Alex and Lulu are as close to star-crossed lovers as you'll see in Coffee County High School.

Beginning in their freshman year, both run for class president on the platform of how to best use some of the school's vacant land. Alex wants a batting cage, Lulu want a garden to provide the cafeteria with sustainable fresh fruits and veggies. Despite being opposites, there is an unmistakable attraction between the two.

That attraction plays out over the next four years of their journey through high school in Miranda Kenneally's Four Days of You and Me. The story unfolds one day in May as their class takes a field trip -- whether it's to the local science museum, a theme park, New York City or London.

Kenneally's allowing us to check-in each year on the duo is a fascinating and well-executed hook to the novel. There is a bit of teasing in the opening chapter of each year as narrator Lulu fills us in on the status of her relationship with Alex. (SPOILER warning: It's not always a smooth one and there is some nice mileage achieved by Lulu teasing us about her boyfriend when it may or may not necessarily be Alex as the trip begins).

As with previous works by Kenneally, the strength here is authentic characters who look and sound like teenagers. This also means this book comes with my standard warning that if you don't like hearing teens swear, embrace and explore their sexuality and being chock full of angst then you might want to think twice before starting this one.

Not only do Alex and Lulu work well, but the supporting cast is memorable, fun, and entertaining. As we jumped forward each year in the novel, I found myself looking forward to seeing what happened to their friends over the course of the year as well as seeing if and how Alex and Lulu might be together or not.

Authentic, entertaining, and a great diversion, Four Days of You and Me is a welcome addition to Miranda Kenneally's library. If you're looking for a good distraction during these unsettling times, you can't go wrong.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Four Days of You and Me is a fast-paced, fun, and nostalgic read. It's the first book by Miranda Kenneally that I've read and after I finished it I immediately picked up another of her books.

I loved the way the story is told, with the focus on the same day, the same event, for each of the four years of high-school. We can really see the progression of the two main characters, Lulu and Alex, and how their enemies to something more evolves. As they navigate their would-be relationship, they experience many high and lows, falling in love, longing for each other, but not always being together. Both are very likable characters, but high school and hormones get in the way sometimes, and decision-making skills aren't always well developed.

Kenneally does a wonderful job showing us who Lulu and Alex are. There is, of course, a great cast of secondary characters that drive the story along; friends and foes alike. I found myself reminiscing on my own exploits during "fair days", and in general, thinking about a simpler time. This is a great read to share with the teenagers in your life with no worries about the content (it's a clean read). If you are an adult who likes a good YA, I heartily recommend this! 4 Stars

This story spans four years of high school and one relationship that has its ups and downs. I loved the way the story is told because even though it's always on May 7th, we get the full picture of what happens in between.⁣

Lulu and Alex have such a genuine connection and its so fun seeing it play out. I felt like it really portrayed a high school relationship at its best and at its not-so-great moments. Also, these two made me so emotional, I shed a few tears. I loved it and I hope you do too!⁣

Four Days of You and Me was a fun read. I loved that Lulu was a graphic novel author and how hard she worked.
I thought both she and Alex had a really strong work ethic and focus on goals that I was glad to see showcased.
It was light and easy and the side characters were great companions. I just wanted MORE. I wanted to know what happened after senior trip. Even just a short epilogue to wrap things up a little. I wanted more depth into the other two couples and I really wanted to like Alex and Lulu more. I do think they were appropriate in how their growth and maturity were shown through the story. I recommend for fans of romance and YA mixed together.

An adorable, cozy, heartwarming YA coming of age romance that is filed with engaging charters, witty and fun dialog, emotionally thrilling twists and all the ups and downs of first love. Really enjoyed this journey.

I went into this one with the highest of expectations. I have been a huge fan of Miranda Kenneally for so many years, but I think I have finally outgrown her books. I was expecting so much more from this story, but it wasn’t what I wanted. I thought it was going to be about two people who meet up once a year (though they talk all the time) but that wasn’t it at all. That is probably my fault, but it left me hugely disappointed.

Rating: 4 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a free copy of this book for review.

This cute contemporary follows Lulu's relationship with Alex throughout her high school years. They start off as "enemies" but they quickly become friends as soon as they learn more about each other. The friendship in this book was great, it's filled with teenage angst. The chapters can be confusing in the beginning since it's always switching between the past and the present but you get used to it. I really liked that we get to see their relationship grow and bloom throughout the years. We're used to books telling stories about crushes and first love.... but this one follows their relationship through ups and downs. Despite the undeniable attraction they feel for each other, their relationship does not fare well in the beginning. I loved seeing the side characters too. Their friendship and support were really adorable. The dialogue, in the beginning, is quite dramatic but it gets better.

The story is not surprising at all or impactful since it mainly follows the love story between two people and because I really liked their interaction I didn't mind reading it. Honestly, I'm always in the mood for some fluffy contemporary. However, the ending does feel anti-climatic since not everything is resolved between the characters.

If you're looking for some cute summer books about first-love and heartbreak, you should totally give it a chance. It's quick, fun and addictive!

I stopped reading this book at about 15%. It was poorly written and the characters felt like stereotyped caricatures rather than real people. The narrative also jumps around in a way that felt jarring, unnecessary, and confusing to the storyline at hand, particularly when it came to how the main character felt about Jonah and Alex. The writing--specifically the dialogue--was overly dramatic and felt as though the author was out of touch with how real teenagers would talk, think, and act. Perhaps this book will be enjoyable for some readers but it was not one I could get behind or justify finishing.

So far, Miranda Kenneally has focused on teen novels, depicting young sporty women, exploring their family, friendships, and love interests with the Hundred Oaks series. Four Days of You and Me signals a departure, and it’s an interesting direction. The structure and style of this new book is constrained and controlled and often requires readers to fill in a lot of gaps.

We meet up with our two protagonists, Lulu and Alex once a year, for four years, on the same day, May 7, which is basically the end of the American school year. Lulu is 15 when the novel starts the same as her arch-enemy Alex. The sparks between the two of them, as they duke it out over patches of land, class elections and being stuck together in an escape room are strong and fiery. They clearly have feelings and are attracted to each other, yet they are also stubborn, independent humans, and their on and off again romance will keep readers engaged and laughing.

Lulu has two best friends: Cousin Grace, and Max. They too struggle with crushes and gossips and are just as integral to the plot. They support Lulu, just as she supports them, through bad decision-making, heartbreak and cheer each other on through triumphs. Lulu is a passionate graphic novel creator, and keen green activist. Alex desperately needs a baseball scholarship because his family won’t be able to afford to send him to college. These different agendas butt up against each other, so this relationship is born of hard work and compromise.

But we don’t only see these characters once a year. Within each May 7 chapter, we also flashback to other pivotal days through that one year, meaning readers have to stay on their toes to keep up with all the events that have happened. As I previously mentioned, they also must fill in missing gaps and join the dots. It’s good to challenge readers and make them work for their rewards, and there are plenty of happy times and smexy times too (but not too graphic or exploitative). I have no hesitation in giving this to a 15 or 16-year-old.
We observe the obligatory moments in any teen’s schooling life – dances, formals, camps, and class trips. There are several important secondary characters, who help to keep the stories bubbling along, as well as developing the teens as authentic and realistic. These are all flawed kids who make mistakes, but that makes them easy to connect with on a number of levels.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for the advanced copy. I have kept my review deliberately vague because it is good for readers to watch the growth and development for themselves. The novel tries to capture the way teens obsess and crave something one year, that seems so unimportant the next. Initially, there are boys for whom Lulu has no time because of their immaturity and nonsense, but who gradually become an important part of her friendship circle. Recommended for readers who like the angst of long term, will-they-won’t-they, and watching characters grow up in front of their eyes. The romance element is very strong, as are the friendships, and family drama to a lesser extent. Some sexual references are included, and Kenneally has always been sex positive and direct. The satisfying resolution is open, yet we leave our college-bound young men and women in a optimistic place. Four Days of You and Me is released on May 5, 2020.

🛣

*Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own*

The Back and fort of the timeline confused me too much, to the point of making me come back several times to know if I was reading the past or the present, but apart from that I really liked the book.
It is a quick and very cute book.
There is nothing incredible in the story itself, nothing very surprising happens is basically the love story of two people, but because I liked Lulu and Alex so much I didn't mind reading their love story.
The end is very anti-climactic, it doesn’t have a very close ending, everything went through without being completely resolved.
But if you want something fast, cute, and romantic to read I highly recommend this book.

Every spring the students of Coffee County High School get to take a class trip. The locations get better as they get older. And every year, Lulu's relationship with Alex Rouvelis gets a little more convoluted and intense. As freshmen, they were enemies after an intense race over a student council position. But they couldn't deny their chemistry either. The two date, breakup, and much more across the span of four years, but each year, the class trip seems to bring them together again. And Lulu and Alex must decide if their love is worth fighting for.

"Our first kiss was exactly four years ago today, and since then, nothing--and everything--has changed."

I hate writing less-than-positive reviews, especially for authors I typically enjoy, but this book was not a favorite of mine. It's told across Lulu and Alex's four class trips (one per year) with flashbacks to other times. I simply could not warm up to Lulu or Alex. Honestly, of the two, I probably liked him better, but we don't hear his side. It took nearly half the book for the story to engage me even a little bit, and I thought about giving up, but for some reason, I have a tough time just stopping a book.

Now, I read YA a ton, so it's not that I don't enjoy YA novels. I read one right after this and *loved* it. But I found this story way too simplistic, and I feel like teens would too. There is so much better YA out there--for all of us. The book just felt simplistic in its writing and the "will they / won't they" storyline was boring. I did not care if they did or not. Honestly, there was a side plot about Lulu's gay best friend Max that was much more interesting--I would have rather read about him!

Supposedly Lulu is an artist/writer and that's her thing, but that felt forced. Mostly, the book felt about a girl (and her friends) all trying to find boys to like (and like them back). That's what they cared about and talked about. I felt no huge connection between Alex and Lulu and hence no reason to root for them to choose each other. They didn't feel destined for one other, as most couples do in a good romance. The story does pick up a bit near the end, but by then, I just felt burned out.

So maybe this story would resonate a bit more with a teen set (and it should be an older teen set, due to language and themes), but there are a lot of other better books out there. Now, others seem to enjoy this more than me, so maybe I just got caught in a bad mood. 2.5 stars for me, though.

*I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*
This book was absolutely addictive from the very beginning! I fell in love with each of the characters from the first page and I couldn’t quit reading to see what would happen to each of them on each field trip that they took! The love story in this book had my heart strings tugging at every turn of the page and I felt every heartbreak that our main character did! This is my first book read by this author and I will read more of her work now that I read this one. I was scared to read her other works because everyone loved them so much but, holy crap this book has blown me away! This book comes out on May 5th and I highly recommend this book to absolutely anybody. It even inspired me to pick my work in progress back up and to get it published once it’s long enough to be published! This is definitely one of my top favorites of the year.

I’ve read and enjoyed several of Miranda’s other books and was basically beside myself when I got my greedy hands on this one. The cover is cute and the synopsis sounded like everything I could have wanted. Sadly, I’m wondering if 2 stars is too high of a rating.

I liked Lulu? Yes, that’s a question. She’s talented and driven and I’m not sure what else I can say. She does come across as sheltered and whiny. Alex is charming when he wants to be, but also a jerk. Together there’s no chemistry or honest communication between them and the push and pull didn’t create the banter I was hoping for.

Plot wise, it didn’t work at all. I expected massive detail on four specific days over four years. Instead, it’s a disjointed timeline that sort of revolves around a date on a class trip. Each chapter is a flip flop of then and now, but not now now, whatever year it was now. Make sense? There’s a lot of drama, a lot of dating other people while still being emotionally invested in each other, and then each saying they’re willing to give up their dream colleges for the other. I mean, WITAF?

Overall, this just wasn’t for me. There were some cute moments sprinkled throughout, but they were few and far between. I spent a good portion of the book reminding myself that I wasn’t the target demographic, but there’s a lot of co-dependency and aspects of a toxic relationship that makes me wonder if it’s the right thing for teens.

**Huge thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for providing the arc free of charge**

As soon as I read the summary for Four Days of You and Me I knew I would love it.

Turns out I shouldn't be so confident with my reading taste, because inevitably a book like this will throw me a curveball and make me question everything I think I know.

We follow Lulu and Alex's romance on four field trips across four years, seeing how their relationship progresses as they grow and mature. The concept sounded so cute! From escape rooms to NYC to London, we see Lulu and Alex breakup, makeup and follow their dreams.

Unfortunately, the concept that initially drew me in turned out to be the main downfall of the story. While abstractly the idea sounded fun, in actuality it wasn't executed well. As a result of the non-linear timeline, the pacing felt strange and it was difficult for me to keep all the flashbacks and timelines straight. It was so jumpy and fast paced that it didn't leave any time for development. As well as that, it gave the book a strange tone. It was simultaneously mature in terms of some slightly sexual themes, but dramatic and immature in the character's thoughts.

While this book had its occasional cute moments, I didn't feel the chemistry. The relationship between Lulu and Alex felt dysfunctional and almost toxic at times. They were deeply co-dependent, prone to miscommunication and dramatic. I was getting whiplash as I read the book due to the non-linear format. One chapter they were enemies, the next they were saying I love you and the next they were fighting.

Most of the characters were done well, at the very least likeable even if they weren't completely fleshed out. Except for the one character that we spend the most of the time with. Lulu. I'm not entirely sure what it was about her, but oh boy did she get on my nerves . She began alright, but the further I read the more I hated her.

When it came to writing Lulu it felt like the author was all tell and no show. We are constantly told that she is vegan and wants her school to have a veggie patch but apart from that her supposed love for the environment doesn't express itself. Additionally, things seemed to be thrown in about her almost as an afterthought to give her some sort of personality. Apparently she loves dancing? Apart from a couple of lines when convenient, I never would have known. This may sound nit-picky, but when you love something, say dancing, it plays into the way you perceive the world. You see things differently, move differently, think differently. A book that did this really well was Loveboat, Taipei. Overall, I just felt Lulu had the potential to be a well-rounded character but it missed the mark for me.

I've never read anything by Miranda Kenneally before, but I know she is really well loved in the YA contemporary romance world. So I'm not sure if it is just a me issue, a this book issue or a this author issue. I would occasionally get drawn into the story, but then a character would say something cringey and I would be pulled right back into reality. For some lines, it felt like a classic case of adults trying to write teenagers. It was so overly dramatic that I couldn't even be bothered to roll my eyes after a while.

All that said, I think some of my feelings are so strong due to the fact that I had really high expectations going in. I enjoyed the first few chapters, but for me it went really downhill from there. I couldn't turn off the critical part of brain while reading this, but if you think you can I would recommend this as a fast paced, easy to fly through and mindless read.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for this ARC

Release Date: 5 May 2020

An angsty and compelling young adult novel that spans four years of Alex and Lulu’s on again off again relationship revolving around every class trip the two have taken throughout high school. This is a flirty and fun second chance romance filled with adventure, first love, and the bonds we build in high school. A delightful read!

Blurb: Lulu and Alex are like to magnets all throughout high school. Drawn together, the two end up kissing freshman year and then dating later on. Due to miscommunication, the two separate and weave in and out of each other’s lives for the next four years.

When I first started this I got confused about the timelines, but I ended up becoming completely immersed in this story. Alex and Lulu are adorable and I loved how the entire plot revolved around class trips. The best part of Alex and Lulu’s love story is the realistic approach the author took. Everything felt believable, romantic, and perfectly paced. A coming of age love story that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the format and I enjoyed Lu as an MC. I like her creativity and personality. Very much identified with that. I liked seeing Alex grow and mature throughout the four years. This was a real quick read and a nice feel good story!

This is a 3.5 rounded up (because I really like Miranda Kenneally).

What I liked:
~ Alex and LuLu -- both were interesting characters, and I liked how realistic they seemed.
~ their relationship -- it was pretty typical for teenagers, and I liked the ebb and flow of it. I also liked how Kenneally doesn't shy away from teens having sex. It wasn't graphic, by any means, but it was realistic, I think, and I liked how the characters approached it with thought and care.

What wasn't as strong:
~ mostly the ending -- for me, it ended awfully abruptly. One second they were worrying about forever, and the next second, it was over. I really like how Kenneally extended our knowledge of the entire town of Hundred Oaks in her other series, and maybe I just go too attached to that, LOL.

All in all, I enjoyed it, even though I didn't love it. I will definitely continue to be on the lookout for Kenneally's book, regardless.

Every May 7th, Lulu's school takes a school trip to help enrich their lives and every year Lulu has a run-in with her classmate, Alex Rouvelis. Over four years Lulu and Alex travel from a science center to an amusement park to New York City to London as their relationship moves from friendship to romance to break-up and more. Can Lulu and Alex discover if their destinies are entwined before the end of high school?

This book was definitely cute with a fun format. Kenneally's decision to only visit Lulu and Alex on that one day a year gave the book a cinematic feel that made it fast-paced. However, the format also made it difficult to really get to know the characters or completely care about their relationship. Also, I found Lulu a little overly dramatic and a little unsympathetic. Yet, even with those issues, this was a fun and quick book that fans of Kenneally will enjoy.

Such a sweet story! It’s been a while since I’ve read any YA, but I’ve always enjoyed Miranda Kenneally’s books, so I knew I had to read her newest.

Lulu and Alex start as rivals freshman year, both running for class president — Lulu on a green platform, and Alex capitalizing on his popularity as a baseball star. When Alex wins, they exist as frenemies for the rest of the school year, until accidentally getting locked into an escape room together on their class trip. As they finally acknowledge their mutual sparks, Lulu and Alex start a relationship that will last throughout their high school years, despite ups and downs and time apart.

As each section of the book focuses on the class trip for that year, we get to see how Alex and Lulu have matured, and how their relationship has matured with them. There are problems along the way, of course. Alex’s devotion to baseball and his commitment to working in his family’s restaurant leaves him unavailable except for late at night, past Lulu’s curfew. They both end up frustrated and unable to see past their own hurt, so a break-up is inevitable.

Still, every year on May 7th, as they set out on another class trip, Alex and Lulu seem to be thrust back into each other’s orbit. They really are great together, and even when trying to make something work with other people, they both realize that what they have is special.

I love how matter-of-fact the author is when it comes to teen relationships. There’s no judgment here, and the characters all enjoy varying degrees of healthy sex lives. Alex and Lulu take their time getting there, but they do enjoy gradually deepening levels of intimacy, and when they finally decide to have sex, it’s with lots of discussion, explicit consent, and pre-purchased condoms.

The supporting cast is quite good too — best friends and cousins and teammates, each with their own lives and quirks. They form a loyal and strong core, and I liked that we get to see Alex and Lulu not just 100% about their relationship, but really engaged with true friendships.

I also appreciated that Lulu and Alex each have their own passions — Lulu as an author/illustrator of graphic novels, Alex with baseball — and that they support each other’s dreams and goals. Neither one would ever suggest that their plans outweigh the other’s. It’s refreshing to see two characters work through their differences without losing sight of how much they care about each other.

Miranda Kenneally writes terrific, strong female characters, and Lulu is no exception. She’s talented and smart, and someone who’d be easy to like in real life. Four Days of You and Me is a quick read, and I really enjoyed this glimpse of high school life and all its drama, humor, and adventure.

Miranda Kenneally has long time been one of my favorites. When I heard she had another book coming out it was all I could do to contain my excitement. I'm happy to report that Kenneally did not disappoint!

I loved the way Four Days of You and Me was written. The main focus was on these four class field trip days, with some other bits woven throughout. I loved this. It gave us glimpses into what happened between Lulu and Alex from Freshman year all the way through their senior year. I really liked this approach as we followed their relationship as they got together, fell apart, got back together, etc. Beyond their relationship Lulu and Alex grow a lot as individuals.

Of course there is some drama, but I thought all of it was well done and made sense for their ages. Lulu and Alex made such a cute couple, but definitely had some growing up to do from freshman year. Not saying that Lulu didn't grow, but Alex especially had a lot of growth when dealing with his family and his future.

As always I appreciate Kenneally's sex positive aspects of her books. Whether you want to admit it or not, teenagers have sex, and I think it's great for teens today to read about it in a healthy way.