In Five Years by Rebecca Serle Summary

In Five Years follows Manhattan lawyer Dannie Kohan, who has her life meticulously planned until she experiences a vivid vision of herself five years in the future. In this vision, she's in a different apartment, wearing a different engagement ring, and in love with a man named Aaron she's never met. Four and a half years later, Dannie meets Aaron in real life when her best friend Bella introduces him as her new boyfriend. The novel explores destiny, friendship, and life's unpredictable nature through this emotional and heartbreaking story.

In Five Years is perfect for readers who enjoyed Me Before You and One Day, particularly those seeking emotionally powerful contemporary fiction. This book appeals to fans of stories about female friendship, destiny, and life's unpredictability rather than traditional romance. Type-A personalities who struggle with control and planning will find Dannie's journey especially relatable. The novel suits readers looking for a quick but impactful read, as its 250 pages can be consumed in one sitting while delivering profound emotional depth.

In Five Years is widely praised for its emotional depth and Rebecca Serle's elegant, sparse prose that creates a moving experience. Readers describe it as a book that "sticks with you long after you finish the last page" and delivers profound emotions despite its shorter length. The novel received a Goodreads Choice Award nomination for Readers' Favorite Romance in 2020. However, it's important to note this is a tear-jerker focused on friendship and loss rather than a lighthearted romantic read, so readers should prepare for heartbreak.

In Five Years blends contemporary fiction, women's fiction, and elements of magical realism with a touch of romance. Despite its romantic premise, Rebecca Serle's novel is explicitly described as a "tear-jerker but not a romantic chick lit novel". The book incorporates time travel elements through Dannie's vision of the future, creating a unique genre mix. It's categorized under fiction and literature genres with women's fiction as the primary sub-genre, making it a literary exploration of relationships, destiny, and friendship rather than conventional romance.

On December 15, 2020, after getting engaged to David, Dannie falls asleep and awakens in what appears to be December 15, 2025. She finds herself in an unfamiliar Brooklyn apartment wearing a different engagement ring and lying beside a man named Aaron whom she's never met. During this intense one-hour experience, Dannie feels overwhelming love for Aaron and they share intimate moments. She can see the date scrolling on a muted television, confirming she's somehow been transported five years into the future before waking back in her 2020 life.

In Five Years is explicitly not a traditional romance novel despite its romantic premise. While the story involves love and relationships, it's fundamentally about the profound friendship between Dannie and her best friend Bella. The novel focuses on themes of destiny, loyalty, and the unpredictable nature of life rather than romantic fulfillment. Readers expecting lighthearted chick lit will be surprised, as the book delivers heartbreak and explores deeper questions about control, fate, and the bonds that define our lives beyond romantic partnerships.

In Five Years explores the tension between control and destiny, questioning whether we can truly plan our futures. Through Dannie's journey from rigid five-year planner to someone confronting life's unpredictability, Rebecca Serle examines what happens when our carefully constructed plans collide with fate. The novel emphasizes that the most important relationships—particularly friendships—are often more defining than romantic partnerships. Ultimately, the book reminds readers about "the power of loyalty, friendship, and the unpredictable nature of destiny", showing that some life events transcend our ability to control them.

Dannie and Bella are lifelong best friends who represent opposite personalities—Dannie is the Type-A planner while Bella is free-spirited and spontaneous. Their contrasting approaches to life create a dynamic friendship that anchors the entire novel. Bella owns a gallery by 2025 and serves as the person who introduces Dannie to Aaron, the man from her vision. Their friendship becomes central to the novel's emotional core, with the story ultimately being more about this bond than romantic love. The relationship between these two women drives the book's most profound and heartbreaking moments.

Both In Five Years and The Dinner List showcase Rebecca Serle's signature style of blending authentic emotions with whimsical, magical elements. The Dinner List explores love and loss through a fantastical dinner party scenario, while In Five Years uses time travel to examine destiny and friendship. Readers describe both novels as profoundly emotional and deeply moving, though they tackle different aspects of human relationships. Both books feature Serle's characteristic sparse, elegant prose and shorter page counts that deliver outsized emotional impact. Fans of The Dinner List will appreciate In Five Years' similar ability to blend the realistic with the extraordinary.

In Five Years earns its reputation as a "tear-jerker" through its exploration of loss, unfulfilled plans, and life's cruel unpredictability. Rebecca Serle crafts a narrative where Dannie's vision becomes increasingly significant in unexpected ways as the story progresses toward that fateful December 2025 date. The novel subverts expectations about what the vision means, delivering heartbreak that centers on friendship and life's fragility rather than romantic disappointment. Serle's sparse, beautiful prose amplifies the emotional impact, with readers reporting that the story stays with them long after finishing.

In Five Years challenges the notion that meticulous planning can protect us from life's uncertainties through Dannie's character arc. Dannie embodies the Type-A personality who has everything mapped out in five-year increments, from her career trajectory to her engagement timeline. When her vision contradicts her carefully constructed plans, she must confront whether she should "accept the dream as an inevitable reflection of her fate or fight the things that lead to its realization". Rebecca Serle ultimately suggests that while planning provides comfort, destiny operates beyond our control, particularly regarding the people we love and lose.

The Brooklyn apartment serves as the physical manifestation of Dannie's vision becoming reality in In Five Years. When Dannie first experiences her 2025 vision, she finds herself in an unfamiliar Brooklyn loft that she doesn't recognize. Four and a half years later, when Aaron shows Dannie and Bella an apartment he and Bella are considering buying, Dannie recognizes it as the exact apartment from her vision—though it currently needs renovation. This recognition becomes a pivotal moment where Dannie's "dream" intersects with her waking life, forcing her to confront the vision's meaning and inevitability.