‘Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between’ Review: Netflix’s Teen-Lit Romance Makes Lovefools Out of Two Lovebirds – And Us

variety.com:

Courtney Howard Adapted from the novel by Jennifer E. Smith, director Michael Lewen’s “Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between” captures adolescent interactions and intelligence through an empathetic lens.

But even though this Netflix original doesn’t condescend to its targeted teen audience, it fails to surmount basic issues dealing with narrative credulity and the outcome’s predictability.The story centers on two modern-minded teens who enter a 10-month-long dating compact as an obligatory starter romance, agreeing to break up the night before leaving for college.

But would real teens remotely act this way? Or are the adult creators transposing their own ideas onto teen turf?Cautious high school senior Clare (Talia Ryder) thinks she’s risk-averse.

All the moving around when she was young, due to her parents’ divorce, made her plunge head first into her textbooks. Determined not to be distracted by boys or friendships, she concentrated instead on securing a bright future at a good college.