Jasmine Warga

'Funny and heartfelt... fans of Sarah Dessen or Rainbow Rowell will adore this novel' - Culturefly 'Fans of High Fidelity and Nick + Nora, get your hands on this book ASAP' - Popsugar Despite sending him letters ever since she was thirteen, Taliah Abdallat never thought she'd ever really meet Julian Oliver. But one day, while her mother is out of the country, the famed rock star from Staring Into the Abyss shows up on her doorstep. This makes sense - kinda - because it turns out Julian Oliver is Taliah's father... When Julian asks her to go with him to his hometown to meet the family she has never known, Taliah embarks on a three-day voyage of discovery - of her father, of the past her mother has never shared with her, and of herself. From the bestselling author of MY HEART AND OTHER BLACK HOLES, this is a beautiful and heartwarming novel of music, family, and friendship.

Here We Are Now

ayah ♡

“But I believe strongly that we all have multiple versions of ourselves. And the true test of love is learning to accept all of those versions, even when it’s messy.
Actually, especially when it’s messy.”


3.5 stars | i dunno man, like, these stories of girls finding missing fathers are getting awfully common, but somehow, for some godforsaken reason, i'm a sucker for all of them. This book was cute, and i liked it quite a bit, but I definitely feel like there was plenty of room for improvement. but first, 

pros:
1. i liked some of the father-child development, especially since it seemed to close up tons of wounds
2. the storytelling for the past was amazing, and i think adding the cliffhangers made it all the better???
3. cute boy-next-door trope continues to remain cute
4. i mean, i guess this book gets diversity points, since there's a gay best friend and the the lead is a poc
5. the writing was nice- simple, and meaningful
6. hamilton references!!! sorry, i'm a sucker for those

Cons:
1. mmm the romance was rushed, and kissing at your dead grandfather's funeral? look, i get all the 'now's the time' bs, but really??
2. this book in general was rushed. it was a mere 300 pages, and the ending left much to be desired. i know the author didn't want a typical 'happy ever after' ending, but i think this book really needed one. 
3. tf kind of best friend???????? who leaves their friend in a house, WITH PEOPLE THEY HARDLY KNOW, just so they can go see their gf (who they see all the time anyways)?????? yeah, that character dynamic was an honest to god mess. 
4. plot holes galore that either need to be cut out or are begging to be fixed

all in all though, this book was v enjoyable, and it's a cute, quick read that's mostly worth your time. anyways, we stan a rockstar dad

Becky

This was such a brilliant read. I didn't get totally absorbed, like I'd hoped, but considering it's relatively short length I enjoyed it plenty.

Taliah, Tal to her friends, has never met her father in person, but she's seen plenty of him on TV and magazines. He is a rockstar and after 16 years he turns up on her doorstep. It's a farfetched story idea. It would basically never happen in real life. But it was such an enjoyable read. I found some of the plot points hard to believe (mainly that a sixteen-year-old would be left home alone while a parents goes to Paris for work for a few days and also that she would immediately go on a road trip with a dad who she had never met). My minor grumbles about farfetched plot points aside, though, it was an enjoyable read about learning to let people in. Finding family. And learning that people are not just who they seem to you. They are multi-faceted and you cannot know all of them all at once.

I really liked the characters. Taliah was so interesting with how she adored music and worried it was part of her trying to emulate a father she doesn't know. And that she is shy and reserved. Slow to trust by loyal as hell to those she loves. And Harlow, her best friend, was interesting and cool and I wanted to get her so much more than we did. All I know is that she was a bit of a hipster, into music, and that her girlfriend Quinn was in a band. I definitely felt like she could have been explored as a character way more. She was Tal's opposite in many ways and I would have looked more of them together and actually being friends as they did bring their issues out a little in this, which I liked because no friendship is perfect but ugh.

Julian, Tal's dad, was really interesting. I did feel like he was a bit of a big kid, he didn't feel parental in the book, but much of that will be because he hadn't been in that role before. I liked how he slowly got to know Tal and Tal let him in and got to know who he was and is. I adored the father/daughter bonding, especially as they were relative strangers. Them bonding and growing to accept one another as family was pretty cool to read.

I think my issue with this book really comes down to its length. The book isn't that long (what YA is?) but I wish it had been longer. There were so many story threads which weren't truly resolved. Whilst this was done for effect, you can tell the way the book is ended is intentional, it was frustrating because I have unanswered questions. They aren't things I need to know, but I would have liked to have known. I would have happily have read so much more. Especially as I enjoyed seeing the past history of Tal's parents and how they met. I would have liked to see their story continuing to the present day too. And getting more resolution to Tal and Harlow's friends issues as they learn to grow together as friends.

It was a brilliant read and I really enjoyed it and would recommend it. I will have to read more by Warga.

A book about love, loss, and the power of music, perfect for fans of Nick Hornby and Fangirl. Taliah Sahar Abdallat lives and breathes music. Songs have always helped Tal ease the pain of never having known her father. Her mother, born in Jordan and very secretive about her past, won’t say a word about who her dad really was. But when Tal finds a shoebox full of old letters from Julian Oliver—yes, the indie rock star Julian Oliver—she begins to piece the story together. She writes to Julian, but after three years of radio silence, she’s given up hope. Then one day, completely out of the blue, Julian shows up at her doorstep, and Tal doesn’t know whether to be furious or to throw herself into his arms. Before she can decide, he asks her to go on a trip with him to meet her long-estranged family and to say good-bye to his father, her grandfather, who is dying. Getting to know your father after sixteen years of estrangement doesn’t happen in one car ride. But as Tal spends more time with Julian and his family, she begins to untangle her parents’ secret past, and discovers a part of herself she never recognized before. By the acclaimed author of My Heart and Other Black Holes, this is an intergenerational story of family and legacy and the way love informs both of those things. It’s about secrets and the debt of silence. It’s about the power of songs. And most of all, it’s about learning how to say hello. And good-bye.

Alexis 

I was a little let down by this book. I don't know why but i honestly expected slightly more from this book. I mean it was alright. I enjoyed it well enough, but i just felt like there was something missing but I'm unsure what it is. I liked the idea, i think it was just the execution.

sera

** spoiler alert **
           Toby was not necessary, all those words count should've been used to further develope stories on Julian and Tal.

"Big part of love is learning to accept different versions of the person you love, but that it's also important to love the version of yourself that the person you love brings out."

Here We Are Now

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