Goodreads Amazon Book Depository B&N
This post uses affiliate links and I may receive a small commission for purchases made through my links at no additional cost to you. Click here for more info.
“We would always be friends. Because some love can’t dissolve, or fall apart, or get complicated. Some love just is.”
Friends, this was such a beautiful book that touched and captivated me! I don’t read a lot of contemporary but this story and mystery sounded so interesting to me that I requested it months ago on Edelweiss. And I am so happy I was approved for a review copy and have the opportunity to scream about this book with you all! You should read this book!
I never re-read the synopsis once I decide to add a book to my TBR, I am not sure what I was expecting when I picked this up but I was drawn to it when trying to decide which review copy to read next. But this book blew me away and sucked in me from the author’s note thanking me for reading the galley.
FROM AUTHOR’S NOTE: What would it take for someone to believe they’d been ghosted by one of life’s tried and true friends? Because there are people in my life who, if they ever stopped talking to me, I would have to assume were trapped under a boulder. I honestly got obsessed with this thought. What would it take to give up on that person like that – a-trapped-under-a-boulder person?
Once I read this I too became consumed with this because social media is so ubiquitous and in my experience has enabled friendships to – for lack of a better word – last beyond their time. People kind of come and go and growing apart from friends is a part of growing up, but when you feel constantly connected to a person on IG and FB does that change?
Zan is the main character in If You’re Out There and the book opens with her unanswered emails to best friend Priya, who recently had moved to California from Chicago and stopped all communications. July, August, and multiple click-bait emails roll by with no response, and when September 4 comes around with the start of school our story really begins.
The characters are all so vivid and relatable, and I absolutely adored their witty banter with one another. I loved how supported and loved Zan is even though she has been isolating herself since Priya moved; how they encourage her to come out of her shell but are careful to not push her too hard. As a person that personally has suffered silently from depression for most of my life, this meant so much to me as a reader. It definitely shows how you can be there for a loved one suffering from depression (whether it be situational like with Zan or chronic), and I really hope more books depict this to help normalize mental illness and break the stigma that one must suffer alone.
“My senses have become duller lately. Like it’s not quite me who’s doing the seeing, the smelling, the tasting.”
Logan’s introduction to the story breathed life into the book and Zan’s life. The beginning of the book she was definitely wallowing a bit in her depression and trying to process the loss of her best friend, especially without any word. As a reader you really feel for her and her confusion, having all communication completely end right after she moves away. Yet she’s active and happy… and not quite herself on Instagram. How do you accept being ghosted by your best friend without a word, especially when they don’t seem like themselves?
‘People never tell you.’
‘What?’ Her eyes grow glossy, but she smiles.
‘How much it hurts to lose a friend.’
Honestly this mystery is plotted so incredibly well and despite my being a very close reader 🕵️ I found myself constantly gasping when tidbits were revealed! As Zan and Logan go deeper and deeper, things get weirder. I like that even though everyone thinks she is just seeing a “person-trapped-under-a-boulder” as a way to try and make sense of being left behind, no one makes her feel stupid, and Logan even goes along with it. Their friends-to-romance arc is so precious and me, a girl that rarely swoons, have a couple of ‘KISS HIM!!!!’ notes on my Kindle. 💖
I did find the narrative style a little difficult to follow at first until I settled into the story; the story kind of bounces around between past and present and doesn’t show every single detail of Zan’s day. These jumps are notated in the eARC with just a double-spaced paragraph break, but I quickly overcame the jarring feelings. The main reason that this was a 4-star read was because I don’t understand how we suddenly have journals that provide exposition in the last third of the book. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the addition exposition and watching the pieces kind of slide into place, but I found it a little out of place and I am not sure where the reader gets them from because the rest of the story is told in the first person perspective of Zan.
This is such an important story about friendships fading and how social media can make that harder, but it is also about love and never giving up on people. I went from being on pins and needles (I honestly stayed up until 1 a.m. to finish this book *yawn*) to laughing out loud; Loutzenhiser does a great job of cutting the tension with the character’s dialog and sarcastic humor. Also I just need to say that Logan’s little sister Bee is an icon.
‘That’s a good name, is she a princess?’
‘No,’ she says, somewhat scandalized. ‘She’s a senator.’
The book is strong and feminist. I loved how Zan was a strong female character that isn’t made up of rough edges and it handles how one processes loss and how one might process being ghosted by the one person you are sure would never. I honestly cannot recommend this book enough! If I were going to straight up classify this I would say it is more contemporary than a mystery as it is as much about growing up, trying to figure out your place in the world, processing loss, and handling first likes as it is about uncovering a mystery.
REPRESENTATION: lgbtqiap+ (f/f relationship, sexuality being explained as being on a spectrum), Indian characters (not-OV), situational depression
OWN VOICES REVIEWS: if you are a teen that reviewed this book, please let me know!
CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS: abandonment, divorce, loss of a loved one, loss of a parent, misogyny (challenged), drug abuse referenced
Many thanks to the publisher for sending me an eARC via NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own. Quotations are taken from an uncorrected proof and may change upon publication. If You’re Out There publishes on March 5, 2019!
★★★★
You can find information about my rating criteria here.
After Zan’s best friend moves to California, she is baffled and crushed when Priya suddenly ghosts. Worse, Priya’s social media has turned into a stream of ungrammatical posts chronicling a sunny, vapid new life that doesn’t sound like her at all.
Everyone tells Zan not to be an idiot: Let Priya do her reinvention thing and move on. But until Zan hears Priya say it, she won’t be able to admit that their friendship is finished.
It’s only when she meets Logan, the compelling new guy in Spanish class, that Zan begins to open up about her sadness, her insecurity, her sense of total betrayal. And he’s just as willing as she is to throw himself into the investigation when everyone else thinks her suspicions are crazy.
Then a clue hidden in Priya’s latest selfie introduces a new, deeply disturbing possibility:
Maybe Priya isn’t just not answering Zan’s emails.
Maybe she can’t.
I came across this book a few days ago and the description really intrigued me. I added it to my GR TBR but now I really should pick it up soon!
It is such a neat book, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
This sounds interesting! Great review!
Thank you, I really enjoyed this book a lot!
You really do know how to write a review Kal that makes folks just wanna drop everything and pick up the tome you are talking about! Loved hearing your thoughts on this one and am placing this bad boy onto my TBR shelf
Sam, thank you so much for your compliment that means the world to me!!! I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did!
I had never heard about this before, but it’s definitely going on my list. Just to find a book with good mental illness representation is enough to get me there. Add on the sweet friendship you mentioned and LGBTQ representation and I couldn’t get it on my TBR list fast enough.
Yea I haven’t seen this book being talked about at all yet among the bloggers I follow, so I am glad I was able to bring it to your attention! I hope that you enjoy the book as much as I did, and happy reading!
Sounds like an interesting book! I’m glad that LGBTQ is being represented more in books. Release by Patrick Ness is another good one like this!
Thanks for the recommendation, I will check that one out!
I have this ARC! It always delights me when I see that someone else has read the same book or has the same ARC 😁 A review well done!
I know the feeling all too well, I love seeing people review the same books as me! Have you read this one yet?! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and I hope you liked it as much as me Safiyaa!
I started reading it yesterday!! Realized that I was lagging with my ARC reading cuz I wasn’t reading a book that I was in the mood for, so Katy’s book it was! I’m already 40% in! It’s so captivating! I shall certainly post a review soon 😄
Yea I’ve been struggling with my reading lately too because I was forcing myself to read ARCs I wasn’t enjoying. But I am finished now and am hoping things improve drastically! I am so glad you are enjoying it so far and PLEASE tell me your final thoughts!
social media play such an interesting role in modern relationships! I spend too much time being annoyed by all the middle/high school acquaintances who will add me on Facebook/LinkedIn out of nowhere when we weren’t even friends, but my parents have told me how surprisingly helpful Facebook’s “suggested friends” algorithm can be for reconnecting with friends they lost touch with before social media was such a big thing.
it definitely hurts to lose a close friend, at least as much as it hurts to lose a romantic partner, and I am SO HERE for books that acknowledge that experience. especially when treated with empathy and humor – this sounds like such an amazing read. thanks for putting it on my radar!
In the last 10 years I have gone from loving social media and connecting with people from my past (and ‘connecting’ with people I never was friends with), but it got kind of old. I deleted my Facebook account back in December and am honestly a lot happier – for me, the shells of interactions were more harmful to my mental well-being than anything, and I was sick of seeing former friends that broke up with me commenting all over MY FRIEND’S stuff, taunting me.
Social media is a blessing, but it is definitely a curse, too. This book is such an important treasure and I am so glad I was able to read it early & put it on your radar! If you read it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
that does sound awful, I’m glad you’re not having to deal with that anymore! and yup, really looking forward to reading this one 💕
Thank you so much, glad you are enjoying the series!
What is the book about???
Awww, I’m so glad you liked this! I have an eARC of it waiting on me and now I’m even more excited to read it. Amazing review as always, love ♥♥
Thank you so much, Destiny! I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did – it’s a real treasure!
This book sounds SO good and I’m so happy that it features friendship so much, that’s so important and so good to see in young adult books. I can’t wait to read it, you wrote such a fabulous review! <3
Oh my gosh, thank you so much Marie! I really devoured this book and I wasn’t expecting to. I need more books that feature friendships in my life. I hope you love this book as much as I do!
Thanks for clarifying that this isn’t so much a mystery. That was 100% my mindset after reading the summary. However, what this book is actually about sounds even better. I’ll need to keep my eye out for it.
You’re welcome, and I was expecting more of a mystery from the synopsis as well. But what the book actually is was incredible and I really enjoyed it! I hope you enjoy it when/if you decide to pick it up.
Thank you!
I can’t believe this is the first I’m hearing of this, because it sounds like this would be perfect for me. As someone who still suffers from a loss of friendship, the quotes you gave in this review really spoke to me. Plus, mystery is my favorite genre so that makes the book more irresistible to me. Fantastic review; I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this one! 🧡
I am so glad I was able to get this book on your radar! The loss of friendship spoke to me as well, and the mystery component was really enjoyable for me. Thanks so much for the comment and I hope you enjoy the book if you pick it up!