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Since You've Been Gone
496 pages
A sun-drenched, playlist-fueled summer of stepping out of your comfort zone and finding out who you are when nobody else is looking.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like rolling down the windows on the first truly warm day of summer, armed with a perfect playlist and nowhere to be. It is a breezy, sun-drenched exploration of what happens when the person who usually dictates your world suddenly vanishes, leaving you to figure out your own boundaries. The narrative moves at a brisk, engaging clip, propelled by a bucket list of dares that pushes the protagonist out of her shell. The tone is deeply earnest and warm, balancing the bittersweet ache of a missing best friend with the giddy, stomach-fluttering thrill of an unexpected slow-burn romance. It will absolutely delight anyone who loves stories about quiet transformations, late-night diner runs, and the messy, beautiful reality of growing into yourself.
- Mood
- sun-drenched
- bittersweet
- adventurous
- breezy
- Tone
- earnest
- warm
- hopeful
- nostalgic
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- stepping out of a shadow · complex female friendship · summer of transformation · finding your own voice · unexpected first love
- The writing
- The writing is accessible, conversational, and emotionally transparent, playfully interspersed with playlists and list items.
- The arc
- The protagonist moves from anxious dependence and confusion over a sudden loss to confident self-reliance and open-hearted joy.
- Who it's for
- Perfect for readers who crave character-driven summer contemporaries about bucket lists, friendship breakups, and slow-burn romances.
Content notes
- underage drinking
- parental absence
About the book
Quiet Emily's sociable and daring best friend, Sloane, has disappeared leaving nothing but a random list of bizarre tasks for her to complete, but with unexpected help from popular classmate Frank Porter, Emily gives them a try.
Description from Open Library.
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