Review: Both of Me by Jonathan Friesen

 

Release Date: December 23, 2014

Publisher:  Blink
Pages: 272
Source: copy from publisher via Book Look Bloggers (Thanks!)

ISBN-10:    0310731887

Rating: 4 Hearts

Book Description

"Elias Phinn has always been considered stupid, but that may be because no one knows his vacant exterior holds a gifted mind. A mind that has learned to focus on his created world of Warilia, through which Elias distills everything he sees in order to cope with the excruciating, actual world around him. But with each passing year, the detailed sketches and notebooks describing Warilia have not only taken over Elias's time, they have become a world he must slip into in order to get through each day. Clara Tobias has been running from her own reality, leaving behind her fragile mother and two siblings in order to have the whirlwind life of travel and adventure she always wanted. She justifies she put in her time caring for others, and that the rest of her life is hers to use as she pleases. Even if guilt won't leave her alone.

On a flight out of New York---Elias heading home for the summer, Clara on another trip to Somewhere---the two end up side by side. And when their carry-ons are mistakenly switched, Clara opens her bag to discover the histories of Warilia while Elias finds photographs and journals he uses to flesh out the mysterious girl who sat beside him, whom he sees as the beautiful daughter of a Warilian diplomat, making her and her mother an integral part of his entire world.

When Clara arrives at the Phinn's boarding house for her luggage, she begs Elias to show her Warilia---and he does, taking her to locations that to him are not ordinary landscapes and buildings but epic mountains and massive skyscrapers. But as Clara finds herself further drawn to this intriguing boy, word comes her mother has died. When Elias becomes unable to deal with the death of his diplomat, he and Clara leave on a mission Elias claims will preserve Warilia forever. Though in the end it could be the one thing that allows Clara to piece her own world together."

Review

Short and Sweet:

My feels exploded all over the place.  

To Elaborate... 

Clara has ran away from her home in London and is going on an international road trip of self discovery. Along the way, she meets Elias, a boy with DID, where he is an everyday guy one minute and then suddenly, he turns into his other half who believes he is in charge of a country called Salem. Clara reluctantly goes on a journey across America with him, and she falls for him along the way. 

This book and I battled on and off consistently. Not in an "I want to put this down- No, I don't" way, but in a "Oh cool, I like this- wait, where the heck did that come from? Oh wait, now I get it. Oh, nope, lost again" kind of way (but not in a bad way if that makes any sense). It's very quirky and kind of off the wall, but it's really, really beautiful and moving. It reminds me a bit of Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid, but still extremely unique and different.

I loveeeee the romance. Clara and Elias have such powerful emotions for the other, and you can feel that immensely. I was so happy every time they did or said something romantic (in serious, not cheesy or cutesy ways which really couldn't fit into their relationship at all). They have some interesting and unexpected moments here and there, but I ship them all the way.  

The thing with this book is that you kind of have to up your willing suspension of disbelief. Normally, for contemporary stories, there isn't a huge need for that, but this one requires a little extra bit of it (for example, Clara has managed to make it on her own so far via money from a charity she set up). That's definitely not a negative to it, but it's something to keep in mind while reading it. 

   The ending and I....we didn't get along. It's one of those frustrating endings (for me) that fits the story SO FREAKING WELL, but it's still not what you wanted to happen. I devoured the epilogue hoping for something to change, but it didn't. It's very bittersweet, and it really does fit the story so well (because this isn't a story made for a happy ending), but still. My feels. They hurt. 

Overall, I definitely recommend this one! It's great for people who love road trip stories or want a really different/original contemporary.    

4 Hearts!