Mystery

I'll Stop the World

I'll Stop the World

  • Downloads：9140
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2023-03-16 11:21:27
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Lauren Thoman
  • ISBN：1978695756
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Listening length: 13 hours

The end and the beginning become one in a heart-pounding coming-of-age mystery about the power of friendship， fate， and inexplicable second chances。

Is it the right place at the wrong time？ Or the wrong place at the right time？

Trapped in a dead-end town， Justin Warren has had his life defined by the suspicious deaths of his grandparents。 The unsolved crime happened long before Justin was born， but the ripple effects are still felt after thirty-eight years。 Justin always knew he wouldn’t have much of a future。 He just never imagined that his life might take him backward。

In a cosmic twist of fate， Justin’s choices send him crashing into the path of determined optimist Rose Yin。 Justin and Rose live in the same town and attend the same school， but have never met―because Rose lives in 1985。 Justin won’t be born for another twenty years。 And his grandparents are still alive―for now。

In a series of events that reverberate through multiple lifetimes， Justin and Rose have a week to get Justin unstuck in time and put each of them in control of their futures―by solving a murder that hasn’t even happened yet。

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Reviews

Lori Anderson ，

Dragged a bit long but interesting

Mary ，

Another great book！This was a strange book， but it was good。 The main characters were Noah， Rose， Justin， Lisa， Charlotte， and Shaun！They were all in High School when the book started but they were all old when the book ended， I am not sure how many years passed from the beginning to the end， I think it was 38 years in between！It was very well written and I enjoyed it very much！ I would recommend it to all my friends！

Gary L Hardenburg ，

Not my type of bookI took a chance on this book and failed。 I failed not the book。 It’s just too “high school ish” for me。 Just In the first two chapters （one set in present time and one many years earlier） there were too many characters， too many high school shenanigans and too many adolescent relationship issues。 The writing was well done and， actually， quite humorous。 The character were being well defined and I found myself liking many of them。 It’s just simply not my type of book。

Natalie ，

Mind twistThis is good but you have to pay attention。 It takes a massive plot twist and it actually took me a second to figure it out。 Really good tho！

Trish ，

What a romp。 It's a romance， a thriller， and has time travel （but is not Sci-fi）。 A little comparable to Back to the Future， but only in that a kid goes back to fix something in the past。 I appreciated that I am exactly the age of the protagonist; a senior in high school in 1985。 This hit the nostalgia button， and along with the page-turning plot made for a quick， immersive read。 I'm also a sucker for shifting POV chapters。 The good guys are good （mostly）， the bad guys are really bad， and the en What a romp。 It's a romance， a thriller， and has time travel （but is not Sci-fi）。 A little comparable to Back to the Future， but only in that a kid goes back to fix something in the past。 I appreciated that I am exactly the age of the protagonist; a senior in high school in 1985。 This hit the nostalgia button， and along with the page-turning plot made for a quick， immersive read。 I'm also a sucker for shifting POV chapters。 The good guys are good （mostly）， the bad guys are really bad， and the ending delivers as promised。 One of the few books I hope gets made into a movie （although it would be hard to pull off the first half in movie version when you can see characters and background clearly。） 。。。more

Suzanne ，

Keep reading， it’s worth it。Despite the jumps in time without including dates， despite introducing a cast of thousands， despite getting a third into the book before the time travel （the purported plot of the novel）， it’s a gripping story and very well crafted。

Susan Freshour-Carpenter ，

What an adventure！I genuinely enjoyed this 1980s “Back to the Future” whodunnit。 The most challenging part of this novel was keeping up with the back and forth from the 1980s to 2023。 Still an great read！ You too can check it out starting 04。01。23！

Meghan C - The Library Abroad ，

Read over 100 pages and still could not tell you the plot of this book。 There were too many characters and it jumped around to a different person every time。 It took away from the actual storyline。

Eric McCurdy ，

Good character development。 Interesting use of the time travel trope。 It sometimes seemed like characters made decisions or acted in ways that were a bit too cognitively and emotionally mature for 18 year olds， but overall this was a great book。

Beth ，

An unexpected twist in several places as the story unfolds in 2 eras。 In both， a wealthy family in town hosts a pep rally/bonfire on their property at the beginning of every school year。 In both， there is a bully， usually with the usual entourage of toadies， and the usual cast of high school kids in various relationships of friendships and more， though none of them seem sexual。 The common thread is an accidental fire at the school， where 2 people are trapped inside。 In the version that faces the An unexpected twist in several places as the story unfolds in 2 eras。 In both， a wealthy family in town hosts a pep rally/bonfire on their property at the beginning of every school year。 In both， there is a bully， usually with the usual entourage of toadies， and the usual cast of high school kids in various relationships of friendships and more， though none of them seem sexual。 The common thread is an accidental fire at the school， where 2 people are trapped inside。 In the version that faces the kids in this tale， the 2 trapped people die; they're grandparents to a boy， Justin， whose mother， orphaned by the fire， is an alcoholic。 A relative has provided for them。 Then the remains of a body are discovered in the river， amd the relative who somewhat supports them acts weird and out of his normal behavior。 Next thing he knows， he is skidding off the bridge， his vehicle perched like an aberrant see-saw at the road's edge。。。and as it goes down， a flash of light sends him to 1985， a week before the fire that kills his grandparents。A young girl picks him up， after nearly running him over when he appears suddenly in the road。 She befriends him and for some reason， believes him。 There are interpersonal issues among the kids in both eras， of course， including coming out， love triangles， and in 1985， a mayoral race for election between a wealthy， established， incumbent white male politician who is well connected with moneyed supporters， against a relative newcomer to the town， a Black widow remarried to an Asian widower， their teen daughters already as close as sisters， with a toddler little sister to both - and in 1985， such blended families weren't always well received， whether all the same or any ethnicity， or a blend， and so the girls are pressured to be well behaved so there is less chance of mud slinging based on fact。。。since there will likely be enough based on lies。 As things get complicated， Justin from 2023 wonders if he and Rose， in 1985 and with only a week to figure it out， can prevent the fire or even forestall the deaths。 And is he really here for that。。。or is there a different purpose for him to fulfill？ Will the efforts of others be enough to stop the fire or at least prevent the deaths， or is his being sent back just a cruel joke by the universe to torment him with his failure？This is an excellent read， and though I am 70， I found it timely and well done for both eras。 I was surprised by the twists and it felt almost like the sudden and unexpected switchback curve on a roller coaster that flings you down a hill you didn't expect in a direction you didn't realize the ride could go。。。a bit scary but also exciting。 It was a kick reliving the 1980s in America through the book - I was an adult， married to a now-retired career military man and we were out of country most of the 1980s， and experienced a bit of reverse culture shock on our return。 I could relate a bit to how displaced Justin would feel， suddenly dropped into a time before he was born， to a world which should have seemed much the same but was still very alien to him。 Take the wild ride， whatever your age。 You won't regret it。 This is a great read！ 。。。more

Vicki Henderson ，

Solid story but slow， 100 pgs too long

Maggie Beckstrand ，

Gripping“I’ll Stop the World” will draw you in from page one。 The writing is smart， witty， and powerful。 With her intricate weaving of delicate threads， Lauren creates a gripping tale full of unbelievably surprising twists and turns that make it impossible to put the book down。 The best I’ve read in 2023。

ShipmyDeal ，

OMG what a book！！！It took me a while to get into the characters and the plot， but once there I couldn't stop。 Needless to say I cried at the end - happy tears of course :） OMG what a book！！！It took me a while to get into the characters and the plot， but once there I couldn't stop。 Needless to say I cried at the end - happy tears of course :） 。。。more

Kim Dickens ，

ExcellentI've always liked stories of time travel。 This one did not disappoint。 Characters that you get invested in and want to see succeed， plus a great story。 Recommend to teens and adults。 ExcellentI've always liked stories of time travel。 This one did not disappoint。 Characters that you get invested in and want to see succeed， plus a great story。 Recommend to teens and adults。 。。。more

Jess ，

I’ll Stop The World by Lauren Thoman: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟Format: Kindle book for FREE with Amazon First Reads， picked by the FRF book club for our March readWould you go back in time to change the past if you could？In Lauren Thoman’s debut novel I’ll Stop The World， Justin doesn’t have much of a choice。 At a breaking point with his family and future in 2023， he finds himself on a collision course with the past when accident lands him in 1985。 Bewildered at his predicament， he finds Rose at the right place I’ll Stop The World by Lauren Thoman: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟Format: Kindle book for FREE with Amazon First Reads， picked by the FRF book club for our March readWould you go back in time to change the past if you could？In Lauren Thoman’s debut novel I’ll Stop The World， Justin doesn’t have much of a choice。 At a breaking point with his family and future in 2023， he finds himself on a collision course with the past when accident lands him in 1985。 Bewildered at his predicament， he finds Rose at the right place， but in the wrong time。 Rose believes that fate brought her and Justin together for a reason- to stop a tragedy from occurring in just one week。 WOW。 This book absolutely blew me away。 Thoman blends many genres together in I’ll Stop The World with the ease of a veteran author。 Part historical fiction， part mystery， part science fiction。 Her characters- and there were MANY- are multi-faceted and develop well throughout the novel。 Thoman gives her characters true diversity in a tactful way， which is easier said than done in a novel taking place in the past。 The story features LGBTQ+ relationships， racial diversity， and multiracial families， blended families， and neurodivergence just to name a few， and we love the representation 👏I absolutely love a good mystery， it’s one of my most read genres， but statistically I rate books mystery genre books lower than average。 I’m perpetually looking for a mystery book that will keep me hooked from start to finish and constantly guessing at what the answers are。 with I’ll Stop The World， I have found the mystery book I’ve been searching for！ I took over 50 notes and made 250 highlights while reading this book。 Clues abound in every chapter， and constant revelations will keep you guessing right up to the end。 Reading ISTW is like doing a 500 piece puzzle。 The following are notes are not intended to be negatives- just things to note about I’ll Stop The World:This book is L O N G。 At 446 pages， it is stacked and packed。 You cannot skim this book， there’s so much information contained on each page。 For many readers， this is a time commitment。 Clear your schedule， because once you start， you won’t want to stop。 The cast is very large， with over 30 characters with speaking roles in this book and 7 POV characters。 If you do not like multiple POV， this is not the book for you。 With many pages， characters， and twists， taking notes or highlighting/annotating is the key to success！ If you do not like to physically mark your books（I don’t！）， I recommend the eBook to allow you to highlight and notate to your hearts content。 Plus using the search feature was helpful when I needed to retrace my steps！Lastly， this book is marketed as an adult mystery。 In my opinion， this is a YA novel through and through， featuring primarily teenaged characters who act like teenagers， with teenage-appropriate language and content。 Especially with the 80s vibes， this is a book that can absolutely be enjoyed and appreciated by all ages。 However， just manage your expectations if you are anticipating adult content。 。。。more

Tina Cyr sabourin ，

I really liked this book！ It started a little slow for me but I was distracted by a few things that had nothing to do with the book。 Once I got to about 1/3 of the way into it I literally couldn’t put it down！！！ I LOVE time travel books and this one did NOT disappoint。

Donna Cronin ，

Just Great！I will not give away the twist that you will never see coming…you just have to read it。 Just do it， you will not be sorry。

Shannon ，

I really enjoyed this story！

Rebecca Funke ，

Rating 3。5 out of5 The book successfully gets you thinking about some really important themes while still have a great Mindy Khaling-esque humor throughout the narrative。 I did find it hard to stay connected in the start given that the promise of the two worlds colliding didn't start till 25% into the book and there seemed to be easier options for the characters to explore to stop the fire。 For instance， they know the very exact location of the fire， so just stake it out for the day。 I come to Rating 3。5 out of5 The book successfully gets you thinking about some really important themes while still have a great Mindy Khaling-esque humor throughout the narrative。 I did find it hard to stay connected in the start given that the promise of the two worlds colliding didn't start till 25% into the book and there seemed to be easier options for the characters to explore to stop the fire。 For instance， they know the very exact location of the fire， so just stake it out for the day。 I come to see how though how some of the fundamental character flaws prevent them from doing that simple solution。 Main Intention/ Obstacle Justin travels back in time and tries to figure out if he can prevent the death of his grandparents。 He only has Rose as an ally though that believes his story and he is not convinced he can really change history like this。 When did I get hooked？ Chapter 1 is in Justin's POV。 His observations of the world and humor makes you want to stick around， but it is not until Justin enters the 1985 world when I am hooked which is about 25% into the novel。 What I liked: The author did such a good job building the characters so that their decisions on that last day （though at times disappointing） seemed inevitable for them 。 What I am not sure about: The story is told from about a dozen 3rd person limited past tense POVs， but then Justin's chapters are written in 1st person present tense。 At times I found this structure confusing， but I also know it was intentional / powerful decision from the author given the themes around time， but I am not sure if it worked for me。 Fav Quotes Too many spoilers if I post them， but chapter 75 in Justin's POV is beautifully written and needs to be read several times IMO to really grasp the beauty。 Random Thought/Question: Every time I read the title I feel like I need to finish the lyric and say “I melt with you” from the Modern English song。 Then the song is in my head for at least 10 minutes。 Is this the song that Rose references in chapter 29？ I assume so but I would have loved for it be more explicit so my sleepy brain would have gotten more excited。 I wonder if the author couldn't be more explicit because of copywrite issues or something？ 。。。more

Amy Berry ，

WowDid I read that this is her first published novel？？ Can't wait to read what she gives us next！ Great story， well written and WOW what a twist！ WowDid I read that this is her first published novel？？ Can't wait to read what she gives us next！ Great story， well written and WOW what a twist！ 。。。more

Helen Sanchez ，

What a great storyOnce I started， I couldn't put it down。 It was a bit confusing at first， but with how the story flowed I was able to catch on quickly。I will not give any spoilers or details other than to say it was a really gripping read。 What a great storyOnce I started， I couldn't put it down。 It was a bit confusing at first， but with how the story flowed I was able to catch on quickly。I will not give any spoilers or details other than to say it was a really gripping read。 。。。more

Carole ，

Just couldn't get into the book。 Just couldn't get into the book。 。。。more

Profmarianne ，

Too slow。 Couldn't finish it。 Too slow。 Couldn't finish it。 。。。more

Blair ，

Loved。 Lots of characters to keep track of but it all comes together in the best way in the end。

Dave Kaverman ，

Great First Novel！Pleasant surprise from an Amazon’s First Reads selection。 Hard to put down once it got rolling。 Rose and Justin made an interesting set of characters as they try to solve a crime before it happens。 The ending made the book for me。 Looking forward to her next book。

Diane ，

3。5 stars。 Some of the things that annoyed me probably wouldn’t bother a teen reader - I think this is likely the intended audience for this book。 Some of the surprises weren’t that surprising… if you are an adult who pays attention… but still a decent story overall。

Ashley ，

UM WOW。 Stop what you're doing and go read this book。 Do yourself a favor and DONT READ ANY PLOT SUMMARY。 Dont even read the book blurb。 Just go in knowing as little as possible。Knowing that。。。。 here are a few vague thoughts on the book to be as spoiler-free as possible。Stunning debut。 Heartfelt， thrilling， captivating， page turning。。。。 I devoured it。 I've been in a fiction rut， not really loving a lot of what I was picking up。 Not even bothering to read past 10% of many。 But this one pulled me UM WOW。 Stop what you're doing and go read this book。 Do yourself a favor and DONT READ ANY PLOT SUMMARY。 Dont even read the book blurb。 Just go in knowing as little as possible。Knowing that。。。。 here are a few vague thoughts on the book to be as spoiler-free as possible。Stunning debut。 Heartfelt， thrilling， captivating， page turning。。。。 I devoured it。 I've been in a fiction rut， not really loving a lot of what I was picking up。 Not even bothering to read past 10% of many。 But this one pulled me in from the beginning。 I thought about it during the day， eager to go back to it that night。 I finished it quickly， reading for long chunks of time （unusual for me these days）。 The whole time， I was imagining this playing out as a White Lotus-esque mini series。 Part Dark， part Back to the Future， park Never Have I Ever， and part Knives Out， this genre-bending novel is un-put-down-able and Im kinda mad that I finished it so quickly because what will fill the "I cant wait to read this" hole in my heart now？！ What this book has: A diverse cast of multi-faceted characters; a setting that leaps off the page; a killer high-concept premise; dialogue that I can imagine actual people having （and a few conversations which I'm pretty sure were taken verbatim from the author's life LOL）; some meaty philosophical questions that you may not be prepared to reckon with （and that's okay。 the story may linger in your mind for some good reckoning after the fact）; super fun plot reveals that make you want to revel in the details and the clues （which made me think of Knives Out）; and an overall cinematic approach to the storytelling that really makes me want to see this on screen one day。 Such a fun work that I will be thinking about for a long time。 I can not wait to read whatever comes next， Lauren :） 。。。more

Brooke Colburn ，

2。5 stars。 Thought about DNFing this early on， but stuck with it， waiting for it to get better。 It never really did， and the ending seemed forced and rushed， after all that slow build up。 It’s incredibly slow paced and confusing， with too many POVs and timelines。 It was an interesting premise - I just don’t think it was well executed。

Sarah ，

2023 to 1985 and a great combination Justin should have died but he didn't。 Is there a purpose or not？ Can he change the future or is destined to repeat itself？ I definitely recommend this book。 2023 to 1985 and a great combination Justin should have died but he didn't。 Is there a purpose or not？ Can he change the future or is destined to repeat itself？ I definitely recommend this book。 。。。more

Shelby Jones ，

Started out a little overwhelming with all the different character pov’s but I loved it by the end！ The author did a great job with Space time continuums and tying every together。

Tag

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Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=I'll Stop the World

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=I'll Stop the World&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,I'll Stop the World&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0