A Review of the Book "All About Us" by Tom Ellen

Title: All About Us

Author: Tom Ellen

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Year: 2020

355 pages

From the Back: If you could turn back the clock, would you choose a different life?

    Ben’s always loved the month of December, but this year, with his relationship with Daphne on the rocks, it’s missing its usual magic. And then his old friend Alice gets back in touch. Ben’s always thought of Alice as the one that got away, and he can’t help but wonder: what if he’d done things differently all those years ago?

    He never imagines he might get to find out... but when a stranger sells Ben a mysterious watch one freezing winter’s night, he’s astonished to wake up the next morning on 5th December 2005: the day he first kissed Daphne, leaving Alice behind.

    Now Ben must make the biggest decision of his life, all over again. But this time around, will he finally find the courage to follow his heart?

    All About Us is a captivating novel of heartbreak and loss, friendship and hope – and how the choices we make throughout our lives will shape our destiny.

Personal Thoughts: I've had this book on my shelf a while. It was given to me during my time working at Indigo Bookstores. It's not one I likely would have picked up for myself to read but it wasn't too bad. It was an easy read and I could get that the author was aiming for a lesson on not taking for granted what you have in front of you. However, it was too similar to The Midnight Library by Matt Haig but not nearly as well written. Based on a couple of other books on my to-be-read shelves, 2020 was a popular year for publishing books that had to do with going back in time to try and fix your life. I'd say it was because of the pandemic, but aren't novels usually written over months or years?

    Anyway, All About Us was a decent enough read for what it was. A couple of cute romantic storylines and some predictable outcomes, but for a romance book, it was what you would expect - a nice easy and fun read.