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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
A common complaint that I've read about this book is the inability to connect with the characters. I would absolutely agree. Both characters are boring. Sometimes the author seemed like she was trying too hard to explain that they are "hermits" (i.e., when Ollie doesn't know what an arcade is....) and Moritz's voice is incredibly inauthentic. I wanted to like it- the plot seemed interesting- but I just didn't.
Ahh, this book was weird-- a super interesting and unique plot. Sometimes the books that are mainly realistic fiction but with that ONE THING that makes them super unbelievable kind of annoy me. Like I can either go into a book expecting a world completely unlike this one, or I can expect a world that is entirely realistic. So when it's 90% real and 10% science fiction, I can push back a little bit.
But I really jived with this book-- I laughed out loud many times, which is something I rarely do when reading. (Or at least, I don't do it enough notice.) I thought the characters' voices were extremely distinct, and even as Ollie and Moritz developed and grew, their voices still remained uniquely theirs. I loved the secondary characters and the world that Thomas built for the reader; she has really lovely prose and I can't wait to read more of her work.
At this point there's nothing really that I found lacking in this book; it was a really great read that I devoured in a day! (Which begs the question: should I be doing something more productive?)
I'm not happy that I read this book-- I'm happy because I read this book. Wow, mushy. But reading this book did really make me hopeful, and those are the endings I like the best. I've said this in a recent review, but I hate the "everything's fine now!! hahaha yayyy!" endings because it makes it seem like everything is always, or will always end up being, fine and wrapped up nicely. The way this book ended was a really smart move, in my opinion. :)
But I really jived with this book-- I laughed out loud many times, which is something I rarely do when reading. (Or at least, I don't do it enough notice.) I thought the characters' voices were extremely distinct, and even as Ollie and Moritz developed and grew, their voices still remained uniquely theirs. I loved the secondary characters and the world that Thomas built for the reader; she has really lovely prose and I can't wait to read more of her work.
At this point there's nothing really that I found lacking in this book; it was a really great read that I devoured in a day! (Which begs the question: should I be doing something more productive?)
I'm not happy that I read this book-- I'm happy because I read this book. Wow, mushy. But reading this book did really make me hopeful, and those are the endings I like the best. I've said this in a recent review, but I hate the "everything's fine now!! hahaha yayyy!" endings because it makes it seem like everything is always, or will always end up being, fine and wrapped up nicely. The way this book ended was a really smart move, in my opinion. :)
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
(4.2.) this book did a 360 on my ass and punched me in the face. it was so good and one of the best books ive read in the letter format. the characters were amazing and the twists really hit ya. phenomenal read.
The end of this book has left me with so many feels. I don't know whether to laugh or cry! Full review to come...
Updated 1/31/16
Because You'll Never Meet Me was one of my most anticipated reads of 2015, and after finally getting the chance to read it, I understand that it was worth the wait.
The story basically follows these two characters, Ollie and Moritz. Both are suffering from stage diseases. Ollie gets seizures whenever he goes near electricity, so he lives in a cabin in the woods with his mom and never sees outside civilization. Moritz, on the other hand, has no eyes and also has a somewhat mechanical heart. However, he can pretty much sense things around him, so it's like he can see without actually seeing, which is pretty awesome. The two of them can never meet, because Ollie would have seizures upon meeting Moritz. Yet, they still worked so hard to encourage each other to be happier in their lives.
I felt so deeply for both of these characters. Ollie was so sweet and lighthearted, though he changed so much after some of the changes in his life, especially involving his mom and Liz. Meanwhile, Moritz was living with someone who adopted him, and he didn't like to talk about his mom or laboratories. I just felt so connected to the characters and everything that happened to them throughout the story. I was rooting for the both of them to have their happy endings.
Another thing worth noting is that the story is told through letters between the two, which made for a very fascinating read. The two took turns writing to each other, and the reader got to read those letters. The two also had very different and distinct voices, so I was never once questioning whose story I was actually reading in the chapters. Also, there are LGBT elements, so yay! I really love how those elements shined through, because you don't really get them until the end, but the feelings were so sweet.
The beginning of the story felt very much like a contemporary, though towards the end, I got very hardcore sci-fi vibes, so I'd say that this is a good mix of the two. I also got some Frankenstein vibes, though I don't exactly know why! All I can say is that Because You'll Never Meet Me is a book that you won't want to miss out on.
Updated 1/31/16
Because You'll Never Meet Me was one of my most anticipated reads of 2015, and after finally getting the chance to read it, I understand that it was worth the wait.
The story basically follows these two characters, Ollie and Moritz. Both are suffering from stage diseases. Ollie gets seizures whenever he goes near electricity, so he lives in a cabin in the woods with his mom and never sees outside civilization. Moritz, on the other hand, has no eyes and also has a somewhat mechanical heart. However, he can pretty much sense things around him, so it's like he can see without actually seeing, which is pretty awesome. The two of them can never meet, because Ollie would have seizures upon meeting Moritz. Yet, they still worked so hard to encourage each other to be happier in their lives.
I felt so deeply for both of these characters. Ollie was so sweet and lighthearted, though he changed so much after some of the changes in his life, especially involving his mom and Liz. Meanwhile, Moritz was living with someone who adopted him, and he didn't like to talk about his mom or laboratories. I just felt so connected to the characters and everything that happened to them throughout the story. I was rooting for the both of them to have their happy endings.
Another thing worth noting is that the story is told through letters between the two, which made for a very fascinating read. The two took turns writing to each other, and the reader got to read those letters. The two also had very different and distinct voices, so I was never once questioning whose story I was actually reading in the chapters. Also, there are LGBT elements, so yay! I really love how those elements shined through, because you don't really get them until the end, but the feelings were so sweet.
The beginning of the story felt very much like a contemporary, though towards the end, I got very hardcore sci-fi vibes, so I'd say that this is a good mix of the two. I also got some Frankenstein vibes, though I don't exactly know why! All I can say is that Because You'll Never Meet Me is a book that you won't want to miss out on.
In a stunning literary debut, two boys on opposite ends of the world begin an unlikely friendship that will change their lives forever.
Ollie and Moritz are best friends, but they can never meet. Ollie is allergic to electricity. Contact with it causes debilitating seizures. Moritz’s weak heart is kept pumping by an electronic pacemaker. If they ever did meet, Ollie would seize. But Moritz would die without his pacemaker. Both hermits from society, the boys develop a fierce bond through letters that become a lifeline during dark times—as Ollie loses his only friend, Liz, to the normalcy of high school and Moritz deals with a bully set on destroying him.
A story of impossible friendship and hope under strange circumstances, this debut is powerful, dark and humorous in equal measure. These extraordinary voices bring readers into the hearts and minds of two special boys who, like many teens, are just waiting for their moment to shine.
Unlike any novel that I have read this past year. When I came across BECAUSE YOU’LL NEVER MEET ME I didn’t have high expectations about it at first but it was interesting enough for me to pick it up. I am not a big fan of books that deals with letters; I usually have a bit trouble getting into those. This wasn’t the case for BECAUSE YOU’LL NEVER MEET ME I couldn’t get enough of their letters and I couldn’t wait to see what happens next. Both Ollie & Mortiz’s letters were filled with a lot of emotions and as a reader you will the emotions that those two boys go through. I am aware that this is fictional novel and that there are some aspects of fantasy in this book but to me the story was realistic. Most of all, both of Ollie & Mortiz emotions were beautifully written and I felt like I was there among with them. BECAUSE YOU’LL NEVER MEET ME is a debut novel that is impossible to not love.
OLLIE & MORTIZ : I loved the friendship between the two of them. Their friendship was unlike any of friendships that I read about before, because the two of them communicated through letters and never meet each other. Both of them had disabilities and considering one of them was allergic to Electricity, it was unlikely that two of them would actually meet. I did wonder about that title when I picked up the book and as I read the book it made sense to me. I loved that each of their letters weren’t them just writing to each other but each told a story. A story of their life’s. I believe that the letters that the two of them wrote to each other is what kept them on going, on not giving up because they knew that they had each other. If that’s not true friendship than what is? Of course the ending had me wondering if they would actually meet.
What I loved about this novel, even though it had some love aspects within a novel but it was mostly dealing with friendship. I had always enjoyed novels that dealt with friendship and I believe that those are one of most inspirational novels out there. That’s the feeling that I got about this book. A book about friendship, test of friendship in most unexpected ways. BECAUSE YOU’LL NEVER MEET ME is a debut novel that you won’t be able to get out of your mind.
Heartbreaking, Inspiring.
Ollie and Moritz are best friends, but they can never meet. Ollie is allergic to electricity. Contact with it causes debilitating seizures. Moritz’s weak heart is kept pumping by an electronic pacemaker. If they ever did meet, Ollie would seize. But Moritz would die without his pacemaker. Both hermits from society, the boys develop a fierce bond through letters that become a lifeline during dark times—as Ollie loses his only friend, Liz, to the normalcy of high school and Moritz deals with a bully set on destroying him.
A story of impossible friendship and hope under strange circumstances, this debut is powerful, dark and humorous in equal measure. These extraordinary voices bring readers into the hearts and minds of two special boys who, like many teens, are just waiting for their moment to shine.
Unlike any novel that I have read this past year. When I came across BECAUSE YOU’LL NEVER MEET ME I didn’t have high expectations about it at first but it was interesting enough for me to pick it up. I am not a big fan of books that deals with letters; I usually have a bit trouble getting into those. This wasn’t the case for BECAUSE YOU’LL NEVER MEET ME I couldn’t get enough of their letters and I couldn’t wait to see what happens next. Both Ollie & Mortiz’s letters were filled with a lot of emotions and as a reader you will the emotions that those two boys go through. I am aware that this is fictional novel and that there are some aspects of fantasy in this book but to me the story was realistic. Most of all, both of Ollie & Mortiz emotions were beautifully written and I felt like I was there among with them. BECAUSE YOU’LL NEVER MEET ME is a debut novel that is impossible to not love.
OLLIE & MORTIZ : I loved the friendship between the two of them. Their friendship was unlike any of friendships that I read about before, because the two of them communicated through letters and never meet each other. Both of them had disabilities and considering one of them was allergic to Electricity, it was unlikely that two of them would actually meet. I did wonder about that title when I picked up the book and as I read the book it made sense to me. I loved that each of their letters weren’t them just writing to each other but each told a story. A story of their life’s. I believe that the letters that the two of them wrote to each other is what kept them on going, on not giving up because they knew that they had each other. If that’s not true friendship than what is? Of course the ending had me wondering if they would actually meet.
What I loved about this novel, even though it had some love aspects within a novel but it was mostly dealing with friendship. I had always enjoyed novels that dealt with friendship and I believe that those are one of most inspirational novels out there. That’s the feeling that I got about this book. A book about friendship, test of friendship in most unexpected ways. BECAUSE YOU’LL NEVER MEET ME is a debut novel that you won’t be able to get out of your mind.
Heartbreaking, Inspiring.
It was just quite slow paced and the plot felt ridiculous to me with too many gaps.
Because You'll Never Meet Me tells us the story of two boys who, you guessed it right, will probably never meet. On one hand, we have Ollie, who lives in a cabin in the middle of a forest. The reason behind is the fact that he is allergic to electricity making it impossible for him to survive in a modern day city or town or even in a village. He lives there with his mother, tucked away from everyone and everything. On the other hand, we have Moritz, a boy born without eyes and a pacemaker in his heart. Ollie and Moritz write letters to each other, thanks to Ollie’s doctor who told him about Moritz. Knowing that they will never meet, not only because of their physical distance but also because of the fact that Moritz’s pacemaker could potentially cause Ollie to have seizure, they tell each other anything and everything. This is a story of their beautiful friendship.
The book is written in epistolary format – the letters of the boys make up for the individual chapters. I find that I thoroughly enjoy reading this format of literature. The format also gives us the opportunity to hear from both the point of views of Ollie and Moritz. As a result it is a beautiful experience to read this book. The author has kept general flow of the story going in a perfect pace that tells us enough about the boys yet the pace doesn’t feel dragging at any point. Ollie and Moritz are two different characters who are similar in some manner yet very different from each other on the whole. The author has done a fantastic job of giving individual voices to them. It was inspiring to see the ‘voice’ change so drastically every time the chapter changed. To top it off, the character growth and development over the book is so well handled that it happens subtly yet is very much visible. And yes, for those who are always looking for more, there is an underlying mystery that connects them both. What more can you ask for?
I seriously cannot believe that this is the author’s debut novel. It is so awesome! I hope that there is another book down the line that will tell us about the two boys later in their lives.
This engaging novel leaves you wanting for more…
The book is written in epistolary format – the letters of the boys make up for the individual chapters. I find that I thoroughly enjoy reading this format of literature. The format also gives us the opportunity to hear from both the point of views of Ollie and Moritz. As a result it is a beautiful experience to read this book. The author has kept general flow of the story going in a perfect pace that tells us enough about the boys yet the pace doesn’t feel dragging at any point. Ollie and Moritz are two different characters who are similar in some manner yet very different from each other on the whole. The author has done a fantastic job of giving individual voices to them. It was inspiring to see the ‘voice’ change so drastically every time the chapter changed. To top it off, the character growth and development over the book is so well handled that it happens subtly yet is very much visible. And yes, for those who are always looking for more, there is an underlying mystery that connects them both. What more can you ask for?
I seriously cannot believe that this is the author’s debut novel. It is so awesome! I hope that there is another book down the line that will tell us about the two boys later in their lives.
This engaging novel leaves you wanting for more…
I'd give this book a 4.75 if that was an option. It was an extremely enjoyable mix of realistic and science fiction. It's hard to explain.
But the end left me literally screaming noooooooooo!!!
But the end left me literally screaming noooooooooo!!!
This was a delightful, feel good buddy book. What a fascinating premise. I loved it and would highly recommend it to anyone but especially younger boys.