By: Leah Morrison  

     As the journey of Autumn and Finny continues, their lives are forever changed. The sequel to If Only I had Told Him brings a whole new wave of emotions and happiness that will bring readers to tears. Not only is it a whirlwind of emotions, but it is also a fantastic story. Although Finny is dead and gone forever some part of him still lives on forever inside Autumn. Autumn and Finny had never imagined how their lives could change once they were able to be together until it was too late. She wanted him and he wanted her, but it wasn’t until they were both hurt, they realized that what they needed was each other. Not only does the book have the point of view of Finny, but it also has Jack, his best friend, and Autumn, again at the end.  

      The author, Laura Nowlin, started her career off with a book called, If He Had Been with Me, which became very popular in 2013 and generally jump started her career in writing. Nowlin not only had one popular novel, but more than ten years later she released If Only I had Told Her. It became one of the most popular books on the internet claiming her to be a #BookTok nominated author in 2023-2024. Although some describe her books as “too sad” or “too overwhelming,” I found the book to be very touching. She is making a point for the cause and letting the reader understand what she was thinking and going through while writing the novel.  

     This book not only became very successful in a short amount of time, but it was also one of the chart-topping books online. A review from Goodreads said, “I’m still in so much awe from If He Had Told Me, I don’t know what I am going to do about this amazing book!” Many readers also said things like, “This was a great sequel to the first book. We already knew the side of the story from Autumn’s point of view, but it was just so much more emotion[al] coming from Finn’s perspective.” As the novel not only stems from a young friendship, but it also goes in depth about how Jack played a big part in Finn’s life.  

     The Squire interviewed Eisenhower Junior, Emily Grosch, who has read the first novel in the series, to find out her thoughts about the author writing a second book.  

The Squire: Having read If He Had Been with Me, what would you expect in a sequel of the book? 

Grosch: For the sequel, I kind of expect it to be the same story, just maybe in Finn’s point of view. 

TS: How and/or why would you change how Finn died, or why would you leave it the same? 

Grosch: I would have most definitely changed it, because I loved Finn! I did not want him to die. 

TS: While reading the novel, how would you describe the emotion that you felt? 

Grosch: I really enjoyed it as a whole and I was happy reading it, until Finn died – then I was extremely sad. 

TS: What do you think the biggest part of understanding the novel would be, and why is it the biggest part? 

Grosch: I believe that the biggest part of the novel would probably be that Finny had loved her his whole life, but Autumn truly believed he didn’t like her and all of it was miscommunication from the start, and I think the lesson would be if they just communicated, they would’ve been together, and Finn would still be alive.  

TS: Would you read more books from this author if she happens to write anymore? 

Grosch: I would most definitely read the sequel, but probably not any other books because she broke my heart with that ending. In my opinion, it was the worst way to end it. 

      The Squire would like to thank Grosch for answering all our questions about this book series. If you are interested in Nowlin’s new novel, you can order it online or buy it from any local bookstore. If you would like to read our review of the first book in the series, go check out our mid-winter issue of The Squire.