“A love like ours is worth fighting for… I’d be crazy to walk away from you and me without at least trying.”

– Emily Carter, When We Were Young

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Book Review

When We Were Young is not just another modern love story but a heart-stopping journey featuring two young lovers in a scramble to meet the world’s expectations, all the while attempting to hold onto what is good, honourable, and pure in their lives. It is both heartbreakingly beautiful and profound.

Author Karen Kingsbury begs us to stop. To pause. To take a breath. To remember back to the days when we were young. She implores us to embrace the real, everyday moments of life and consider how our involvement with social media impacts ourselves, our families, and our loved ones.

“This generation is asking questions. They get hundreds of likes in a week, but no one likes them in real life. They love dozens of posts every day, but they don’t love themselves. They put on a picture-perfect face for social media, but they’re terrified of the truth: None of them has a clue about their futures. Why they’re here. The purpose of life.” (p117)

While a significant theme in the book is the effect of social media on relationships, Karen gracefully addresses other issues such a marriage breakdown, troubled youth, and disability. Following the lives of accidental internet-famous couple Noah and Emily, both past and present-day, we are also thrown into their future in a whirlwind of drama and wretchedness. As we witness the unfortunate consequences of their poor choices come to pass, we hold onto their only hope – that our miracle-working God will somehow intervene in their lives.

Read this book friend, and slow your busy mind. Reflect on your own social media habits and ponder how they may very well be affecting yourself or your family. While you do this – fall in love with the mesmerising characters and cliffhanging storyline, enjoying the thrill of living fully present as you turn each page, eager for more.