You Can Go Your Own Way by Eric Smith

Published on December 28, 2021

You Can Go Your Own Way Book Cover

Reviewed by Jayde Valosin

If you're looking for a cozy feel-good book for upcoming cold weather, You Can Go Your Own Way perfectly fits the bill. Adam and Whitney used to be best friends, until life tore them apart. Adam turned all of his attention into keeping his late father's failing pinball arcade afloat. Whitney dove into managing the social media accounts for her father's booming eSports cafés- the same cafes that are trying to buy the space the pinball arcade currently occupies. Other than snarky banter across the businesses' social media accounts, the two haven't spoken in years. After a particularly vicious incident involving a broken pinball machine, Whitney's younger brother, and a social media firestorm, Adam and Whitney are decidedly at odds. Enter: the massive blizzard that's going to lock them together, in the pinball arcade, with no one else to talk to and no means of making it home. 

If warm fuzzy feelings were a book, they would be You Can Go Your Own Way. Readers can probably tell where the plot is headed from early in the story, but Eric Smith does a great job of making the characters relatable and giving them depth that makes you want to keep turning the pages. Adam and Whitney both struggle with loss in different ways. Adam isn't too sure whether leaving behind the pinball arcade will feel like leaving behind the dad he misses. Whitney needs to reckon with abandoning relationships that no longer serve her, which is easier said than done. Readers will definitely find something to relate to in their stories, which makes it easy to root for the characters as they decide where to go from here. The romance is sweet and light, dotted with a few Deep Important Conversations, and benefitting from the humor of supporting characters.

Grab a warm blanket, settle in for that snowstorm or long weekend, and read this book.

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