TWENTY-FOUR SECONDS FROM NOW was really good. I loved how we went backward and started at the end first and then we found out what led up to it. It was written in a way that didn’t make it confusing. I liked all the little details that we learn about his girlfriend like how she can’t sing or how she absolutely loves fried chicken. It’s a very cute coming-of-age type story. I enjoyed all the references to music but how it was subtle and didn’t make it seem like the main theme of the book. I also love the way the words are spoken and how it isn’t necessarily the proper English we are used to and that gives it more depth from the author in my opinion. I love the way that Neon falls in love with Aria and the way they met was hilarious. Jason Reynolds captured the young love so perfectly and uniquely in this book and I loved it! It was very balanced and it kept your attention very well.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds tackles it—you know...it—from the guy’s perspective in this unfiltered and undeniably sweet stream of consciousness story of a teen boy about to experience a huge first.
Twenty-four months ago: Neon gets chased by a dog all around the parking lot of a church. Not his finest moment. And definitely one he would have loved to forget if it weren’t for the dog’s owner: Aria. Dressed in sweats, a t-shirt, hair in a ponytail. Aria. Way more than fine.
Twenty-four weeks ago: Neon’s dad insists on talking to him about tenderness and intimacy. Neon and Aria are definitely in love, and while they haven’t taken that next big step...yet, they’ve starting talking about...that.
Twenty-four days ago: Neon’s mom finds her—gulp—bra in his room. Hey! No judging! Those hook thingies are complicated! So he’d figured he’d better practice, what with the big day only a month away.
Twenty-four minutes ago: Neon leaves his shift at work at his dad’s bingo hall, making sure to bring some chicken tenders for Aria. They’re not candlelight and they definitely aren’t caviar, but they are her favorite.
And right this second? Neon is locked in Aria’s bathroom, completely freaking out because twenty-four seconds from now he and Aria are about to...about to... Well, they won’t do anything if he can’t get out of his own head (all the advice, insecurities, and what ifs) and out of this bathroom!