This One’s for You
This One’s for You
Kate Sweeney
Viking, February 2023
Paperback, $16.45
ISBN 9780593622124
This One’s for You is a story about former best friends. When Caspian and Sydney were younger, they were inseparable, always stuck at the hip, and you wouldn’t be able to see one without the other. But just a few years later, they both seemed to have drifted apart. Now, each of them planning their own future, Caspian with his college engineering course and Sydney with her sound internship, it seems unlikely that their paths would cross once again.
After Cass finds out that his mum’s old band, the Darlas, is doing a reunion tour he’s determined to follow them, to try and connect with his mum, who died in a drunk driving accident. Impulsively, he invites Sydney to the first show. There’s one reunion, one roadtrip, one try, that’s all they have to fix whatever mess they got themselves into. The question is, will they succeed?
Although This One’s for You was a quick and easy read, I feel that a large chunk of the plot was missing, the story moved too fast at one point and too slow at another. I might just be fussy with pacing, for some this may be the perfect speed. Some characters also seemed to be underdeveloped, a bit two dimensional perhaps, although there was definitely diversity within the characters which is always good to see. Caspian and Sydney also seem to have a lot of history that we never get to learn about. Despite everything said above I quite enjoyed the book, it wasn’t too hard to read nor too long. I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a short story about rekindling friendships.
Martyna Bereźnicka, 15