Then Everything Happens at Once

Volume XXIX / Issue 32 - April 21 / 2023

Then Everything Happens at Once

Author: 
M-E Girard
New York, NY: HarperTeen (Distributed in Canada by HarperCollins Canada), 2023
432 pp., hardcover, $23.99
ISBN: 
9780063206687
Grades: 
Grades 10-12
Ages: 
Ages 15-17
Review by: 
Review by Sarah Wethered (Reviewed from an Advanced Reading Copy)
4
Excerpt: 

Sometimes I can imagine exactly what it’s like to be other girls – girls with sugary little souls tucked into sparkling bodies. I close my eyes, and I’m there, lit up from all angles. It makes every movement, from tucking a leg under me to raising an eyebrow, feel like some graceful motion worthy of the entire universe’s attention. When I’ve got a proper hold on that feeling – that feeling of being 100 percent grounded in my body, in a moment – I’m so completely on board with the idea that my whole self is a work of art, and it seems inevitable that someone would be at my feet in complete awe and devotion. Maybe even multiple someones – I mean, why not, right?

Sixteen-year-old Baylee has a lot going on in her life. She has a medically fragile sister, Rebecca, at home, she is attending grade 11 at school, and she has a vibrant social life. She also has a huge crush on her best friend, Freddie, and an inner voice that tells her that, because she is overweight, she doesn’t deserve a chance for love. When she comments on an Instagram post, she begins DMing with Alex, whom she instantly clicks with. But just as she begins to come to grips with the feelings she has with the female, Alex, Freddie expresses interest in her – and all of this drama is set against the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that took place.

Readers of Then Everything Happens at Once will want to find out whom Baylee ultimately ends up with at the end of the book and whether anyone that she knows catches COVID-19 because of her rash decisions when it comes to her love life. Readers will also want to find out whether Baylee seeks help for her poor self-image problems.

Then Everything Happens at Once will appeal to readers who enjoy realistic fiction with romance mixed in. LGBTQ+ readers and those who have weight issues and the resulting self-image issues may be able to see themselves in the book. The dialogue is very realistic, and the plot moves quickly. Lastly, the last half of the book reminds readers of the frightening beginning of the pandemic and how our lives changed overnight.

Recommended
Reviewer: 

Sarah Wethered has been a teacher-librarian at New Westminster Secondary School for 23 years. She currently lives in New Westminster, British Columbia.