Now That I’ve Found You by Kristina Forest: Book Tour

Title: Now That I’ve Found You
Author: Kristina Forest
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Pub Date: 08/25/20
Genre: YA Contemporary
Edition: Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Summary

Now That I’ve Found You is a YA novel about searching for answers, love, and your eccentric grandma in all the wrong places.

Following in the footsteps of her überfamous grandma, eighteen-year-old Evie Jones is poised to be Hollywood’s next big star. That is until a close friend’s betrayal leads to her being blacklisted . . .

Fortunately, Evie knows just the thing to save her floundering career: a public appearance with America’s most beloved actress—her grandma Gigi, aka the Evelyn Conaway. The only problem? Gigi is a recluse who’s been out of the limelight for almost twenty years. Days before Evie plans to present her grandma with an honorary award in front of Hollywood’s elite, Gigi does the unthinkable: she disappears.

With time running out and her comeback on the line, Evie reluctantly enlists the help of the last person to see Gigi before she vanished: Milo Williams, a cute musician Evie isn’t sure she can trust. As Evie and Milo conduct a wild manhunt across New York City, romance and adventure abound while Evie makes some surprising discoveries about her grandma—and herself.

Review

“Just like a white man to try and steal your joy.”

Ruby

Now That I’ve Found You had me constantly smiling and laughing while I read it. But first can we talk about how a main character wore a scarf to bed. Yess!!! Let’s normalize the bonnets and scarves because not all of us got silk pillowcases.

The characters in this story were so special. I loved Milo and Evie’s interactions and every time Milo got snippy at Evie after she was rude to him. This is also a book where I liked the minor characters just as much as the main ones. Michelle, Adrian the bouncer, and Ruby all have my heart.

“I thought it was a Black thing, you know? Like how Black people always seem to find each other and congregate, regardless of where they are.”

Evie

I ping ponged with how I felt about Evie cause at first, I was sympathetic and then I was irritated with her lashing out at others, but then I found myself sympathizing again. She definitely knew how to get under my skin, but I still enjoyed her story and relationships with the other characters. And trust I hated the “close friend” for betraying Evie more than I was ever frustrated with Evie. I’ve never fought anyone before, but if I saw this “close friend” on the streets one day, best believe it would be on sight. This is how I know Evelyn’s words on choosing to forgive people didn’t sit right with my spirit yet cause I don’t know if I could forgive the friend.

I fell in love with Milo so many times during this. When he wrote that song and played that guitar, I was looking up chapels near me okayyy. I heard the wedding bells. He wasn’t perfect in this, but neither was Evie, so they balanced each other out, and his sweetness made up for any wrong decisions he made.  I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention the importance of friendship in this story and finding your people.

“Sometimes trusting another person simply starts with believing that they want to do right by you.”

Evelyn

I loved Evelyn Conaway so much. She was preaching with all the wisdom she gave and she definitely made me wish my grandmother was still alive. Now the ending…….that ending was perfection with a capital P. I was nervous. I swooned. I read it twice. This was my first Kristina Forest book, but wow does she know how to pull you in and then end a book so wonderfully. Now That I’ve Found You truly is a gem that I recommend if you’ve been craving an interesting novel with a diverse and lovable cast.

Dream Cast

I have no idea what it would even cost to get these people all in the same film, but I believe it’s possible. I spent an hour picking this cast, so I hope you enjoy my picks.

Note from 2024: I made special graphics for my dream cast, but because I don’t own the rights to the images, I’ve played it safe and removed them. Instead, I’ve linked the photos below.

• Cicely Tyson as Evelyn Conaway
• Keke Palmer as Evie Marie
• Christopher Meyer as Milo Williams
• Jorge Lendeborg Jr. as Rafael Gonzales
• Charles Melton as Vinny Oh
• Niles Fitch as Ben
• Christian Navarro as Adrian

Book Recommendations

If you loved the Hollywood aspect of this story and wished you could read a whole book just on Evelyn Conaway’s path to stardom and several marriages, might I recommend you read one of my new favorite books: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Reid Jenkins.

If you loved how enjoyable this story was to read and the begrudging relationship between Evie and Milo, might I suggest another sweet, funny read: Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

Author

Kristina Forest is the author of I Wanna Be Where You Are and Now That I’ve Found You. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing with a concentration in Writing for Children at The New School. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with two huge bookshelves. You can find her at her website, on Twitter, or Instagram.

Where to Buy

Bookshop | IndieBound | B&N | Book Depository | Amazon

Thank you so much for reading my review of Now That I’ve Found You. If you want to see all the other amazing posts on this book tour, check out the schedule on Hear Our Voices.
*Thank you to the publisher and HOV for a free copy of the book. All opinions are my own*