When We Were Young
A Novel
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4.5 • 128 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury comes a classic story about second chances, featuring the beloved Baxter family and a young father who finds his whole world turned upside down on the eve of his divorce.
What if you could see into the future and know what will happen tomorrow, if you really walk out that door today. Pay attention. Life is not a dress rehearsal.
From their first meeting, to their stunning engagement and lavish wedding, to their happily-ever-after, Noah and Emily Carter seemed meant to be. They have a special kind of love—and they want the world to know. More than a million adoring fans have followed their lives on Instagram since the day Noah publicly proposed to Emily. But behind the carefully staged photos and encouraging posts, their life is anything but a fairytale, and Noah’s obsession with social media has ruined everything.
Distraught, Emily reaches out to her friend Kari Baxter Taylor and tells her the truth: Noah and Emily have decided to call it quits. He is leaving in the morning.
But when Noah wakes the next day, everything is different. Emily is gone and the kids are years older. Like Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, bizarre and strange events continue throughout the night so that Noah is certain he’s twenty years older, and he is desperate for a second chance.
Now it would take a miracle to return to yesterday.
When We Were Young is a rare and beautiful love story that takes place in a single day. It’s about knowing what tomorrow will bring if you really walk out that door today—and the gift of being able to choose differently.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kingsbury (Redemption) investigates the dangers of striving for an Instagram-perfect life in this enjoyable novel centered on newlyweds Noah and Emily Carter. At 18, Emily chooses to become the sole caregiver for her sister, Clara, who has cerebral palsy. Her high school boyfriend, Noah Carter, is left isolated when his family moves to England after he graduates from high school, leaving him to attend college on a football scholarship with just Emily as support. After two concussions leave Noah with serious health issues, Emily and Clara nurse him back to health. Emily and Noah's heavily documented relationship is seemingly perfect enough that it draws a large following on Instagram and substantial income from marketing deals. But the perfection crumbles when erratic Noah begins to believe their outward image is more important than reality. Kingsbury attempts to insert some suspense through a disconnected subplot involving recurring character Kari Baxter Taylor, but the side story will only interest those who have read previous books. This is a beat-the-odds story for fans of inspirational romance, written in Kingsbury's familiar style of incorporating mini-sermons and Bible verses, cameos by members of the Baxter Family, and real-world Christian cultural references. While part of the Baxter collection, this standalone will appeal to any readers looking for faith-filled stories concerned with the deleterious effects of social media.
Customer Reviews
Hard
This was the hardest books of Karen’s books that I have read! In this book you meet Noah and Emily, Emily’s sister Clara, who has cerebral palsy, and their 2 kids.
The reason this was so hard is because of the talk of divorce, and the effects it can have on little kids. It brought back memories for me, so it was hard to face the things I went through in my childhood.
The whole thing makes more sense as you read this, especially thru God’s working through you, and showing you what you need to figure out in your life to make better decisions.
Kari and her husband Ryan help married couples with marriages through Bible studies and prayer, Noah and Emily included. Through prayer everything can, and will change if you believe and want it to!
Recommend reading!