Title: Twenty-Four Seconds from Now… A Love Story
Author: Jason Reynolds
Narrator: Guy Lockard
Running Time: 4 Hours and 13 Minutes
Type: Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date: 10-08-24
Language: English
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Plot Summary: The story starts with Neon, a 17-year-old high school student, standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom adjacent to his girlfriend Aria’s bedroom. Neon is getting ready for his “first time,” and he is extremely nervous. From this point in the story, we rewind to 24 minutes before this moment in front of the mirror, and then we rewind to 24 days before THAT moment, and then we rewind to 24 weeks from THAT moment, and finally we rewind to 24 months before THAT moment. Finally, the book ends back at the present time. Over the course of these flashbacks, we get to learn more about Neon, and his family (his sister, grandmother, mother, and father) as well as how he met Aria, how their relationship has evolved, Neon’s relationship with his friends. It is the story of how we got to the moment Neon is standing in front of the mirror, just told in reverse.
Quality of the Media: This is the first audiobook I have ever listened to, so I do not have anything to compare it to. I will say, as someone who has always read physical books, the first chapter was tough, and I kept getting distracted. But soon enough I was enthralled by Guy Lockard’s narration (Dr. Dylan Scott on NBC’s Chicago Med) and Reynold’s writing. I listened to this book through Audible.com on my laptop and the quality of the recording was outstanding.
Opinion: This was a unique way to write a story! I cannot say I have read a story like this before, written in reverse – at least not that I can remember! Going into the audiobook I was curious if this was just going to be a story about how Neon ended up “hooking up” with his girlfriend, but like it says in the title, it is an actual “love story.” It was sweet to hear how Neon and Aria’s relationship had evolved over the periods of time, and how well they treat each other. The conversations that Neon had with his parents, especially his father (who runs a BINGO hall where Neon works) were especially funny and heartwarming. And the lessons Neon learned from his grandmother, who would go to visit his grandfather’s grave on a daily basis, were lessons we could all learn from. Turns out, Neon is a lot like his grandfather, and that is a good thing.
Library Program: For this library program I would want to appeal to all the future writers out there, or those who at least want to give it a go! I think it would be a fun exercise for the teens to spend 20-30 minutes writing their own stories “in reverse”, just as this story was written. Then we could all share our stories with the group. That would be a fun, creative activity.
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