Author: Erin Hahn
Publication Date: 7 September 2021
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Page Count: 320
Reading Method: Physical Arc [Thank you to the publisher!]
Dates Read: September 1 – 3
Synopsis:
Eighteen-year-old Meg Hennessey just found out her entire childhood was a lie. So instead of taking a gap year before college to find herself, she ends up traveling north to meet what’s left of the family she never knew existed – all while questioning the ideals she grew up with.
While there, she meets Micah Allen, a former pastor’s kid whose dad ended up in prison, leaving Micah with his own complicated relationship with faith. The clock is ticking on his probation hearing and Micah, now 19, feels the pressure to forgive – even when he can’t possibly forget.
As Meg and Micah grow closer, they are confronted with the heavy flutterings of first love and all the complications it brings. Together, they must navigate the sometimes-painful process of cutting ties with childhood beliefs as they build toward something truer and straight from the heart.
Review:
I loved Hahn’s debut last year and was thrilled when Never Saw You Coming showed up in my mailbox! It takes place in the same universe as Hahn’s previous book More Than Maybe and we do see some of the same characters in Never Saw You Coming.
In Never Saw You Coming, Meg is off on a gap year and takes an unexpected detour when she finds out that most of what she believed as a child isn’t true. While she’s in Michigan she meets Micah, another teen struggling to deal with the aftermath of a traumatic childhood.
Meg and Micah are too dang cute. Meg is so funny and accepting. I love how everyone she draws into her bubble immediately feels her love. She makes everyone feel important. But she struggles with her faith, with her past, and with the church (relatable) and I saw a lot of myself reflected in Meg when I was about her age. Micah is working through his own struggles and his character growth is just as important.
This is such a difficult story for me to rate and review because I really liked it, but I struggled with it. So much of Meg and Micah’s experiences resonated with me and some of my own experiences, especially pertaining to the church and how it can effect young kids and teens. While I’m glad that Hahn explores the issues of the church (and in a way that is still fairly light and relatable), it was a little tough to read. That’s not to say the book is super heavy. It just hit a little too close to home. I think this would have been an excellent read for young Haley and would have maybe helped me process my feelings a bit better and feel seen.
Overall I enjoyed Never Saw You Coming. I think it can be a really important book for a lot of people and I look forward to seeing what comes next from Hahn. I also think it’s important to read the author note at the end of the story.
