If He Had Been with Me is a realistic fiction teen romance novel that follows Autumn, through her high school years. Her neighbor and childhood best friend, Finny, has finally grown apart and she doesn’t know how to feel about it. Instead, she falls in love with a boy on the Steps of Nowhere and makes the closest friends she’s ever had, besides Finny. Their families still spend holidays together, but it’s not the same. Autumn struggles with depressions and a divorce between her parents, but when she graduates, she thinks things are looking up. Instead, she finds out her boyfriend of four years was cheating on her and that pushes Autumn over the edge. Luckily, Finny breaks her out of the darkness and convinces her to start writing again. They fall in love, but it is short lived.
My favorite part of the book is Autumn and Finny finally falling in love at the end of the book. I was waiting for so long and I was relieved they both finally faced their feelings. I would recommend this book to 8th/9th graders that enjoy the friends to lover’s trope, just know it’s not a super light-hearted fun book. Beware there is thoughts of suicide and depression so continue with caution!