I really enjoyed this YA read. It covered a lot of topics like moving away from home, heartbreak, guilt, and overcoming a lot of those feelings that are extra heightened in HS.

I was unable to finish this one.

I can't quite figure out what it was missing, but it was boring me. I had to give up at 18%. It took 3 attempts to get that far unfortunately

I received a free ARC of this book via NetGalley, and this is my honest and voluntary review.

In Before & After You & Me, we follow the life of Emma. When a freak accident leaves her ex-boyfriend Hunter paralysed, Emma is racked up with guilt. As she starts a new life at an arts college across the country, she begins painting Hunter - his legs and feet at first. When the attention to her anonymous paintings is nothing like she has experienced before, will everything blow up in her face like she fears?

I had feelings about the book to begin with, finding it a little hard to get into - but, I read this when I was in a wee bit of a slump, so that was probably why. After a while, I certainly warmed up to Emma, and my heart broke for her. I felt myself relating to her a lot, starting a new life away from home and being crushed with guilt, not only for leaving friends and family but for an awful accident that was not her fault. The book only skimmed the topic of PTSD with no outright mention but lots of the signs and symptoms, which I did love as it made me feel seen. I loved Kevin and thought he was a wonderful addition to the book, the way he treated Emma was incredible and I adored every interaction between them. Now, we only really see Hunter in the flashbacks - and honestly? He’s a bit of an… idiot, to put it mildly. In the present, he has grown a lot and is dealing with the incident and his disability with a lot of maturity.

At 315 pages, this took me just under 4 hours to read. I recommend it to any young adult/coming-of-age fan.

8/10

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book because the narrative and the main character's voice quickly pull you in,

This story is very vanilla. I don’t mind YA but this story is seriously missing something. It took too long to read. Good story line but something didn’t keep me itching to know what happens next. I feel I needed more.

That story was so emotional, the dual timeline is not something l really like but in this case was fine, l fully recommend this book.

sadly i couldn't finish this before it was published, but I'm glad I still ended up reading it!
solid 4 stars
it definitely wasn't the best book I've ever read, but I loved so many things about it. I actually really liked the fmc and I LOVED the book's format! It gave similar vibes to like the way I used to be and other books like that. I think it was because of how the time kept going before and after and we didn't know what the event exactly was until later.
but yeah, I actually really recommend!

Emma left her family and friends to attend a private arts-focused boarding school for her last two years of high school, and it’s been an adjustment. An adjustment during which she’s grown apart from her high school boyfriend, Hunter, an outcome she was desperate to avoid.

Emma breaks up with Hunter when she returns for Winter Break, and when they both find themselves at a party that evening, Emma gets uncomfortable and, in a moment of panic, suggests everyone at the party go skinny dipping. In a freak accident, Hunter dives into the shallow end and winds up paralyzed. And Emma knows: it’s all her fault. She broke up with him that day, and he only dived into the pool at her suggestion.

From there, the novel goes in two directions: backwards, to show us the unraveling of Emma and Hunter’s relationship and forwards, to show us Emma’s struggle to deal with her guilt, which manifests in an obsession with painting Hunter’s legs and feet.

As time goes on, Emma begins to heal, reconciling her past and present in a way she hasn’t been able to since she moved and embracing her new life, aided by the support of Kevin, whom she meets in her painting class.

We love romance novels that have some depth to them: sure, they tell a good love story or two, but there’s also something else going on, and Woodburn’s novel delivers. It’s a novel about finding yourself, healing, letting go of the past, and embracing change, and we think it will appeal to many young romantics.

The novel does include profanity, teen drinking, and a brief but not particularly descriptive sex scene. We wouldn’t feel uncomfortable recommending it in the classroom, but we’d probably save it for older students.

Thank you NetGalley and Owl Hollow Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Will be published at https://threeheads.works/category/blog/ya-books/ on June 3, 2024.

Before and after you and me, Dallas Woodburn

⭐️ 4
🌶️ 🚫

Tigger Warning:
Almost Drowning

What you can expect
YA
Single POV
Dual Timelines
First Love

Dena’s Thoughts:
YA is usually a hit or miss with me. Sometimes it can lean more towards the “young” side but this story was so beautifully done that even when it did sway that way it was genuinely because of the FMC’s age.

Being told from the FMC, Emma’s pov, the two timelines take place before and after an incident that traumatizes her greatly. As you work you work your way back through the past you walk through her relationship with her boyfriend starting with its ending. This ending is the catalyst for the present timeline as you follow Emma at her new private school with new friendships. Through both she grows and changes and as a person and that reflects how she sees those around her.

I really truly enjoyed this. I remember being this age and feeling most of these things. Making some of these mistakes. The growth and reflection of Emma was beautiful. I would happily read another work by this author.

This book was brilliant! The way it was written was incredible! It starts with an accident that happened and then each chapter alternates before and after the accident. The before chapters go from the accident and backwards. The after chapters go from the accident and forward. I really enjoyed how the main character was portrayed. You could truly feel everything she was feeling. There were even a couple spots that made me tear up. Great read!!!

Although I had some difficulty getting into the novel, I'm happy I continued. I'm not sure if the frequent time jumps contributed to my issue. The frequent time leaps weren't as distracting to me as they normally are, and I believe the author chose well in structuring the chapters.

Emma had a realistic character. I wish we had seen a little bit more of Hunter's recovery. Written from the perspective of the main character, Emma, this was a beautifully written story. We accompany Emma as she works through her guilt and emotions, transferring her experiences onto her paintings. This was a really touching young adult book.

**Thank you NetGalley and Owl Hollow Press for the ARC of Before & After You & Me.**

Trigger warning: dangerour accident, disability, paralysis

This was a lovely coming=of-age tale, that deals with the before and aftermath of a tragic accident, that leaves Emma's ex-boyfriend partially paralysed and unable to run again.
Emma struggles with the guilt and how to deal with her feelings towards her involvement in Hunter's accident.

The store is told from Emma's POV, alternating between after the accident, and before, leading backwards to the day Emma and Hunter first meet. While both sides were interesting to read, I felt more drawn to the After parts - I think I was just more invested in how Emma and everyone dealt with the accident, the healing, and how life goes on.

Overall: I liked this story - but be warned, this is not a light read, but was definitely an interesting, and realistic read..
3.75/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Owl Hollow Press for the ARC of Before & After You & Me.

BAAYAM deals with life after an accident that happens to Emma's ex-boyfriend, Hunter, and turns her world upside down—or rather, split into before and after. It also explores what it is like to live far away from home, to fight for your dreams, and to navigate the complexity of old and new friendship. Obviously there's a hint of angst and honestly I expected it. Just keep in mind that if you want to read this you have to be in for the upper YA drama.

Speaking of drama, the non-chronological timeline (Before and After) might be constructed to add tension, but at first I didn't really get why. When I reached 2/3 of the book, I quickly connected the dots that even though it didn't reveal big plot twist, it's relevant to Emma's emotional development. I also enjoyed the After part more than Before—especially Before in earlier chapters. A lot of dialogue in Before chapters reads too cheesy and unnecessarily long, unlike the rest of the book that feels carefully deliberated. I don't mind Emma is unlikeable (after all she acts very teenage-y), what I don't really understand is her special-ness according to other characters. Sure, she's talented, but I saw more of her jealous, envious, negative-thinking side so it's kind of hard to see her as a 'peacock' or someone that attracts a charming person like Kevin.

If there will be a short story or a novella from Hunter's POV, I would like to read it! I'm really curious about his life after the accident and how he claims his dream and passion again.

3.5 stars for this hopeful, realistic, and angsty (for sure) tale about processing grief, facing your fears, forgiving yourself, and achieving your dreams.

Writing my review now, even though I am only in the middle of chapter 4 (about 11%) since I am going to temporarily DNF it. Will edit to add further thoughts after finishing the book, as well as adjust the star rating.



I am struggling with this story. Going into it, I knew I was going to get two different timelines, which in itself is not a problem for me. My issue has been with the storytelling in each timeline.

Right at the start, we are introduced to many characters, most of which don’t have any depth at this point. It feels like it’s just name dropping without further development. While this takes place, there is mention to many different moments as backstory, ranging from the main character’s own thoughts to some episodes she witnessed in other people’s lives.

Due to everything I mentioned so far, it becomes hard to follow the storyline. Everything being told at once makes it hard for the reader to organise the information for themselves and start creating bonds with the characters. Even though I was living all these emotion-filled moments, I couldn’t connect to the people experiencing them at all.

It could stem from little writing experience from the author (which is fine, we all have to start somewhere and improve from there), or even not having outlined the story well enough prior to writing. I see a lot of potential in the story itself, based on what I’ve read so far, though it currently suffers from poor execution.

Since its a young adult book, I would recommend it to people within that age range, and anyone who enjoys reading the genre. If you were a fan of The Fault in Our Stars, If I Stay and Five Feet Apart, plus have the ability to sort through many character names and plot lines without getting lost, this is a book you’ll love!

Rating: (5/5)

Thank you Owl Hollow Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

I highlighted so many quotes from this book, but I think this one perfectly perfectly describes the entire story:

“Maybe growing up means that no matter where you go, you’re always missing someone.”

‘Before and After You and Me’ is an emotionally haunting but beautiful story about self-discovery, outgrowing hometowns, friendships, relationships, and the intense emotions that come with it.
The story follows Emma, a gifted teenage artist who leaves her hometown to attend a prestigious arts school across the country. As she navigates the unfamiliar corridors of her new school, her heart is torn between her new life and the one she left behind.
Emma's relationships with her family, friends, and her boyfriend, Hunter, begin to fray as she struggles to maintain ties with her past while trying to fit into her new life.
The narrative takes a heart-wrenching turn when a tragic accident leaves Hunter paralyzed. Overwhelmed with guilt and regret, Emma spirals with self-doubt, questioning every decision she's ever made and how those choices led her to that point.

‘Before and After You and Me’ is a touching story that explores the challenges of young love, the difficult choices we make to pursue our dreams, and the transformative power of art.

I haven’t read many young adult books, but this one is definitely in my top 5. I read this in one day because I simply couldn't put it down. This story is both inspiring and tragic, and I couldn’t help but feel so sad about the whole situation. Hunter was such a sweet and loving person and a great boyfriend to Emma. I wish that didn’t happen to him, but I understand that it was crucial to the story.
I also loved that I got to see the whole story from Emma’s perspective, it was incredibly inspiring to see how she managed to keep going even when she felt like she didn’t fully belong anywhere, and how she ultimately let go of all the guilt that came with Hunter’s accident.

This book made my semi-broken tear ducts work a little bit. The story is really sweet - Emma has gone from her hometown in California to art school in a smaller town in Indiana, and her life is turned totally upside down when she goes home for Christmas break, breaks up with her high school boyfriend and hours later he is paralyzed from the waist down in a freak accident. Once she goes back to school, she begins to paint "The Hunter Series" in secret, a series of paintings of legs and feet - the legs and feet of her ex-boyfriend, the champion runner who will never run again.

This story had a back and forth structure that I really enjoyed, plus I loved the whole "moving away for school" aspect. That can be done quite trope=like, but I felt this was very well done. I do wish we had a few more scenes with Hunter post-accident, but I understood why we couldn't have. Otherwise, I believe it's a really beautiful story about growing up, redemption and forgiveness, both of yourself and others.

3.5 stars

This is about Emma, her guilt, pain and struggles as a teen trying to fit in. It’s about art, love, finding your authentic self and redemption.

- First pov, single pov
- Character driven
- Well written
- YA
- Happy ending

Every second chapter: after the accident. Every other second chapter: before the accident. The ”before” chapters goes backward in time, the further into the story you get, the further back into their history you get. The last ”before” is when they first meet.

I had trouble getting into the story but I’m glad I kept going. I don’t know whether my problem was because of the constant time jumps or because the story just didn’t catch my interest right away. Maybe a bit of both. The constant time jumps didn’t bother me as much as they usually do, I think the author made the right decision in laying out the chapters that way. I really enjoyed the ”after” chapters. The before chapters were not necessarily too many, just too long. I didn’t feel like we needed such a detailed show of Emma’s past with her ex. I just barely finished those chapters without skimming. It was interesting seeing some of their past together but I think the chapters could have been cut down quite a few pages.

Emma is a teenager and she acts as such. Her character was realistic and well done.
She makes mistakes and doubts herself but tries her best to appease everyone else and herself. I liked her despite her ”flaws”, she showed great character development. Possibly a bit rushed, from beliving she was guilty of destroying someone’s life to just accept that she wasn’t.

I would have liked too see a bit more of Hunter’s recovery and I don’t think his before - after development was all that believable. He went from immature to extremely muture way too fast. We only get too see him once in the ”after” chapters and all of a sudden he was so mature.

Was about to DNF but I kept pushing and I'm so happy with my decision. This book made me want to cry, both happy and sad tears. it was hard to get into this book though. But once you get more into it, it’s amazing. Keep pushing I believe in you!

In "Before & After You & Me," Dallas Woodburn delves into teenage angst and the complex aftermath of a breakup intertwined with a life-altering accident.
The portrayal of Emma's overwhelming guilt and her artistic expression of pain through Hunter's body on canvas adds depth to the narrative; the angst and grief she goes through is palpable to the reader.
However, the swift adaptation of Hunter to his paralysis and wheelchair-bound future may stretch believability, challenging the authenticity of the characters' reactions.
While the story has poignant moments, the overall impact was somewhat tempered for me, earning it a 3.5-star rating.
Thanks so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

Thank you Netgalley and Owl Hollow Press for the ARC.

It was a heartwarming/heartbreaking read. I really enjoyed the story and I'm looking forward to read more books by this author. I couldn't put it down and I recommend this book to EVERYBODY!