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Cover of The Same Backward As Forward (Deluxe Limited Edition)

The Same Backward As Forward (Deluxe Limited Edition)

Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Ages 14–18 NYT Best Seller

Readers rate it 3.7 (12 on Hardcover)

Released Nov 4, 2025

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LGBTQ+ themes

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A note for parents

This dual-perspective romance set in the Hawthorne universe contains moderately dark themes including arson, accidental deaths, criminal family involvement, and trauma from memory loss. The story centers on a complicated romance between Hannah and Toby in the aftermath of tragedy, with some emotional intensity befitting older teen readers. While the book emphasizes resilience and connection, it deals with mature situations and grief that suit ages 14+.

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From the publisher

You've fallen in love with the Hawthorne brothers, now discover the love story of the lost scion of Hawthorne House. Read Hannah's side of the story, then flip the book over to experience their love anew through Toby's eyes in this deluxe novel that you can read backward or forward! The lush edition includes designed e... You've fallen in love with the Hawthorne brothers, now discover the love story of the lost scion of Hawthorne House. Read Hannah's side of the story, then flip the book over to experience their love anew through Toby's eyes in this deluxe novel that you can read backward or forward! The lush edition includes designed edges, a special case, and illustrated endpapers. Hannah Rooney knows how to be invisible. At twenty, she keeps her head down and her eyes open, and so far, she's managed to avoid being pulled into the dealings of her notorious criminal family. Hannah lives her life in countdown mode, biding her time in nursing school as she waits for her beloved sister, Kaylie, to turn eighteen so Hannah can get them both far, far away from Rockaway Watch and start a new life. Tobias Hawthorne II acts every inch the entitled heir that he is. As the only son of one of the country's richest men, there isn't a door that isn't open to him. Yet behind his razor sharp cheekbones and devil-may-care attitude, Toby is guarding a nest of deadly secrets and a fiery anger fierce enough to burn everything in his path. Their lives collide in one tragic, stormy night, where an act of arson and nature leave Kaylie and two others dead and Toby just barely alive--with no memory of who he is. The fisherman who pulls him from the ocean enlists Hannah to help save the very person who she knows took away her sister. Fueled by her hatred, Hannah is determined to deny Toby's death wish by keeping him alive. He is the last person that she should ever develop feelings for, and she is the first thing he ever remembers seeing. Some things cannot happen--and some things cannot be stopped. *Hannah's side of the story was previously published as a novella in Games Untold *Reading them all? The ideal reading order is: The Inheritance Games, The Hawthorne Legacy, The Final Gambit, The Brothers Hawthorne, Games Untold, The Grandest Game, and Glorious Rivals. *Looking for more unputdownable reads from Jennifer Lynn Barnes? Check out The Naturals series (The Naturals, Killer Instinct, All In, Bad Blood, and the enovella, Twelve), The Debutantes duet (Little White Lies, Deadly Little Scandals), and The Lovely and the Lost.

Shelved under

  • Young Adult Fiction
  • Young Adult
  • Fantasy
  • Juvenile Nonfiction
  • Children's fiction

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ISBN 9780316591225 · Little, Brown Books for Young Readers