The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Nowlin, Laura. If He Had Been with Me. Sourcebooks Inc, 2013.

When Finny is nineteen, he gets into a car accident with his girlfriend, Sylvie. Autumn is Finny’s best friend. They grow up together. They are neighbors, and their mothers are best friends. Dad is absent from Autumn’s life, and Mom has mental health problems, which means Autumn spends much time with Finny and his mother, Aunt Angelina.

Autumn and Finny stopped being friends in middle school. At the start of high school, Autumn and her friend Sasha ditch their popular friends and form an alternative friend group comprised of social outcasts. Meanwhile, Finny becomes popular.

Autumn starts dating Jamie, while Finny dates Sylvie. Autumn starts wearing a tiara every day. She and Finny see each other often at family dinners but ignore each other otherwise. Autumn misses him constantly. They spend more time together over Christmas break as Mom’s depression worsens.

In the spring, Autumn’s friends start having sex. Autumn is not ready yet. She spends the summer with Jamie and their other friends. Jamie tells Autumn he loves her, that he will never leave her, and that they will get married someday.

In sophomore year, Autumn has English class with Jamie, Sasha, Finny, and Sylvie. She loves their teacher, Mr. Laughegan, who encourages her passion for creative writing. Autumn and Finny’s friend groups fight over a lunch table for a few weeks. Autumn confronts Finny for his participation in what they call The War. This makes the Thanksgiving awkward.

The night after Thanksgiving, Finny joins Autumn on her porch, drunk. He mostly asks her about Jamie. Autumn misses him when he leaves to go home.

On the last day of the semester, Autumn vomits in class. Afterwards, she begs Finny to prevent his female friends from starting a rumor that she is pregnant. At Christmas dinner, Finny assures Autumn he took care of that.

Autumn celebrates Valentine’s Day with Jamie. He gets her a charm bracelet. When they go sledding with their friends another day, he pressures her to go down the steep side of a hill. Jamie accidentally gives Autumn a black eye when his head bumps into hers. He treats it as a joke, but Autumn is upset.

Autumn has dinner that night with Finny and The Mothers. Finny jumps at the chance to take care of Autumn. He says he wishes to become a doctor someday.

Over summer vacation, Finny and Autumn visit their old elementary school to help Aunt Angelina clean up her classroom. They reminisce on the good old days of their friendship. In junior year, Autumn and Finny have English together again.

Autumn realizes she is in love with Finny as she watches him play soccer in the fall. That winter, she experiences seasonal depression. Mom takes her to a psychologist, Dr. Singh. Autumn starts medication. Mom’s mental health and marriage worsen. In the spring, Autumn throws a party and drunkenly calls Finny. He makes her promise not to have sex with Jamie while drunk. Autumn informs him that she and Jamie are waiting until after graduation to have sex. Autumn and Finny visit a college campus with The Mothers, who reminisce on their children’s childhoods.

In senior year, Finny and Autumn are partners in gym class. Autumn takes a creative writing class and writes about her first kiss with Finny. He kissed her in eighth grade, confusing her. She felt unprepared and thought he might just be experimenting on her. They stopped being friends after that.

Autumn’s friend, Angie, gets pregnant. Autumn throws a party and invites Finny and his friends. While at the party, Finny reminds Autumn of her promise not to lose her virginity while drunk. In gym class, they chat and flirt.

Finny comforts Autumn when Dad bails on Christmas dinner. Autumn’s parents get divorced shortly afterwards. Autumn relies on Jamie for comfort during this difficult time. The Mothers and their children start having dinner together nearly every night.

Autumn thinks of Finny longingly while at prom. They congratulate each other at graduation. The day after, Jamie comes to Autumn’s house to break up with her. He says that her depression is too much for him and that he is sleeping with Sasha.

After Autumn spends two days in bed, Mom summons Finny to comfort her. The old friends start getting breakfast every morning and going for drives. Soon enough, they are inseparable. Finny accompanies Autumn to the hospital when Angie gives birth.

Autumn yearns for Finny but is certain he does not feel the same way. One night, she finishes writing her book and lets him read it. It is clearly based on their love story. When Finny finishes reading, he and Autumn discuss why they stopped being friends and their different high school relationships. They kiss, then have unprotected sex. They confess their love to each other.

The next morning, Finny drives off to break up with Sylvie. He gets into a car accident with Sylvie during a rainstorm. She flies out the windshield, and he rushes out to check on her. The puddle she fell in had a wire that came down during the storm. He is electrocuted and dies instantly.

A couple of months after Finny’s death, Autumn attempts to kill herself with a kitchen knife. She wakes in the hospital and learns she is pregnant. Autumn knows Finny would want her to live for the baby’s sake. She has faith that things are going to be okay.