Twenty-Four Seconds From Now: A Regular Love Story

By Author / Illustrator

Jason Reynolds

Genre

Romance & Relationships

Age range(s)

14+

Publisher

Faber & Faber

ISBN

9780571390687

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

08-10-2024

Synopsis

A tender teen love story from the Carnegie-winning author of Look Both Ways. 'Jason Reynolds has done it again!' Judy Blume

Seventeen-year-old Neon is about to have sex with his girlfriend, Aria, for the first time. In 24 seconds to be precise. He's hiding in the bathroom, nervous, wanting to do everything right . . .

Rewind. To 24 minutes earlier where Neon rushes from work, taking the gift of fried chicken to Aria's house.

Rewind again. To 24 hours earlier when Neon's big sister has advice about sex which makes him think he probably shouldn't be listening to his friends.

To 24 days earlier. To 24 weeks earlier. To 24 months earlier, when he and Aria first met.

This tender, sweet, wholesome piece of fiction discusses how to approach first sex, how to respect women, how to be gentle, how to make it about love. It shows us a refreshingly different side to male sexuality.

Jason Reynolds won the Carnegie Medal for his book, Look Both Ways, in 2019 and was a New York Times #1 bestseller on 3rd November of the same year. 'Twenty-Four Seconds From Now will stay with readers for years to come. A gem of a book!' Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give.

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Reviews

Eileen

Twenty four seconds into Twenty-Four Seconds From Now, you know you're reading something very special, refreshingly different and something with real teen appeal. Twenty four seconds from now, 17-year -old Neon will take a huge step forward in his relationship with his girlfriend Aria, and Reynolds lets us into all of the random thoughts and worries bouncing around in Neon’'s brain as he hides out in the bathroom; the nerves, the fear, the excitement.

Rewinding through the development of their relationship through a series of snapshots; 24 minutes, hours, days, weeks and months, we see how their relationship has developed to this point, meet their friend group, get to know their family set-ups and understand the community they grew up in. Each new character has advice about sex, love and relationships to offer Neon, depending on their age and experience, from his big sister to his crazy best friend, plain-speaking mum and wise old Grammy.

This cleverly orchestrated countback structure, together with Neon’s refreshingly honest inner monologue and the authentic dialogue, set this book apart and allow readers to get to know the characters on a deeper level. It's a love story but so much more. With toxic Tate-style messaging rife on social media today, Reynolds portrays the healthy relationships and positive male role models that teenagers need more than ever. Reynolds' economic, understated writing style, his refusal to talk down to teens, his fundamental belief that young people deserve to love and be loved, mean that in turn, young people will pay attention to what he has to say.

At just over 200 pages, Twenty-Four Seconds From Now is a short read but a hugely important and powerful one which allows teenagers to see themselves reflected, but also think for themselves around the issues which matter. PSHE teachers will find it an engaging group read and a useful framework for opening up conversations around respect and consent in the classroom.* Twenty four seconds from now you need to be ordering a copy - or several - of Twenty Four Seconds From Now for your school library, it’s a gamechanger.

*The Reading Agency has a useful toolkit of teaching resources available to download here: https://readingagency.org.uk/resources/9707

256 pages / Reviewed by Eileen Armstrong, school librarian