⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“we were together then, just like we’re together now” hold on let me grab my tissues and stop crying for a sec. i freaking LOVED this book. when i found out i got an ARC i did scream and do a little happy dance. it is not shock or spoiler that i love
K. L. Walther’s writing, i just didn’t think i could love it MORE. in fear of spoilers i will not say too much BUT. this book felt like something i didn’t know i needed. as someone who feels stuck and misses the old times (this summer) with her friends, i needed this book like i needed a deep breath. it had everything single thing i could’ve asked for and it made all the broken parts of me feel not so dark and bad. i saw a little bit of myself in each and every character but Everett man, Everett was me. there were so many things he would say or do and i’d have to take a break from reading bc i got so emotionally overwhelmed. i truly couldn’t put this book down and can’t wait to pick it up again when it releases in march 2025!!!
songs i thought of while reading:
pain is cold water by noah kahan
live while we’re young by one direction
you’re on your own kid by taylor swift

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children's for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

(2.5 stars) I have loved K.L. Walther's books in the past, but this one sadly missed the mark for me. While her other books are also geared towards young adult readers, they were readable and enjoyable as an adult. This book, however, was VERY young adult. I felt far too old to be reading this, and of course I knew that was a possibility. But overall, I just did not enjoy this as much as I had hoped.

While We're Young is a modern twist on the famous movie "Farris Bueller's Day Off". Grace, Isa, and Everett were once a tight trio and as senior year begins to come to a close, Grace is desperate to relive some of their glory days. Grace pulls together an elaborate plan to skip school and "kidnap" her best friends, whisking them away to Philadelphia for a day of fun. All while dodging people they know and working to not get caught, of course.

I think young adults will eat this up, and it is a great way to introduce them to a classic movie if they haven't seen it. It's a cute idea, but it felt like a bit of a ripoff of "Better Than The Movies" by Lynn Painter. That disappointed me a bit. The dialogue and the writing felt very rushed and juvenile, which I have not felt with Walther's previous books. Ultimately this took the rating down significantly.

*While We're Young* by K.L. Walther is a heartfelt and nostalgic coming-of-age story that captures the bittersweet moments of friendship, love, and the chaos of senior year. The dynamic between Grace, Isa, and Everett is both complicated and relatable, with their tangled history adding depth to the story. Grace's secret love for Everett and Isa's clandestine relationship with Grace's brother, James, create a web of secrets that threatens to unravel during their unsanctioned senior skip day adventure in Philadelphia.

The day is filled with memorable moments, from racing up the Rocky steps to taste-testing Philly's iconic cheesesteaks, all leading to a climactic wedding crash that forces the characters to confront their feelings and the truth. Walther does a fantastic job of balancing humor and emotion, making *While We're Young* a charming read that will resonate with anyone who's ever navigated the ups and downs of friendship and young love. It's the perfect book to relive the excitement and uncertainty of those final days before graduation.

this was a cute one with lots of nostalgia attached to it. a modern version of “Ferris Bueller's Day Off” ! 3.5 stars!

This is the second book I have read from this author and I enjoyed it just as much! I love the friends to lovers trope and multi-POV. The nostalgia had me in my feels and I enjoyed how to was both sweet but sensitive to though issues. Recommend!

This was a fun Ferris Bueller Day’s Off inspired read. I enjoyed the teen adventures and the coming of age aspects of the book. I will say as a 30 year old, I felt like the book was decent but I didn’t love it! It will probably resonate more with younger people. But overall, a cute read! I do love her Taylor Swift references so I wanted to read this after reading Summer of Broken Rules.

This book had the fun day in the city vibes/last hoorah I was looking for, but it missed the mark on a lot of other things. I think my biggest issue with the book was the writing. It's totally a personal preference, but I feel like there could have been more showing and less telling. Especially when it came to introducing the characters-- I feel we were told who they were rather than letting them behave how they are. The same goes for dialogue-- a lot of it didn't sound real, and the internal thoughts as well. Like, an 18 year old boy is not calling "You're On Your Own Kid" by Taylor Swift "My jam." However, I did still have some fun reading this book. I've never been to Philly, so I enjoyed getting a tour throughout the city and enjoying the character's shenanigans. But when it came to the subplots, I feel they didn't wrap up very well. I thought the story was over ten chapters before it ended because there were so many subplots still left unconcluded, by the time their day in the city ended and all the romances and relationships had resolved their conflicts. I was tired of reading at that point, and mostly just skimmed the end of the book. There were a few moments when I actually laughed out loud, however. The whole #savingGrace thing was hilarious. But at the same time, I wish we got to see how that impacted Grace more than just a few lines about how she feels loved and quickly wrap up another subplot. Overall, I'm grateful for the chance to read the book, and would still recommend other readers check it out, but I had too many issues with the writing and subplots that overshadowed the fun of the story.

An entertaining YA Ferris Bueller like story. It was a quick read, and I can see a young high school Margaret really enjoying the book. My only complaint is that the ending seemed to be very abrupt. I feel like there needs to be some sort of epilogue, if only a couple pages, to wrap up some loose ends.

While We're Young
3.25/5

Overall, it was a fun, modernized Ferris Bueller retelling that was fast paced and pretty engaging. Was it ridiculous and far-fetched at times? Yes, but it's exactly what you'd want from a story like this. I also liked that it did take on some more realistic issues and topics between all the adventures. I was worried that having four POVs would be difficult to keep track of, but Walther did a great job defining their individual voices and characteristics, so it was easy to keep up.

I did have a few moments throughout where I was confused about what was going on, typically when a character would think back on a memory and I sometimes had a hard time keeping track of when the story was from. Because the characters had so much history, there were times I felt like I was missing an inside joke. Without sharing spoilers, I did also feel like their reconciliation was very fast and simple considering their history and the length of time that had passed since their fallout, but for an overall lighthearted, fun book, I had a good time reading and enjoyed the story being told.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's and K.L. Walther for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! Review will be posted to Instagram between Feb 28 - March 3, then shared again via stories on the pub date.

This book was a perfect book to read the basics of Ferris Buellers Day off. The main character is hilarious. The brother and best friend are funny too, and I loved the concept. I love that the main character has this idea that they want to do all these fun things while they are still young. This author is hilarious!

I LOVED this book! It was so fun and nostalgic! It was giving all my favorite movies from my childhood wrapped up into one super cute book. It was so fun to go on the journey of the 4 friends trying to rekindle their friendship, the secret lovers, the friends to lovers, best friends brother! All of it was so good! The sneaking around/ditching class had me giggling! Definitely recommend!!

Thank you to Delacorte Romance for the ARC.

It pains me to rate a K.L. Walther book under 4 stars (mostly because I think The Summer of Broken Rules is the perfect book) but this one didn't do it for me in quite the same way. As a person who is intrenched in the grief process, there were many parts of this book and especially Everett's POV that didn't strike me as based in reality. I felt like I was reading a sequel of an already existing book and had issues connecting with the characters and their motivations.

this was so fun and really cute! i can definitely tell this was inspired by ferris bueller and it was done really well! i love the writing and chemistry between grace, isa, and everett

Beautiful, gorgeous, and amazing!!!! This book is full of friendship, romance, and mischief. It was so heartfelt and hilarious, if a tad unrealistic. Exactly how a Ferris Bueller-inspired novel should be. Grace, James, Everett, and Isabel are such well-developed characters through each point of view. Each of their struggles popped off the page with how sincere they became with each other throughout their day's adventure. Loved everything about this book, and can't wait for others to read it when it comes out!

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the digital advanced copy!

Isa, Everett, Grace and James have a long complicated history together. Before heading off to college Grace is set on getting the group back together. She comes up with an elaborate scheme to get her friends out of school for a daytrip to Philadelphia. Just like the old days. All she has to do is convince Isa to help kidnap Everett and avoid her brother or at least that’s what she thought. Their relationships are more complicated than expected, can their hearts withstand the wreckage?

This is such a sweet read!! I was a bit unsure whether the short timeline (a day) would work but it did. Since the characters already share an extensive history theres plenty to work with. What brought down my rating slightly is the secrecy surrounding their romantic feelings, just speak up already!? However they handled the fallout with a lot of maturity.

All four mcs have chapters from their own pov which works really well. My personal favorite is probably Everett, his father used to bring them on these trips and recently passed from brain cancer (TW). Other than that it’s a light read centered around friendship and young love.

If you’re in the mood for a YA romance with not one but two adorable love stories you have to pick this one up!

Read this if you like
🧡YA
✨Forbidden attraction
🫶🏼Childhood friends
📖Multiple pov
♾️HEA

The reason I love K.L. Wathers’ books so much is because I feel like I’m in the places she writes about. She has a unique ability to make me feel like I’m walking right next to the characters as the story progresses, and I eat it up every time. This was such an adorable story and I loved it

When you read a book most times you want to be transported into a new world…. But sometimes it’s fun to stay right where you are and recognize your local High School and City. Also who doesn’t love a surprise shenanigan with the Phillie Phanatic????
This book had all the feels for me, I can’t express enough about YA authors who take the time to write about teen feelings in a way that helps those going through tough situations understand that others are going through it or even just help them understand their own emotions. This author does an incredible job of that and while hilarious and fun still hits all the serious notes of growing up.

This was a short and sweet read! While it does have talks of difficult issues such as grief and mental illness, it still manages to always feel very fluffy. I appreciated the emphasis on all types of relationships: romantic, platonic, and familial. Overall, I’m happy I read this book because I did enjoy it, but it didn’t really leave too much of a lasting impression.

Thank you so much to the publisher & NetGalley for allowing me to read this early in exchange for a free review. I’ve read a previous book by this author and thought it was super cute & sweet. This one gave me the same feelings! Highly recommend!

thank you NetGalley and Random House for sending me this ARC for review! all opinions are my own:)

3.5⭐️! four high school seniors and long time best friends go on an adventure when one of them decides to skip school and explore Philly. there are secret crushes and struggles they don’t yet know about…which could make or break their carefree day!💫
-i had a fun time! this book is 4 POVs and very character driven which i enjoyed. it was entertaining reading all their perspectives and i really liked all the characters!! 👏🏼 they each had great personalities and were complex in what they were dealing with. the mental health, grief struggles, and romance were well done. everett has my heart 😭
-my main problem and why i docked a star was the miscommunication. i know they are teenagers but every character was hiding something and it felt dragged out. i kept thinking they would finally just talk it out but every time they would start talking, they would get interrupted, which got annoying. even the parents were bad communicators?! 😓 i also thought the ending was rushed and abrupt. we didn’t get the closure we needed! this took off half a star from my rating.
-regardless of these things that bugged me though, if you liked her other books i am sure you will also enjoy this one!! the characters really shine and overall i had fun. i would recommend:)
-⚠️ language rating of 3/5 (decent amount of f words) and spice rating of 1/5 (it is closed door just like her book TSOBR)