Past Present Future
by: Rachel Lynn Solomon
June 4, 2024, Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
384
Review by: E. Broderick
There have been lots of milestones on my BookishlyJewish journey – first message from an author, a request from a librarian, follower counts etc. – but I felt like I truly made it when I asked for an arc of Rachel Lynn Solomon’s m/f, YA romance Past Present Future and the publisher actually said yes. The first book in the duo, Today Tonight Tomorrow, opened up the genre of romance for me as both a reader and a writer. I am incredibly indebted, because it turned out I was at a place in my life where I desperately needed the safe space romance provides by promising a happily ever after, or a happily for now. However, in Past Present Future we get to find out what happens after the book ends and “real” life as a couple begins- albeit still with that promise. As the main character Rowan pints out – if a romance author breaks your heart, they are required to repair it as well.
Readers familiar with Rowan and Neil will remember that their epic love story culminated on a time of change – high school graduation. Past Present Future chance to explore the bittersweet question I was asking myself when that story ended. Can they survive college? Are they too young? Will anything every be the same again?
Rowan and Neil have spent a sweet summer making up for lost time, but as Past Present Future opens they are headed off to their individual campuses in Boston and New York respectively. One of my favorite visual things about the text is the use of different skylines as chapter headers delineating what city the POV character is in. Freshman year is a transition under any circumstances, but also a time when many people discover health issues or break out from the roles high school has straight jacketed them into. Rowan finds it difficult to write for the first time in her life, despite the most supportive creative writing professor in the history of the universe. Meanwhile Neil is finding it easier than expected to make friends but none in the subject he’s supposed to be majoring in. Not to mention his Dad’s past coming back to haunt him. Anyone who went to college, even if they commuted from home, will find something relatable here.
Since these two are already together there isn’t the usual push and pull of romantic tension while we wait for the characters to wake up and realize they are meant to be together. Instead, we see them struggle though long distance and even explore what modern technology means for dating (sexting anyone?). It’s spicier than the last book and includes both in person and long distance sex.
Much like Rowan and Neil, Past Present Future, feels more mature, more geared for the long haul. Because in real life people have to figure out what to do after they decide they’d like to be together. They have to work to make that spark last and not every relationship can survive the challenges.
As a writer it reminded a little of how to go from finishing a first – elation! – to actually editing -suckage – based on feedback that can be painful at times but still necessary. Each new accomplishment brings a new set of hurdles to conquer. Past Present Future is still a romance, so there’s going to be some third act tension, but the reader can rest assured it will all turn out okay. I wish I could say the same about every story I write, but honestly? Seeing Today Tonight Tomorrow get a sequel (that was not part of the original contract) due to positive reader response is as close to catching hope in a bottle as one can get.
BookishlyJewish received an arc of this book after requesting one from the publisher.