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Aaron Stein is only 18 but feels like a dinosaur trying to move on after an asteroid hit. His parents had declared bankruptcy, putting the official ownership of their (failing) family bookstore in his hands; his older brother died of a drug overdose; his mother left, and his father just hasn’t been himself, needing support and guidance from his remaining son. Aaron’s plans for college and leaving their small town were shut down thanks to funds going to try to help his brother. Now he and his dad sit in the dilapidated bookstore day after day seeing no customers and going deeper into debt.
So one night, Aaron decides to sell the bookstore and just get out of town and start afresh somehow. It seems like a solid financial plan. But then Chad enters his life. Chad, who once taunted him back in high school but now is an optimistic “best life” dude making the most of life in a wheelchair after a paralyzing accident. Chad insists on taking Aaron to see a cool band. And on installing a ramp going into the bookstore. Putting an old piece of wood in as a ramp attracts the attention of a bunch of out-of-work lumberjacks, who insist on doing the job right with good materials. Then they get a gander at all the other things that need updating in the bookstore, and Aaron just gets overruled in any and all objections he puts up against their work.
Somehow, the bookstore he will no longer own is getting a makeover, and Aaron is spending time with Chad, perhaps even becoming his friend. And getting to know Hannah, the lead singer of the cool band Chad insisted he listen to. He feels swept up in everything, not sure what to do. And when he finally starts feeling differently, he may not have a say yet again in what happens.
We Are Inevitable is just partially a romance; it’s mostly the story of a young man who has been beaten down in life and formed some damaging views that are keeping him from truly living, though he doesn’t realize how much he’s contributed to his own plight. It’s a humorous and heartwarming story of a community coming together.
This book is also a story about addiction, how devastating it can be, but how it’s possible to come back from it. It could easily go wrong in another writer’s hands, but in Gayle Forman’s, it is perfectly balanced and hits the right notes. I appreciated as well her author’s note at the end about the opioid crisis “sweeping the country” — that it’s “not the fault of weak-willed addicts, lack of willpower, etc. If you feel the need to assign blame for the crisis, one place to look is the pharmaceutical industry itself, notably companies such as Purdue Pharma.” She shares resources for any who may have a substance abuse problem or for their family members or friends. Way to hit it out of the park, Gayle.
(Another Gayle Forman book that’s a standalone: I Was Here.)
Rated: High. Profanity includes 14 uses of strong language, about 50 instances of moderate profanity, 20 uses of mild language, and 4 instances of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content includes an instance of self-pleasuring, a sex scene with little detail, and some occasional vulgar references. Violence includes a brief fight with a few people throwing punches at each other. There is talk about drug use and a person’s death from an overdose.
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