From the beginning we know tragedy has struck, but we don't know who or what has happened. From there, we are taken back to the last days of college and the four friends whose lives we will follow as they grow and change into adults in the real world in the years after graduation. I love a family drama and these four friends fit the description of a found family with all kinds of drama. I LOVE this book. The last chapters had me in tears. An excellent depiction of friendships over time and life experiences.

I loved this one! This book follows four friends after college and is told through their different perspectives. I enjoyed the time jumps, and stories with different points of view really keep me engaged. I felt like I could really see myself in some of the characters, especially Rachel. If you like books about friendship and all that hits you during your thirties, this is a great one to pick up!!

Maybe it's timing, but this book just was not doing it for me. I found it hard to get invested in the characters. Again, it could be a case of timing but I just couldn't get there.

Who We Are Now follows four friends over a span of fifteen years. You get to see how close they get as a group and how their friendship takes some twists and turns. It follows the friends through college and into their early thirties.

The characters were well-developed. However, I think my struggle is that I had a bit of a hard time relating to any of the characters. Making this story a little difficult for me to get into.

This is a good story about growing up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Who We Are Now is the story of 4 college friends - the story starts on the eve of their college graduation and each chapter jumps a consecutive year and rotates POVs between the 4 characters. It was described as "sliding-doors" themed, so I was expecting some real "what-ifs" and different endings, but rather what the "sliding-doors" nod meant was to the character's acknowledgements of how all their decisions shape who they become and where their life takes them (which I really enjoyed!). I really enjoyed this read overall and would definitely recommend to any fan of contemporary fiction!

This one was just okay for me. I felt like al of details of each individuals' story could have been shortened - there were paragraphs I majorly skimmed and didn't miss out on anything important.
Great progression of characters though and showing where life can take you, and how unexpected it can be. It reminded me of books like Pineapple Street and The Five Star Weekend, where you're following a lot of individuals lives that intersect. Not the most dramatic or thrilling read but entertaining for the most part, just dragged on a bit in places.

This was a great story if you enjoy college nostalgia. I enjoyed following the 4 friends lives after college as they became adults. I thought it dragged on a little towards the end, but overall was a good story that I enjoyed.

Rachel & Clarissa reminded me a little of my childhood best friend. We were thick as thieves but opposite in every way.

3.5 rounded up to 4

This book honestly hit me right in the feels. It was a great read that had me not wanting to put it down. I could see this book being used in a book club at my library and I will definitely be recommending that my library purchases this for circulation.

Who We Are Now was a wonderful, heartbreaking, thought-provoking novel. I loved the time jumps and different focuses of each chapter, and I really felt like I was part of the eclectic friend group that I wished I'd had in college, despite all their ups and downs. I had so much trouble putting this book down and finished it way too quickly.

I thought I liked Chamberlain's debut novel, but it doesn't even hold a candle to Who We Are Now. I absolutely loved this book. This book has such top-tier writing, especially in the final moments between Dev and Rachel, and brought me to the verge of tears multiple times. Chamberlain is a talent, and the way she weaved this story line was beautiful, heartbreaking, and wonderful. It gave me much to think about in terms of how my own relationships have changed after university, and made me nostalgic for "the good old days." I loved this book and will recommend it again and again and again.

Who We Are Now is an engaging novel told through four different perspectives over the course of 15+ years.
These four housemates/friends alternately tell their story each passing year. They grow together and they grow apart during the scope of this novel. I appreciated the relationship dynamics and where life is often marked by each passing season, the author captures it well. The characters were always waiting for something, hopeful for what would come next and not realizing the seemingly small decisions (or indecisions) they make will shape their lives in big ways. There are some big life moments, but these events are capture through the lens of the another character, so it's more of a reflection of their friend's emotions and reactions of the event. There were some frustrations in this, where the reader would never get the whole story: only the parts pieced together through memories. Overall, it's a story of the anticipation of the future juxtaposed with the realities of life and the relationships that are nurtured or passed along the way. There's a section where one of the characters discusses their novel, and I felt like the author was projecting/foreshadowing their feelings about their work. Life goes on.

This book was fabulous. It centers on the stories of four college friends, told over the span of the decade after graduation. Damn it, was it good. I had to keep reading late to figure out what was going to happen next and the ending was completely soul crushing in the best way.

Lauryn Chamberlain's second novel truly shows her development as an author in her second novel. The book is smart, fun, and a perfect read that brings you back to your college years, friendships, and early adulthood. Chamberlain develops the friendships of 4 collegemates and explores the way they change over 15+ years. She expertly weaves personal stories with a group dynamic set in Northwestern University and New York City. This is a perfect summer read where the reader will find a connection with one (or a few) of the characters!

Even though this book wasn't what I expected (a light, fun story about friendship) I thoroughly enjoyed it. The cover makes it seem like something that it's not, which could do the book a disservice if people pick it up thinking it's one thing only to find out it's a much heavier story. But following these friends from the time they graduated college (the same year I did) all the way through their 40s was enjoyable, if incredibly sad at times. Their relationships felt realistic, as did the ways in which they tried to figure out who they were and what they wanted.

I think this book would be great for an extroverted person who loved college and has lots of friends and is very into social activities. As an introvert who hated college and prefers staying home to partying, I could not relate to this book or its extroverted characters and lives. The writing is good, and it is a high quality book. I am just not the intended audience, for which the author or book cannot be faulted!

This is a great story about friendship through the years. This story starts out after college and each year is told from a different characters POV, I loved that, such a great way for us to see how each character thinks and feels. This was so good!
I just reviewed Who We Are Now by Lauryn Chamberlain. #WhoWeAreNow #NetGalley
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Thank you to Net Galley and the Publisher for this Advanced Reader's Copy of Who We Are Now by Lauryn Chamberlain.

In "Who We Are Now," Chamberlain masterfully depicts the lives of four college friends navigating their post-graduation dreams. Rachel, Dev, Nate, and Clarissa embark on their individual paths in New York City and Chicago, with romance, addiction, and self-discovery shaping their journeys. Chamberlain's beautifully written and engaging novel explores the complexities of evolving friendships, capturing the triumphs and rejections that shape their lives. With poignant insights into young adulthood, this immersive story of friendship, love, and resilience is a must-read for those seeking a compelling and relatable narrative.

Lauryn Chamberlain has done it again! Her first title made you think about what it's like trying to hold onto childhood friendships when both friends have grown and changed over time... This next novel made me ask questions about how growing up forces you to question what you want to do with your life and who is important to you. I loved this and was sad to see it end!

Cute book about college friends who "grow up" and go their separate ways and see where life takes them. While they try and stay friends, they find that life has it's ups and downs and things don't always go as planned. This exciting, cute, as well as sad book about how friends separate but come back together, will give you a roller coaster of a ride. Enjoy!