The Same Backwards as Forwards
By Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Reviewed by Lauren Spencer
Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a Professor of Psychology and an American writer known for her extensive YA publications. The most popular of which are The Hawthorne Games and The Grandest Games, which follow Avery Grambs and the Hawthorne family. Barnes’ latest book in the Hawthorne saga, The Same Backwards as Forwards, is a prequel set twenty years before The Inheritance Games.
Twenty-year-old Hannah Rooney is quiet and reserved, carefully keeping a low profile to distance herself from her notorious ‘Rooney’ name. Hannah aims to finish her nursing degree and escape her family’s dark reputation, taking her younger sister Kaylie with her. However, everything shifts in an instant when Tobias (Toby) Hawthorne II and his group arrive in town to stir up trouble. A vengeful arson attempt goes tragically awry, leaving Hannah without her sister and Tobias without his memory.
In a classic ‘enemies to lovers’ story, Hannah must deal with her grief while also caring for the man who caused it, only to find herself falling deeply in love. A key feature of The Same Backwards as Forwards is the back-to-front dual-perspective narrative. On one side is Hannah’s story, but flip the book over, and the story begins again from the point of view of Toby. As noted in the novel’s opening pages, Hannah’s story was previously published under the same title in the book Games Untold (2024). The layout offers a strategic approach, where new readers of the series can enjoy both stories and dedicated fans can either revisit Hannah’s story or jump straight into Toby’s.
This origin story includes the element of mystery and riddles that form the central motif throughout the rest of the book series. The inclusion of palindromes and puzzles gave the story a nice point of difference from other tragic love stories.
The Same Backwards as Forwards can be read as a standalone, but there are moments when the arrival of a certain character can feel disjointed if you aren’t familiar with the series. The language is poetic and, at times, a little clichéd, but it contains all the thrills and heartbreak of a complicated love story, with the added depth of dual-character perspectives. There is some mild coarse language and implied intimacy, but overall, the book is suitable for 14 years and up.
If you are new to the Jennifer Lynn Barnes book collection, here are the books in reading order (according to ‘The Inheritance Games’ Wiki fan page):
The Inheritance Games Series
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The Inheritance Games
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The Hawthorne Legacy
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The Final Gambit
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The Brothers Hawthorne
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Games Untold
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The Same Backward as Forward
The Grandest Games Series
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The Grandest Game
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Glorious Rivals
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The Gilded Blade (Due for release July 2026)
