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A Last Time for Everything: A Novel
Not yet published
Expected 21 Jul 26- GenresFiction
336 pages, Paperback
Expected publication July 21, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A few years ago, I liked the novel Dad Camp by Evan S. Porter. When I received notice that his latest novel A Last Time For Everything was available to check out, I jumped at the chance.
Thank you Netgalley and Dutton for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
This was a fun story.
Arthur and Wren have a baby on the way, a loving relationship, and a bucket list. He’s more cautious in life, and she’s more spontaneous and throws caution to the wind. Opposites that attract. A common theme.
Their decade old bucket list, however, throws everyone for a loop. They’re both terrified of having this baby, so the list is a nice, welcome distraction.
The disagreements and arguments felt real — raw — but so did the happy moments. The trip to Chuck E. Cheese was one of my favorite things in the entire book. It was so funny and touching at the same time. Brilliant.
There’s one story beat that I did not love.
SPOILER: I didn’t love Arthur buying the house without discussing it with Wren.
While I understand that it was reinforcing the point that he was kind of desperate to prove that he could be spontaneous as well, it fell flat for me. I thought it was a little bit too much out of character for Arthur, but it wasn’t enough to curtail my enjoyment of this book
I can’t wait to see what’s coming next.
For Porter, over enjoyed the first two novels of his career. I think Dad Camp edges this one out, but I still had a great time with it. Whenever the third one is released, I’ll be checking it out as well.
Thank you Netgalley and Dutton for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
This was a fun story.
Arthur and Wren have a baby on the way, a loving relationship, and a bucket list. He’s more cautious in life, and she’s more spontaneous and throws caution to the wind. Opposites that attract. A common theme.
Their decade old bucket list, however, throws everyone for a loop. They’re both terrified of having this baby, so the list is a nice, welcome distraction.
The disagreements and arguments felt real — raw — but so did the happy moments. The trip to Chuck E. Cheese was one of my favorite things in the entire book. It was so funny and touching at the same time. Brilliant.
There’s one story beat that I did not love.
SPOILER: I didn’t love Arthur buying the house without discussing it with Wren.
While I understand that it was reinforcing the point that he was kind of desperate to prove that he could be spontaneous as well, it fell flat for me. I thought it was a little bit too much out of character for Arthur, but it wasn’t enough to curtail my enjoyment of this book
I can’t wait to see what’s coming next.
For Porter, over enjoyed the first two novels of his career. I think Dad Camp edges this one out, but I still had a great time with it. Whenever the third one is released, I’ll be checking it out as well.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Hello! My name is Evan and I'm the author of "A Last Time for Everything."
If you read my debut "Dad Camp," you'll know how much I love writing about family and parenthood and the way having kids deeply changes you. A lot of people have asked me if ALTFE is a sequel to Dad Camp. It's not! But it is a spiritual prequel. Not about the same characters, but about the phase of life that comes before the one explored in my first book: Young adulthood. Being adrift and clueless and scared to death of the next steps, all while wondering where the hell the last few years went.
I hope the book is funny, something you read quickly and joyfully and with lots of laughs. Maybe you'll even roll your eyes a few times when things get a little too silly. But it was also important to me that this book wouldn't be purely "empty calories." I wanted to write about how hard it is to be a person now, and how difficult it is to close the book on a chapter of your life even when you're excited for the next one. And I felt I couldn't ignore how much the world has changed (mostly, not for the better) since our parents and grandparents grew up. Those are the people we look to for how to do this whole Mom or Dad thing, until we find out that their model is wildly outdated in a lot of ways.
Anyway, I'll stop rambling and let you get to it. Whatever you think of the book, thank you for taking the time out of your busy life to read it.
If you read my debut "Dad Camp," you'll know how much I love writing about family and parenthood and the way having kids deeply changes you. A lot of people have asked me if ALTFE is a sequel to Dad Camp. It's not! But it is a spiritual prequel. Not about the same characters, but about the phase of life that comes before the one explored in my first book: Young adulthood. Being adrift and clueless and scared to death of the next steps, all while wondering where the hell the last few years went.
I hope the book is funny, something you read quickly and joyfully and with lots of laughs. Maybe you'll even roll your eyes a few times when things get a little too silly. But it was also important to me that this book wouldn't be purely "empty calories." I wanted to write about how hard it is to be a person now, and how difficult it is to close the book on a chapter of your life even when you're excited for the next one. And I felt I couldn't ignore how much the world has changed (mostly, not for the better) since our parents and grandparents grew up. Those are the people we look to for how to do this whole Mom or Dad thing, until we find out that their model is wildly outdated in a lot of ways.
Anyway, I'll stop rambling and let you get to it. Whatever you think of the book, thank you for taking the time out of your busy life to read it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews