Reviews

Next Year, for Sure by Zoey Leigh Peterson

kay1985's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

silasburke's review against another edition

4.0

Very fun! Makes sense it was written by a trans person despite being only about cis + hetero couples. Didn’t feel super hetero!
Felt like a thorough and empathetic exploration of how a genuine exploration of polyamory for an established couple could work. Didn’t feel like a condemnation of polyamory for the established couple to ultimately break up. Many wholesome moments! People just trying their best! Honestly really liked it.

A friend recommended this to me while saying “the synopsis won’t explain why it’s just good, but it’s just really surprisingly good and you gotta trust me on that” and they were right ☺️

isabellegfr's review against another edition

3.0

I really don’t know how to feel about this book, I never read stuff like this. I don’t know that I enjoyed reading it but I’m also glad I read it? It’s very melancholy vibes and I think Chris is selfish, but I’m glad Kathryn ended up happy? It felt like a very personal book to read.

lasa's review against another edition

3.0

is this the first book i’ve read about polyamory? i think that’s what intrigued me to pick it up.

i liked the pacing and the authors writing style but for the life of me i could not connect with the characters (like, at all). i think this is because of the writing style. we only understood the surface motivations of the characters. i think their interactions were quite cute and made them pretty lovable (yet flawed).

the book fizzled out and i was left wondering — “what was the *point*?” i like my books to have a point.

pretty short read and may leave you slightly longing for “a blizzard weekend”

howard's review

4.0

I ate this up

Coming back to this review a few weeks later. I keep thinking about how the ending felt a lot weaker than the bulk of the novel. The chapters went back and forth between Chris' and Kathryn's perspectives, and in the final chapter after they break up we only hear from Chris. I found Kathryn's perspective a lot more compelling and built up throughout the book, and was disappointed that we never got closure from her. I didn't care about Chris as much as a character so only getting his POV after such a big change for both of them was a pretty big letdown. 

Overall though this was light and fluffy and like I mentioned originally I completely devoured it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts

neuu__'s review against another edition

challenging informative sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

hilarysmith's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

h_reads_a_lot's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

sanmeow's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

next year for sure is a book that follows the experiences of a couple, kathryn and chris, after they decide to open up their relationship and become polyamorous. 
i decided to read this because personally, i could never have an open or polyamorous relationship. so i was curious to see how one might work with this couple, and i thought it would be interesting. i was sadly disappointed. 
we don't even get to know kathryn and chris properly before they open up the relationship and bring emily in. it was a bunch of telling and not showing, so them being a strong couple just wasn't convincing. i pitied kathryn at first for what started happening, but then she just became annoying because there was no development on her part. all the characters were badly written, chris and emily were even worse than kathryn. they're all extremely shallow and one dimensional. because of the author's choices we never get to know them. that's why i didn't connect with any of them emotionally. the writing style was either alright / mediocre depending on the passage, but most of the time it read like a weak attempt at sally rooney's style.

ohlittleowl's review against another edition

3.0

This was a strange read. I spent a lot of it feeling heartbroken, and then kinda happy at Kathryn's arc, but mostly unsatisfied. I kept going, even though I reached a point I thought I would stop. I was invested enough to keep on, even though I felt like the characters were really underdeveloped, and especially in regards to anything outside of their being in relationships. But I mean, that's what the book is about, so.

Spoiler

But like Moss? What do we know about him except he's a weirdo and quiet and bearded? For all of the things that we learn about Emily, I felt like he was the most "body here to serve a purpose and nothing more" type of character. For Kathryn to be so developed, it was tough to suddenly pair her with such an enigma.

There were these brief, deeply relatable and really resonant moments though, and I think that's what propelled me through. Even though I was aware of it at times, I liked the present tense and dropping of quotation-dialogue -- it wouldn't work for every book, but I thought it did here. It fit the tone.

Bonus: a book that mentions Annie Dillard multiple times... that at least counts for half a star (that I can't give on goodreads, alas).