‘If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come’ Review

What do you do when you learn that the world is ending in nine days?

If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come

By Jen St. Jude

4/5

On the morning that Avery Byrne is about to commit suicide, the world receives a horrifying piece of news: in nine days, a massive asteroid will hit Earth. Avery travels home to her family and best friend (who she is in love with) to spend their last days together.

As you can tell, this is quite a sad book. We watch characters deal with the likelihood of their imminent destruction in different ways, panicking, building bunkers, trying to make the most of the time they have left…

I liked the premise of the asteroid, an peaceful way for humankind to be eliminated compared to other options such as pandemics, which I have seen much more often in books.

Avery, the protagonist, is dealing with severe depression. Upon moving to Eaton university, she has failed a class, is struggling in soccer (which won her a scholarship), and can see her best friend Cass thriving in New York. She fully loses the will to live, but decides to get through the last days after hearing about the asteroid. I found Avery a brilliant protagonist, and enjoyed the way that we learned about her life. I’m sure many people can relate to the homophobic environment of Avery’s religious community, and her journey to accepting her sexuality. I liked the addition of Devin, Avery’s aunt who committed suicide the day she was born, who her parents never talked about. It showed why Avery’s parents might have noticed her depression but were too terrified to act, scared of another loved one being gone.

This brings me onto the topic of the pacing and use of flashbacks. We see glimpses of Avery’s past, at a Catholic camp, at prom realising she loves Cass, at university as she starts to give up, dotted between the present-day countdown until impact. I found the pacing to be consistent and well-done, while the flashbacks built up Avery as a protagonist.

Cass, Avery’s best-friend-turned-girlfriend, was an energetic, lovable character. I was delighted by some of her choices near the end of the book, which I wont spoil. I like seeing characters whose lives don’t revolve around the protagonist and their decisions. The romance between Avery and Cass was beautiful, and I was glad that the got some time together.

Side characters included Avery’s parents, brother, sister-in-law, nephew, former professor, roommate Aisha, etc. It was interesting to see how various characters reacted to the news of the asteroid. Avery’s parents chose to build a bunker, Cass’s parents (stuck on holiday in Fiji) tried to have as much fun as possible, the professor just sat alone, Aisha contacted family. We also see people abandon their homes, try to reach family, steal, and panic over the transport stopping. It makes one wonder what they’d do in this situation, cherish the time remaining or grieve what time will be lost. I think that I would probably try to learn as much as possible about the world, and read my favourite books for the last time.

There are only so many ways that a book like this can end, and I found the ending to this one absolutely gorgeous. I highly recommend this book, just be aware that it deals with sensitive topics such as suicide. It’s a heavy plot covered in lovable characters, and while it may make you sob, it will also make you smile.

Queer rep:

Lesbian protagonist

Lesbian love interest

Bi side character

Asexual side character

TWs: suicidal thoughts, suicide, homophobia, religious bigotry, theft, gun violence, racism, sexual content, sexual harassment, mental illness, grief