BOOK REPORT for It Wasn’t Always Like This by Joy Preble
Cover Story: Trippy
BFF Charm: Maybe
Swoonworthy Scale: 4
Talky Talk: Wibbly Wobbly
Bonus Factors: Fountain of Youth, Coach Taylor Award
Relationship Status: Going Our Separate Ways
Cover Story: Trippy
I’m not quite sure where to focus when looking at this cover. The clock? The gears? The girl with the spacey look on her face? It’s very pretty, but part of me worries that if I stare at it for too long I’m going to get sucked into another dimension.
The Deal:
Soon after Emma O’Neill turned 17—in 1916—she drank a tea that was supposed to keep her from getting polio. In a way, the tea worked; she didn’t contract the disease. But she also never contracted any other disease, and a hundred years later, she still looks exactly like she did on that fateful date in 1916.
Emma doesn’t hate the fact that she’s immortal, but it’s also not as exciting or enjoyable as one might think. Particularly because members of the shady Church of Light have been searching for her, who they view as an “abomination,” for a century, and there’s a string of deaths of young women who look a lot like Emma following her across the country. There’s also the fact that Emma’s still looking for her true love, Charlie (who also drank the tea), with whom she parted ways 100 years ago.
BFF Charm: Maybe
Although Emma seems like a interesting person—and she’d definitely have a lot of unique stories to share thanks to living for a century—I just don’t feel like I learned enough about her in reading It Wasn’t Always Like This to know for sure if we’d make good friends.
Swoonworthy Scale: 4
Emma and Charlie were best friends from age 10, and their friendship grew into love by the time they turned 17. And even though they’ve been separated for a century, they both still have some very strong feelings toward each other. That said, I never really felt those feelings. I was aware that I should understand that the two really cared for each other, but I wanted to get swept away, rather than feeling clinical about the situation. (I mean, if they’re still in love after a hundred years, most of which was spent apart, I would expect some serious fireworks.)
In theory, the idea is majorly swoonworthy, but it lacked in execution. The relationship also takes a backseat to the plot with the Church of Light.
Talky Talk: Wibbly, Wobbly
The chapters of It Wasn’t Always Like This bounce between the present and various times in the past, which fleshes out the world and Emma’s backstory in a unique, if non-linear, manner. There’s also the occasional chapter from the POV of Charlie, or a secondary character, to fill in the blanks caused by them not being anywhere near Emma. Joy Preble did a good job of mixing these time periods and POVs without it ever getting confusing.
The plot as a whole, however, fell a little flat. There’s a lot going on in the novel, from the issues of immortality to the investigation of the Church of Light and the murders that follow Emma to Emma’s search for Charlie; one would assume all of these plot points would go hand-in-hand with a lot of high-stakes tension, but that was rarely the case. Even when a fire is set in Emma’s apartment building, she just sort of meandered out of harm’s way.
I also never felt a deep connection with any of the characters. And at times I questioned, “is this really all you’ve done with your life in a hundred years?”
Bonus Factor: Fountain of Youth
The reason Emma and Charlie have lived for 100 years is thanks to the tea that they drank at age 17, a tea that, it turns out, was brewed with water from and flowers that surrounded the fabled Fountain of Youth. In general, the myth is a fascinating one, and Preble does well in adapting it to fit this story.
Bonus Factor: Coach Taylor Award
For much of her extended life, Emma’s been a loner. She’s needed to be that way to keep herself hidden from the Church of Light’s minions. But along the way, she made friends with Detective Pete Mondragon, the first person who she told her whole story to. Pete becomes both a mentor in Emma’s career as a private investigator and a father figure, and shows up when Emma needs him the most, even when she doesn’t expressly say she wants him there.
Casting Call:
Georgie Henley as Emma
Jeremy Irvine as Charlie
Relationship Status: Going Our Separate Ways
Although I wanted to love your story, Book, we just didn’t click. You’re totally hung up on that person from your past, and although I can’t really blame you, it put a damper on our time together. We had a nice time, but I think we’re better off looking for a true, meaningful relationship elsewhere.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Soho Teen, but got neither a private dance party with Tom Hiddleston nor money in exchange for this review. It Wasn’t Always Like This is available now.