As Many Nows as I Can Get, Shana Youngdahl
As Many Nows as I Can Get, Shana Youngdahl
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As Many Nows as I Can Get

Author: Shana Youngdahl

Narrator: Annie Q

Unabridged: 10 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/20/2019


Synopsis

A Seventeen Best Book of the Year
A New York Public Library Top Ten Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year

For fans of All the Bright Places, Looking for Alaska, and I'll Give You the Sun comes "a daring, inventive story about love and loss and longing, reminding us that every choice can be a new chance. A dazzling, not-to-be-missed debut." —Kathleen Glasgow, author of Girl in Pieces

In one impulsive moment the summer before they leave for college, overachievers Scarlett and David plunge into an irresistible swirl of romance, particle physics, and questionable decisions. Moving between the present and the past, this is the story of a grounded girl who's pulled into a lightning-strike romance with an electric-charged boy, and the enormity of the aftermath.

Scarlett and David have known each other all their lives in small-town Colorado, where David is just another mountain in the background, until, one day, he is suddenly so much more than part of the scenery. David is magnetic, spontaneous, a gravitational force. And Scarlett, pragmatic, wry, eye on the future, welcomes the pull he has on her even as she resists it. Drawn to his wild energy, to the relief she feels in throwing off the weight of everyone’s expectations, Scarlett still can’t ignore the tug of her own hopes and ambitions, while David struggles between his feelings for her, which might be deeper than either of them will admit, and his own destructive impulses.

Heartbreaking, hopeful, and unflinchingly honest, this is a deeply moving account of a girl dealing with grief and guilt, and learning to reconcile who she thinks she needs to be with the person she’s been all along. It’s an aching, transporting reminder that between the past that shapes us and the future ahead, we have only the present to forgive ourselves and forge ahead.

"Deeply authentic . . . Marvelously complex . . . Readers shouldn't miss [it]" —Kirkus (starred review)
"Mystery . . . Heartbreak . . . Hope . . . Readers will not be able to put this one down." —SLJ
"Vivid" —Seventeen.com
"You'll speed read through [it]" —PopSugar
"John Green-like, intelligent and peppered with witty repartee" —Booklist
"A story you won't forget." —Huntley Fitzpatrick, author of My Life Next Door
"Heartbreaking, exquisitely crafted" —Estelle Laure, author of This Raging Light
"A complex, compassionately written love story" —PW
"A definite purchase and must read." —VOYA

About The Author

Shana Youngdahl is a poet and author who teaches writing at the University of Maine at Farmington and directs the Longfellow Young Writers' Workshop. One of her greatest joys is helping people embrace the stories they need to tell. Shana lives with her husband, two daughters, and two cats in Maine. As Many Nows as I Can Get is her debut novel.


Reviews

Goodreads review by emma on November 23, 2019

I looked at this cover and was 100% sure this book was for me. And it was. But also, at the same time, when I looked at this cover, I thought cuteness. Romance. Road trip. Friendships. Adorable college times. And that is so completely not what I got. This book chewed me up and spat me out!!! Which was......more

Goodreads review by Chelsea on September 12, 2019

Might be more of a 3.5 or 3.75. This was so different from what I expected it to be based on the blurb and I think I would have liked it more if I had known more going in. The synopsis leads you to believe that this is a romance, but it is really more of a story of loss and grief and new beginnings.......more

Goodreads review by Natalie on July 17, 2021

Hi, I’ll cut to the chase: this book was not what it was marketed to be. While the synopsis advertised the story as a summer romance, it was more of a story about mistakes, loss, regret, and grief. Was there romance? Sure. But was it a romance? Nah. Here’s a list of elements I liked and ones I didn’t......more

Goodreads review by aileenlucia on January 06, 2021

Thanks, Shana my eyes are swollen now. To be honest I just bought this because of this BEAUTIFUL Cover and because I found it at a used books online shop. From the first second, I started this book I fell in love with it, the writing style, the time jumps, and the realness. I thought this would be abo......more

Goodreads review by Karima on March 01, 2020

Trigger warning : (view spoiler)[ Substance abuse, the loss of a loved one, Grief , Teenage pregnancy, talk of abortion. (hide spoiler)] Unbearably sad, impossibly painful to read and a hard punch to the gut, As Many Nows as I Can Get is heartbreak with words and sadness in the space between them. At what point did I stop......more


Quotes

“A daring, inventive story about love and loss and longing, reminding us that every choice can be a new chance. A dazzling, not-to-be-missed debut." —Kathleen Glasgow, author of Girl in Pieces

"You'll speed read through [it]." —PopSugar

“Plot twists and surprising emotional connections . . . John Green–like, intelligent and peppered with witty repartee. Recommended.” —Booklist

“Real relationships, timeless loss, and a story you won’t forget.” —Huntley Fitzpatrick, author of My Life Next Door

"Vivid." —Seventeen.com

★ "Grief, addiction, first loves, and traveling an unplanned road are among the many themes explored in this debut novel. . . . Heartfelt yet often sardonic . . . deeply authentic [and] marvelously complex. [A] smart, poignant story [that] readers shouldn't miss." Kirkus (starred review)

"Mystery . . . Heartbreak . . . Hope . . . Readers will not be able to put this one down." SLJ

“A complex, compassionately written love story.” —Publishers Weekly

“Time is relative in this unique blend of romance and drama. . . . A definite purchase and must read.” —VOYA

“This heartbreaking, exquisitely crafted story captures the moments of intersection between choice and regret, the circular nature of grief, and everything that is nuanced about being a person.” —Estelle Laure, author of This Raging Light

"YA literature, some say, is about the moments when one state of being changes to another. In its structure and its story, As Many Nows as I Can Get is a perfect example of this sometimes bumpy, sometimes poignant transition." —BookPage


Awards

  • Rhode Island Teen Book Award