To All the Boys I've Loved Before meets Morgan Matson in this effervescent romance about childhood best friends reconnecting that's full of sunny days, warm nights, first kisses, and mended hearts.

Luisa (Lou) Patterson grew up across the street from Sam Alvarez in the small, quirky town of Port Coral. They used to be inseparable—spending every holiday together, shooting silly YouTube videos, and rescuing stray cats. But then middle school happened, including the most disastrous (and embarrassing) serenade ever, and Lou and Sam haven't talked in the four years since. Sam is now the golden boy with plenty of friends, while Lou is an introverted romantic who's happy playing video games and writing fan fiction. But it's also the summer before their senior year, and life is knocking on Lou's door.

With her older sister having given up a scholarship to Princeton to have a baby and work at the local botanica, all of their mother's expectations are now riding on Lou's shoulders. She's retaking her SAT's, signed up for way too many AP classes, and her sights set on colleges with fancy names like Duke and Vanderbilt. But when she finds the bucket list she and Sam wrote together as kids, before Sam's father was diagnosed with cancer, she's shocked to see that she hasn't accomplished any of the goals she'd set for herself. Go to a party? Nope. Pull the greatest prank of all time? Still no. Learn how to be a really good kisser? Definitely not.

Torn between the future that her mother, sister, and younger self planned for her, Lou sets out to finish the list, and in a stroke of destiny or fate, Sam decides to tag along. Still trying to stay afloat amid the grief of losing his father, Sam himself is staring down a future that feels all too close, and is coming far too fast. But with the bucket list to guide them, Sam and Lou might just be able to find a way through the future, and also a way back to each other. –

This was so much more than a story about friendship, and it was a privilege to have read this book. Simply saying Our Way Back to Always was good, just isn’t enough. It was an experience that I would recommend a thousand times over. It was clear that there was so much heart and love put into this story.

I loved every single character. Especially the mains- Sam and Lou. It was an instant love of these two characters from the beginning.

Both of them are dealing with incredible realistic issues. Sam is dealing with the loss of his father. And Lou is trying to figure out how to learn her life for herself and find where she wants to go to college.

Honestly, they both were just trying to do their best. After not speaking to each other for years, in a quick second that all changes. And suddenly, they sort of find their way back to each other, and develop a strong friendship and something more at the end. They were incredible characters. And there were so many moments throughout the book that I wanted to give them both a hug.

As much as this is a story about friendship, it’s a story about family. Both Lou and Sam had these incredible, supportive and positive relationships with their family. It warmed my heart.

Final Analysis

Our Way Back to Always is a beautiful story about friendship, grief, expectations, and family. And most importantly, it is a book about finding yourself.

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