Past Present Future is a sequel to Today Tonight Tomorrow. You need to read the first book to fully appreciate this one.

Rowan and Neil get together on the last day of their senior year, officially ending four years of intense academic (and occasionally immature) rivalry. They have one glorious summer together, but college plans had been made before their initial hookup and they will be attending two different universities. The good news is that Boston, where Rowan will be, and New York, where Neil is going, are actually fairly close. The bad news is that there is enough distance between them that, given their packed schedules, they will still have only minimal time together. Fortunately, modern life includes things like phones and sexting.

The start of their university lives are very different. Rowan has an absentee roommate who is almost never in their dorm. Skyler, with whom Neil shares his space, is as warm as a fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookie. On the other hand, Neil finds his classes less than enjoyable, while Rowan bonds with an absolutely amazing professor. In between making new friends and figuring out what they want to do with their lives, they discover the joys of commuting on the East Coast, exploring new cities together, the wonders of oral sex, and just how much you can miss someone you no longer see every day. Then Neil’s father reaches out, and a part of his life Neil thought he left behind in Washington suddenly starts to play an outsized role in the fresh start he is making.

I’m not going to say too much about the plot because those who read that first story and are down for this second installment will want to discover everything for themselves. I will say that the author gets full points for continuity. I read the novels within a week of each other, and the characters’ behaviors, attitudes, and personalities seamlessly transition from one book to the next. We do see (well-explained) growth, but we never get broadsided by actions that are inexplicable or worse, contrary to the people we were initially introduced to.

Who they are is bright, capable white Jewish suburbanites who’ve lived typical, genuine middle-class lives. Rowan had to work in order to afford a car, and Neil’s family struggled a bit to get by on just his mom’s salary, but they live in safe neighborhoods in decent houses with steady meals, plenty of clothes, their own rooms and all the usual trappings you have when you’re not rich but you’re not exactly broke either. They aren’t the most beautiful or most popular kids, but they have good relationships with their families (except for Neil and his dad), good friends, and a loving relationship with each other. Neil is a tiny bit nerdy with his deep love of Star Wars (he nicknamed Rowan “Artoo”), and Rowan loves romances and is defensive about it, but the author does a lovely job of making them both very ordinary and very interesting.

I also loved how positively young love is portrayed. Right now, people are increasingly skeptical about anything lasting, especially couples/partners, but Solomon does a great job of showing us a relationship that works.

The primary conflict beyond the bumps of the expected adjustments to this era of their lives is the issue surrounding Neil’s father. Neil has been to therapy in the past due to all the trauma caused by his dad, and has been able to put most of his angst surrounding this to rest, bug he finds himself reliving it when his father manages to get back in touch. I struggled a bit with this portion of the tale because there isn’t sufficient exploration of the instigating events and the personalities behind them to explain everyone’s (especially Neil’s) reactions.

For many people, the term ‘entitled’ evokes the idea of someone wealthy and privileged, but in psychological terms, it means someone who has pervasive feelings of deservingness. Rowan and Neil both display that trait a fair bit in this novel. They have no sense of how fortunate they are or that even though they might not have everything they want they have more than many, many others do. I hate to sound old, but here goes: this is typical of the young in any time period, so not a big deal, even if it can be a tad annoying at times.

Those quibbles aside, Past Present Future will delight its intended audience. Those who haven’t read the first book and are a fan of teen/NA romance should definitely take a look at Today Tonight Tomorrow. It’s a lovely work that sets this one up perfectly.