Hello Now

A beautifully moving, exquisite and utterly original love story from Carnegie-shortlisted author Jenny Valentine – for 12+ girls, boys, and everything in between.

This is more than one story, more than one Now. But I’ll tell it as best I can.

Me? I’m Jude – like the Patron Saint of lost causes.
Him? He’s Novo. Like nothing on earth. Literally.

In the beginning, before Novo showed up, my mum and me moved to the seaside. Then the first of July, 11.34am. Novo arrived. I was like an atom in his orbit. Alone with him, feeling the pull. Suddenly in the moment, in the Now.

Then a terrible, unthinkable Now. One that could tear my family apart. But Nows can be undone, rewritten, changed.

Goodbye to life as I know it.
And Hello Now…

From Guardian-prize-winning author Jenny Valentine, this is a stunningly written exploration of what it means to live and love in the moment that quite literally transcends logic and time.

Reviews

Praise for Jenny Valentine:

‘Valentine has the essential storyteller's gift of making you want to read on – and to know more even after the book is finished.’ Guardian

‘The award-winning Valentine has a keen eye for the idiosyncrasies of young children, and the rhythms of family life.’ The Bookseller

‘[Valentine] has a wonderful ability to take readers right into the hearts and souls of her central characters, and reading her is always a truly vicarious experience.’ The Bookbag

Praise for Finding Violet Park:

"Finding Violet Park is a wonderful debut." Guardian

“Ultra-original and brilliantly written, this will have you laughing and crying, too." Mizz

"Clever and totally assured, it is hard to believe that this is a first novel from a new author… [an] ingenious novel from a writer who already has much to offer. *****" Nicholas Tucker, Books for Keeps

“Memorable and well-paced, this is a book to help young people grow in spite of adversity." Carousel

"This is terrific stuff and quite unlike anything else I've come across…. a powerful and compelling story." Inis

“First-time author Jenny Valentine has an original and exciting voice." Writing Magazine

About the author

Jenny Valentine is an award-winning writer for Young Adults. Her first novel Finding Violet Park won the Guardian prize in 2007 and since then she has written six more, including Broken Soup and Fire Colour One, as well as Iggy and Me, a series for younger children. Her work has been published in 19 countries and Hello Now, her latest YA novel, was published in the UK and US in April 2020. In 2017 she was the Hay Festival International Fellow, spending the year meeting and learning from teenagers all over the world. She works to empower and give a voice to young people. She lives all over the place and has two daughters.