and lost complete touch with the other three. Nicole has moved on to the popular crowd and left her old friends behind. Cal and Rae have managed to remain close.

A year after high school is where the story begins. Nicole has left to go to an Ivy League school. No one has heard a word from her since she left. She has dropped all communication with new and old friends.

Cal wonders what has happened. Rae could care less because she has anger issues towards Nicole for betraying their friendship.

A year later Cal comes face to face with a girl that is Nicole. But is that girl really Nicole? Her name is Nyelle and she is nothing like Nicole at all. Nyelle is a free spirit and spur of the moment kind of girl.

Thus begins the mystery of who Nyelle really is. Cal is determined to find the Nicole he once knew because she is his “What If” girl.   As the story unfolds the reader gets more insight to what really happened. As Nyelle begins to lose her façade and Nicole begins to resurface, Cal is there to help her remember exactly who she is. Cal will take Nyelle as Nicole or Nyelle. He will take her anyway he can. He wants her back in his life. But as the story unfolds there will be revelations that will affect all the friends and their perceptions of what they thought they knew about life.

I found this was a lovely novel about the bonds of friendship. The evolution from childhood to adulthood.   But I also found at times I was having a hard time keeping up with the multiple POV’s and multiple relationships each character had with the other characters. I also felt when the final “aha” moment was revealed I had a hard time buying it. I felt like Nyelle bordered on being insane. I felt like Cal sold himself short. I felt Rae seemed a bit insignificant in the whole scheme of things.

I am not sure if this book is YA or New Adult. It felt more like a YA book. While as a mature adult and seasoned reader I found the book somewhat unbelievable. My sense of reasoning just could not grasp it. But then I took a step back and thought about my teenage daughter and how her relationships are with her friends. I observed that she could grasp all the multiple POV’s and multiple relationships with great ease. I also could see how young people can walk away with a different perception of a situation than a mature adult would. Their perceptions of the world are new, fresh, jaded at times because of all the social media, and quite different because of our information type of society. Their coping mechanisms are different than the coping mechanisms we adults have had in our younger lives. With that being said I think Rebecca Donovan created a story that this audience will grasp and love.

I would highly recommend this book.

Author Bio:

Rebecca Donovan is the USA Today Bestselling Author of the highly-acclaimed New Adult trilogy, The Breathing Series. Her novels include: Reason to Breathe, Barely Breathing, and the eagerly-anticipated conclusion of the series, Out of Breath.

Rebecca is a graduate of the University of Missouri -Columbia and lives in a quiet town in Massachusetts with her son. Excited by all that makes life possible, she is a music enthusiast and is willing to try just about anything once.

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