In Five Years
A Novel
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4.2 • 6.6K Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A Good Morning America, FabFitFun, and Marie Claire Book Club Pick
“In Five Years is as clever as it is moving, the rare read-in-one-sitting novel you won’t forget.” —Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists
Perfect for fans of Me Before You and One Day—a striking, powerful, and moving love story following an ambitious lawyer who experiences an astonishing vision that could change her life forever.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Dannie Kohan lives her life by the numbers.
She is nothing like her lifelong best friend—the wild, whimsical, believes-in-fate Bella. Her meticulous planning seems to have paid off after she nails the most important job interview of her career and accepts her boyfriend’s marriage proposal in one fell swoop, falling asleep completely content.
But when she awakens, she’s suddenly in a different apartment, with a different ring on her finger, and beside a very different man. Dannie spends one hour exactly five years in the future before she wakes again in her own home on the brink of midnight—but it is one hour she cannot shake. In Five Years is an unforgettable love story, but it is not the one you’re expecting.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
If you had the chance to see five years into your own future, would it change all of your current plans and dreams? Rebecca Serle’s whimsical novel explores this premise in a way that’s both hilarious and surprisingly emotional. Dannie is a type A lawyer who’s scheduled her future down to the last detail, but a vivid dream about her life five years into the future (in 2025) throws all her plans into question—from her dream relationship with her fiancé, David, to her closest friendships. We loved Serle’s dry wit, as illustrated by Dannie’s reaction when David drags his heels proposing during a fancy dinner: “Perhaps I should spell it out with cherry tomatoes.” Serle, whose teen romance Famous in Love has been adapted into a TV series, succeeds in folding real and stirring emotion into her tart little confection, exploring the pain and regret that come with Dannie’s fantastical revelation. Existential angst may not always fit perfectly into a charming rom-com, but it’s the unexpected depth of In Five Years that makes it so special.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Serle's bewitching story of love and friendship (after The Dinner List) centers on a young woman who plans her life down to the minute until fate gets in the way. At 28, Dannie Kohan lives happily with her boyfriend, David, in a Manhattan apartment and is poised to land her dream job as a lawyer at a top firm. Dannie expects to get married by the time she's 30; right on track, David proposes, giving Dannie a ring picked out by her best friend Bella. After accepting the proposal, Dannie slips into a deep sleep and dreams of an alternate future, where everything is off-kilter. In her dream, it's the year 2025 and she lives with a man named Aaron Gregory. Upon waking, Dannie begins to second-guess her regimented course, and as the years pass, she puts off the marriage. On a rainy day in June 2025, she meets up with Bella, now a successful art dealer, and is stunned to find her accompanied by Aaron, the man from her dream. She senses a mutual recognition, and, after Bella receives devastating news, Dannie and Aaron grow closer. While the plot hinges on well-worn tropes, the deadpan prose highlights the author's keen sense of irony. Serle's whimsical tale is book club catnip. This review has been updated to remove a spoiler.
Customer Reviews
Loved it! Quick read
Slow in some parts - I felt as if a lot of parts were easy to skim through, and I didn’t need some of the details included. Otherwise I really enjoyed the read, and would definitely recommend. Sad, but in a wholesome and realistic manner.
Best Story I’ve Read in a While
I could not put this book down and literally read it in two days. The characters in my opinion were really easy to dive into and felt real and relatable. Without spoiling anything, let me just say this story has a lot more to it than meets the eye and is worth the read. It’s just one of those books you finish reading and think “what the heck just happened” and “wow I see life a little differently now”.
Great read
I wish it didn’t leave off the way it did. But beautifully written.