UNTIL TOMORROW
Christy and Todd: The College Years, Book One
Robin Jones Gunn
Bethany House Publishers
Fiction
ISBN: 9780764222726
288 pages

Christy Miller is thrilled that boyfriend Todd and best friend Katie are coming to visit her in Europe! UNTIL TOMORROW, the first book in Robin Jones Gunn’s Christy and Todd: The College Years trilogy, picks up well after Gunn’s original Christy Miller series left off.

Christy is now an independent college woman, attending a university in Switzerland. While she loves her life in Europe, she really misses her friends --- especially Todd. She is sure that the romantic background of Europe will give Todd the encouragement he needs to make some kind of commitment to their relationship. However, the trip starts off on a far-less-than-romantic note. Christy makes elaborate plans to show Todd all around Switzerland while having long talks about their future --- but when she meets him at the train station, she is immediately swept up in a whirlwind, and unplanned, trip.

Katie and Todd are accompanied by Antonio, their Italian exchange student friend, who announces that they will begin their trip camping in the Italian Alps. Camping certainly was not what Christy had in mind, and she is less than thrilled that she wasn’t consulted on the idea. Though she tries to rough it, Christy soon decides that living off the land is definitely not for her. As the group makes their way down to Rome, Christy begins to have doubts about her relationship with Todd. Instead of becoming more committed to her, he actually appears to be becoming less. And while they haven’t seemed to have their usual strong connection, Katie and Todd have been paying quite a bit of attention to each other.

Unable to stand the increasing tension, Christy dramatically wonders if they should break up --- and is very surprised by Todd’s answer. As the group makes their way from the Blue Grotto of Capri, all the way up to the fjords of Norway, Christy, Todd and Katie ponder what it means to be a friend and what it means to be in love.

Fans of the Christy Miller series undoubtedly will be delighted to have Christy back. While those who read the Sierra Jensen titles may have been kept up to date on the general happenings of Christy’s life, this new series has a very different feel. The Christy and Todd books are much longer than the novels in Gunn’s previous series. They also give much more insight into the thoughts of an older Christy. While there is a different, more mature tone, many of the classic Christy Miller issues are present --- from fear of commitment to jealousy of friends. Whether or not this sort of material has gotten stale is up to the reader to decide.

UNTIL TOMORROW also has the added bonus of offering a very thorough and detailed account of an extended trip to Europe, with much information and imagery intertwined.

    --- Reviewed by Jennifer Crosby

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