“I’ll Stop the World” by Lauren Thoman is not your typical thriller. When we meet the main character, Justin Warren, he’s not a happy person. He lives in a decrepit house, bought by a distant relative named Stan, for Justin and his seriously troubled mother, Lissa. They live in the town of Stone Lake, and they are known for the fact that Justin’s grandparents were killed in a fire at the high school that was rebuilt and named after them, Warren High School. The fire happened a week after the high school bonfire, a yearly event.
We meet Justin and his friend Alyssa, and we also meet Rose and her friends. Each chapter is clearly labeled with the name of the person from whose point of view that chapter is written. All are written in third person except Justin’s, which is first person. That enables us to feel closest to Justin and to really consider the events in the story through his eyes. It’s also important because Justin is the catalyst for all that happens in this clever and touching story.
The beginning timeline is masterfully done. We see the day of the week, and we read what is happening to several people, both in the present and in 1985, thirty-eight years in the past. Day by day, we see the events prior to the night of the bonfire unfolding in both timelines. The night of the bonfire, Justin has a few drinks and while driving home swerves to avoid a person in the road; his car goes over the bridge. Strangely, he doesn’t die. He regains consciousness on the bridge with no car in sight. Instead, another car, driven by Rose, barely avoids hitting him. And that’s how they meet in 1985.
Rose takes pity on Justin and helps him even though it’s really hard to believe his story of time travel. He doesn’t know where his car went and asks to use her phone. The only phones at that time are what we now call landlines leading to a bit of confusion. Rose doesn’t really believe that Justin is from the future, but she finds him a place to stay with the grandmother of her best friend, whose garage had recently burned down.
After Justin finds out the date, he realizes that in a week, the high school will burn down with his grandparents, Bill and Veronica, inside. He never knew Veronica and Bill, his grandparents, so he doesn’t feel emotionally involved, but their deaths left his mother to be raised by uncaring grandparents, her father’s parents, who had disapproved of Veronica and Bill’s marriage. Justin and Rose become convinced that he was sent back in time to stop the deaths of his grandparents, and to do that, both teenagers are sure that they just need to find out who set the fire in the garage — because what are the chances that there are two arsonists in Stone Lake setting fires?
Through careful plotting as well as chapters introducing us to many of the other characters’ points of view, we come to know the people involved. Most are the teenagers in town, although we also hear from Veronica and Bill and a few other adults. One very empathetic character is Shawn, Rose’s sister’s boyfriend. Everyone sees him as handsome, bright, popular, and friends with everyone. He seems to have a charmed life. But as readers, who are privy to much the other characters don’t see, we know better. We know that his father is verbally abusive and controlling, and that Shawn’s mother left to escape that. We know that his father wants Shawn to have the same miserable life he has in a menial job. Others have secrets they are also hiding.
Rose’s family makeup is unusual. Rose’s mother died when she was young, and her best friend’s mother, Diane, stepped in to help. When Diane’s husband died, she and Rose’s father eventually married. That resulted in a mixed race family—Asian and Black. In seeing the treatment of minorities back in 1985, Justin is galvanized in a way that his best friend Alyssa could never manage. He realizes how little things have changed in that respect, and we definitely get the feeling that his future will look different. That is, if he can ever get back to his own time.
And Justin, who at the start of the novel is an extremely apathetic student, changes over the course of the novel. As we read this story, we really begin to care about the characters—especially Justin and Rose—and we try to think of the ways in which Thoman will resolve these problems. How will Justin get back to his time? Will they be able to save Veronica and Bill? And maybe, in the back of our minds, we wonder about the body that was found in 2023, just before Justin went back in time. Who was that?
The ending is beautiful and not at all what we had envisioned. To be honest, I’m not sure what makes this an adult novel versus a young adult novel since most of the characters are teenagers, but that’s not a complaint at all. There are many young adult novels which I believe would be equally enjoyed by all, and this book is a perfect example of such a work.
Looking for a book that will keep you turning the pages? One that will keep you wondering about the outcome until the end? A story with some really likable characters and a few who will break your heart? Or are you just longing to return to 1985 and the days of bright eyeshadow and lots of cigarettes? “I’ll Stop the World” will not disappoint.
Please note: this review is based on the final, hardcover book provided by Mindy’s Book Studio (Mindy Kaling’s new imprint), the publisher, for review purposes.