If He Had Been With Me Summary
It’s heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. The choices Autumn and Finn make can change their lives for the better or for the worse. Here’s If He Had Been With Me Summary.
How can people go from childhood sweethearts to not-even-friends? If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin is a young-adult contemporary romance novel. The book covers various themes like friendships, decisions made, the what-ifs of life, and love.
If He Had Been With Me Summary
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| Pages | 389 |
| Age Rating | 16+ |
| Themes | Friendship, Reconciliation, Angst, High School Drama, Opposites Attract, Loss, Love |
| Tropes | Friends To Lovers, Childhood Sweethearts, Slow Burn |
| Readability | Easy |
| Trigger Warnings | Angst, Death, Accidents, Heartbreak, Mental Illness, Family Issues, Suicide |
If He Had Been With Me Characters
Autumn
Finn
Jamie
Sylvie
Autumn Davis is the protagonist of the story. She is beautiful and nerdy. She was labeled as a ‘misfit’ early in life. She spent her childhood days with her best friend, Finn. Their mothers are best friends and neighbors.
Autumn and Finn were inseparable; they ate together, studied together, celebrated together, and played together. Now Autumn is in high school, and relationships are being redefined. She spends her time with her best friend, Sasha, and her group of friends. She used to talk to Finn every day, but now they just exchange greetings. What went wrong?
Phineas, or Finn Smith, is shy but popular. He is great at sports, cool, and handsome. He is always surrounded by loving women. Be it his loving mother or Autumn. He remembers playing with her, defending her from bullies, and accompanying her in everything.
He couldn’t fathom a life without Autumn, but now they are in high school, and Autumn is ignoring him. He doesn’t know what went wrong.
Autumn’s first boyfriend Jamie Allen is funny, handsome, popular, and loving. They were in a very long relationship. They planned their future together. They were sure that they’d get married. Jamie loved Autumn, but there was something missing between them that they couldn’t decipher.
Sylvie was Finn’s first girlfriend. She is cool, beautiful, and part of the cheerleading team. She approached Finn because he was just too shy. They were the cool couple who won the title of ‘Prom King and Queen’. Sylvie never understood Finn’s fierce protectiveness over Autumn. She knew Finn loved her, but not in that way.
If He Had Been With Me Summary
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Full Summary
The book follows the narrative of Autumn. She has known Finn her whole life. They spent their childhood days practically glued together. None of them could imagine a life without the other. But things changed when high school came. Autumn was always nerdy and outcast, so she found her ‘freaky’ group friends.
Finn also found a group of friends that were totally different from Autumn’s friends. They spent their remaining years separated by friends and expectations. Autumn didn’t want to be seen as Finn’s friend, as they didn’t fit together. She hung out with Sasha and her boyfriend, Jamie. Jamie was loving and caring, but he couldn’t fill the void Finn’s absence caused. Autumn and Finn interacted occasionally. Autumn believed they could never be together because they were so different.
Autumn’s mind was too occupied with expectations and peer pressure to see the reality of her own feelings.
She thinks she could put Finn in the background and move on with her life. Is there a way to fix their once-beautiful friendship? Can she ever remove Finn from her life?
A sweet and angsty story of two childhood sweethearts separated by teenage drama, societal expectations, peer pressure, and friends. A journey filled with nostalgia, angst, pining, and love.
Autumn and Finn were inseparable. Their mothers were best friends, and so were they. They knew each other inside and out. Autumn was nerdy and was often subjected to bullying, but Finn was there to defend her. Finn was shy, but popular. He was handsome, kind, and great at sports.
He was accepted everywhere. Autumn was pretty, funny, and intelligent but was labeled as ‘weirdo’. She always wore a tiara and spent her time with her ‘weirdo’ friends. Finn and Autumn were very different people with very different friends. As they grew older, they fell apart.
Autumn believed their friendship was awkward and ‘not-fitting’.
Although their friendship fell apart, Finn still protected Autumn from the background, defending her name, standing up for her, and accompanying her through difficult times.
It was clear as day that Finn loved Autumn, and deep down, she loved him too.
They spent their remaining high school years apart. Autumn is with her boyfriend Jamie and her friends, and Finn is with his girlfriend Sylvie and his friends. Until right after graduation, when Jamie cheats on Autumn with Sasha. Autumn loses her friends and her boyfriend at the same time.
She is in a state of despair and spends her days writing her novel and reading.
As always, Finn is there to her rescue. He drags her out of her misery, and they reconnect. After years of separation, they finally reconcile. They start spending time together, going on breakfasts, playing video games, and talking. Finn is still with Sylvie, who is traveling Europe, but spends most of his time with Autumn.
If He Had Been With Me Ending Explained
Major spoilers ahead!!
The unspoken things finally resolve between Autumn and Finn when Autumn allows Finn to read her novel. The characters and plot of the novel deeply resemble their story. The revelation leads to a confrontation, which ends in happy tears.
Autumn and Finn are finally together. They kiss, cuddle, and get intimate. The next day, Finn is off to see Sylvie to break up with her and be with the girl he has always wanted.
Finn goes to meet Sylvie but never returns. Finn dies on August 8 in a car crash.
Grief falls over Autumn. She tries to commit suicide but fails. Autumn plans on committing suicide again, but she doesn’t.
Because she discovers that she is pregnant with Finn’s child. Finn was kind and wouldn’t want her to kill anyone, so how could she? Maybe there is finally a reason for her to live.
If He Had Been With Me Quotes
If He Had Been With Me FAQs
Does If He Had Been With Me have a sad ending?
Ans. Yes, If He Had Been With Me has a sad ending because Finn dies in a car crash in the end.
Did Autumn get pregnant in If He Had Been With Me?
Ans. Yes, Autumn gets pregnant with Finn’s child in If Had Been With Me.
Did Jamie cheat on Autumn?
Ans. Yes, Right after graduation Jamie cheats on Autumn with Sasha.
Who does Autumn lose her virginity to in If He Had Been With Me?
Ans. Autumn loses her virginity to Finn in If He Had Been With Me.
Is there a spicy scene in If He Had Been With Me?
Ans. The book has sexual content but nothing too explicit.
Is there going to be a second book to If He Had Been With Me?
Ans. If He Had Been With Me has a second book titled as ‘If Only I Had Told Her’.
Who is Jack in If He Had Been with Me ?
Ans. Jack is Finn’s friend in If He Had Been With Me. Jack, Finn, and Autumn often hung out together after Autumn’s break-up.
What chapter do Finny and Autumn sleep together?
Ans. Finny and Autumn sleep together in chapter 81.
What happened to autumn at the end of If he had been with me?
Ans. After Finny’s death Autumn tries to commit suicide but fails. In the hospital it is discovered that she is pregnant.
Did Sylvie die in If He Had Been With Me?
Ans. No, Sylvie doesn’t die in If He Had Been With Me.
What is Finny’s last name in If he had been with me?
Ans. Finn’s last name is Smith in If He Had Been With Me.
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