Coming straight off of my re-reads for Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Leah on the Offbeat, Love, Creekwood was the perfect novella for me.

Adding to that, this novella is mostly written in emails. I mean, could it get better than that??? I LOVE EMAILS. I loved the book.

The book follows 4 characters from the Simonverse- Simon, Bram, Leah, and Abbey as they navigate their freshman year and new dimensions of relationships. This novella is teenage relationships at its best possible complications.

I love how eventually in all the Simonverse stories, friendship and love perseveres. It is such an amazing way to show what normal, supportive friends should be like. I really think that kids these days could use that.

This book is a good opportunity for die hard Simonverse fans to get more out of the story but unlike the first two books, the novella cannot be a standalone. It has to be read after its prequels. ( )

This was a nice novella giving a final goodbye to Simon, Bram, Leah and Abby. If you liked the other books in the series worth a read. ( )

this was....... pointless...? ( )

Oh Becky, how can you leave us with that ending?!?! It was an absolute pleasure delving back into the Simonverse as the crew goes away to college and explores being away from each other for the first time - an especially difficult experience for Simon and Bram, as they’re used to being inseparable by now. The story unfolds via emails (a classic throwback to the original Simon novel), but this time from the voice of all of the characters as we get Leah, Abby, Garrett, Nick, and the whole crew alongside Simon and Bram. This was a bit of an adjustment, as only getting the story through emails creates a distance between the reader and the characters, but they each have such a unique writing voice that once you get into it the story is captivating. The book is only a short 111 pages, so we’re really only getting a taste of the crew away at college, and we’re left completely hanging by the last emails (I won’t ruin it, but DAMN Becky), so I really hope that the success of this book encourages Albertalli to get back into the Simonverse and give us the rest of the story! ( )

(Note: This review contains spoilers for earlier books in the series, particularly Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Leah on the Offbeat.)

It's the freshman year of college for Simon, Bram, Leah, and Abby. Simon and Bram are at separate schools, experiencing the agony of the long-distance relationship, while Leah and Abby are roommates. Can Simon and Bram's relationship survive the distance? And will Leah ever feel comfortable using "the L word" to describe her feelings for Abby?

This quick little bite of a story is told entirely through emails, which means that the reader does not get to see much of the "action" first-hand. You can tell that the author brushed up against the limitations of the format in some places. I also found it super frustrating when there were group emails, as the audiobook narrators had to read off each of the group's email addresses before getting to the content of the email, text that would be easy to skip or skim if reading the print book. Apart from that, there's just not much story here. The author clearly doesn't want to put her characters through interpersonal conflict, so the only real problem that the characters face in the entire novel is that of Simon and Bram's long-distance relationship and how much they hate being apart.

If you really love these characters, this is a nice little glimpse into their world. I'd recommend text rather than audio, not due to any deficiency on the part of the narrators, but simply because the format doesn't translate well to audio. If you haven't read the earlier books in the series, you will probably not appreciate this one, as it requires prior investment in the characters and their relationships. ( )