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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abandonment
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Vomit
Originally posted here
Because You’ll Never Meet Me is the story of friendship. Two boys, Ollie and Moritz, who live on completely opposite sides of the world (Upper Michigan and Germany) who both have something in common: they both were born with defects that have made them hermits of society. While Ollie is forced to live in the middle of nowhere because he can’t be near electricity; Moritz is fine to live in the middle of the city, however, he wears goggles due to having no eyes and has a pacemaker.
Which means the two of them will never meet.
Due to this fact, the two open up and tell each other things, that they would have never felt comfortable telling anyone else. The two of them also learn things about not only each other, but their selves, far more than they could have expected to. As someone who reads, a lot, I was pleasantly surprised by how much this novel shocked me. I found Thomas’ writing style to be solid and to involve twists and turns that I was not aware of happening.
Of course looking back, they were obvious and I should have seen them coming, but I was so caught up in the letters that these two boys were writing that I couldn’t help but be caught up in their story. They’re two boys who have very messed up and fucked up lives. But what was constant was each other and their parents. Their parents loved them fierily and did everything they could to protect their parents, even if that wasn’t always enough.
Both boys are not perfect. They fuck up. They yell at each other. They yell at their parents. They yell at their friends. All because they don’t feel like they fit in. They aren’t comfortable in their own bodies and then when they are, they’ve alienated everyone. I found this to be a universal story. I’m not allergic to electricity, but I know what it’s like not to feel comfortable in my own body. I know what it’s like to alienate my friends, because I’m trying to protect them, but I end up hurting them instead.
While I rated this book three stars, it is not a bad three stars! It is a solid three stars and illustrates that while I enjoyed this book I have little to no interest in re-reading it.
Because You’ll Never Meet Me is the story of friendship. Two boys, Ollie and Moritz, who live on completely opposite sides of the world (Upper Michigan and Germany) who both have something in common: they both were born with defects that have made them hermits of society. While Ollie is forced to live in the middle of nowhere because he can’t be near electricity; Moritz is fine to live in the middle of the city, however, he wears goggles due to having no eyes and has a pacemaker.
Which means the two of them will never meet.
Due to this fact, the two open up and tell each other things, that they would have never felt comfortable telling anyone else. The two of them also learn things about not only each other, but their selves, far more than they could have expected to. As someone who reads, a lot, I was pleasantly surprised by how much this novel shocked me. I found Thomas’ writing style to be solid and to involve twists and turns that I was not aware of happening.
Of course looking back, they were obvious and I should have seen them coming, but I was so caught up in the letters that these two boys were writing that I couldn’t help but be caught up in their story. They’re two boys who have very messed up and fucked up lives. But what was constant was each other and their parents. Their parents loved them fierily and did everything they could to protect their parents, even if that wasn’t always enough.
Both boys are not perfect. They fuck up. They yell at each other. They yell at their parents. They yell at their friends. All because they don’t feel like they fit in. They aren’t comfortable in their own bodies and then when they are, they’ve alienated everyone. I found this to be a universal story. I’m not allergic to electricity, but I know what it’s like not to feel comfortable in my own body. I know what it’s like to alienate my friends, because I’m trying to protect them, but I end up hurting them instead.
While I rated this book three stars, it is not a bad three stars! It is a solid three stars and illustrates that while I enjoyed this book I have little to no interest in re-reading it.
Ollie lives in the woods with his mother. He has never seen a phone or a television or ridden in a car. He is allergic to electricity, which means his life is very different from most teenagers. He has no friends other than Liz who no longer comes to see him. It is just him and his mother in the woods with an occasional visit from his doctor. Moritz lives a very different, but equally isolated life in Germany. He lives with his adopted father and is constantly bullied at school. Moritz and Ollie will never meet, but they correspond through letters after Ollie's doctor suggests it. Moritz was born without eyes and finds his way in the world through echolocation. He also has a pacemaker because of his cardiomyopathy. His pacemaker would cause Ollie to have a seizure so their only communication has to be through letters. They have a lot in common that they explore through these letters and because they will never meet they can be brutally honest about their lives and the hardships they face.
This was a very different book and not just because of the disabilities of the two main characters. I can't remember the last book I read with two male protagonists who are just friends. I really enjoyed the style of the book; I thought the letter format allowed Moritz and Ollie's voices to shine through. There were a few things that threw me off a bit, however. I enjoyed the stories of their lives and how different and difficult they are. The bits about how they came to have their disabilities were a little harder to swallow, but not out of the realm of possibility I guess. It is a book that will stick with you long after you read the last page.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.
This was a very different book and not just because of the disabilities of the two main characters. I can't remember the last book I read with two male protagonists who are just friends. I really enjoyed the style of the book; I thought the letter format allowed Moritz and Ollie's voices to shine through. There were a few things that threw me off a bit, however. I enjoyed the stories of their lives and how different and difficult they are. The bits about how they came to have their disabilities were a little harder to swallow, but not out of the realm of possibility I guess. It is a book that will stick with you long after you read the last page.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.
A bit of a strange book in places...though you're not warned of it, it veers firmly into sci-fi territory, especially at the end. But over all, I loved it. Loved the characters. Stayed up too late finishing it and cried at the end like a doofus.
4.5 i'd say, actually
my attention span is short and my mind goes everywhere at once so if i sound spastic trying to get everything out that i even remember to say, i'm sorry lol
this story was very original—well, out of what i've personally read—and incredibly well-written. gah! SO well-written. writing styles like this are my absolute favorite and i die for them because they relate to me.
the character development!!!!!!!! i wouldn't necessarily call this coming-of-age but the development of the characters throughout the book still is up there, definitely.
oliver and moritz, two completely different boys from completely opposite places on earth, somehow find a way to spark friendship despite their incredibly different—and sometimes combative—personalities. they were definitely intriguing characters, though. they each had their own defining storyline that they somehow found a way to intertwine and i loved that.
admittedly, ollie was not innocent in the fact that he DID have his faults that contributed to the mental damage their relationship developed to be. being isolated from the world in almost every possible way had him stuck in his own world despite wanting explore what the rest of the world had to offer because he thought that it would never be possible for him. it wasn't something he, or even i as the reader, realized, until liz pointed it out. i was stuck in his world right along with him.
moritz. ah, my moritz. a refreshing character in the sense that, NO, he's not straight, as ollie immediately assumed of him, and, YES, he fell in love with ollie in a clichéd way, but NO they did not (and probably won't ever) end up together romantically in the end by some weird, unrealistic, amateur story-ending miracle.
(but who knows? ollie's never known anyone to explore his sexual and/or romantic attraction with except liz. there's many possible horizons left by the open ending)
i'm glad ollie was able to recognize mo's difference from him without being told and being able to accept it so easily. maybe it's because he's been so sheltered that sexuality seems like nothing to him, really. he's so very comfortable in his sexuality and in his friendship with mo that mo confessing his love for him did not deter him in any way. he took it in stride and that's one of the things that made me love his character the most.
mo's past was one that definitely took an unexpected turn for me. i didn't expect a real laboratory like ollie had fantasized and i didn't expect the mutations he thought he might've dreamt to actually be real within those children. the fact that they WERE makes the laboratory all the more crueler.
i wonder about his mother. what happened to her, truly? why couldn't she look at him? shame for turning him this way? shame for not loving him? shame for deviating from her path and becoming what she had? disassociation from all possible emotions? so much is left with her character that intrigues me. where did she go? she died? she didn't? such mystery.
owen and fieke. i felt their characters were underwritten, but that's not too surprising from first-person format. we never really get to know most of the background characters outside of ollie and mo's perception of them. i didn't really see the reason why owen was so mad that mo fled from his kiss, however that might've been the underwritten-ness coming into play there. that lacked premise for me to be able to understand owen and fieke's intense anger. but i digress.
all in all, i enjoyed this book, the eloquent writing style, and the characters within it immensely. i kind of felt ollie and mo spoke way beyond their years but they both had reason to and it was successful it not seeming unrealistic for their ages, which i applaud. the ending i was surprisingly not that upset with. maybe it's because i was honestly expecting one of them to die or commit suicide at the end (their lives DID seem incredibly bleak. loneliness is terrible and they each seemed at the epitome of it. but, thankfully, the story was ended on a hopeful note for each rather than a morbid one. but again, digressing). maybe it's due to the fact that i never expected them to meet at all in the first place, at least within the frame of the book. it's a premise already set. they're literally polar opposites and them meeting could be catastrophic to both of them. therefore, the way the novel ended actually pleased me. i'm glad ollie's going to see the world and step out of the sheltered-ness hindering his functionability so he can truly discover himself. i'm glad moritz has stepped away from being the self-deprecating, bitter young man we see in his first letter and is finding a place for himself where he can feel that he DOES deserve nice things and happiness. because he does. both him and ollie do.
i hope that in the world beyond the last chapter that they do meet and both live through it unharmed and happy.
definitely recommend this read.
my attention span is short and my mind goes everywhere at once so if i sound spastic trying to get everything out that i even remember to say, i'm sorry lol
this story was very original—well, out of what i've personally read—and incredibly well-written. gah! SO well-written. writing styles like this are my absolute favorite and i die for them because they relate to me.
the character development!!!!!!!! i wouldn't necessarily call this coming-of-age but the development of the characters throughout the book still is up there, definitely.
oliver and moritz, two completely different boys from completely opposite places on earth, somehow find a way to spark friendship despite their incredibly different—and sometimes combative—personalities. they were definitely intriguing characters, though. they each had their own defining storyline that they somehow found a way to intertwine and i loved that.
Spoiler
i didn't care for liz much, as a personality. as a character she was definitely integral. but, ollie had her on a pedestal while i thought she was pushy and ignorant instead of helpful to him. she pushed him to be just like the people in her world instead of accepting that he was different, and that blinded her when it really mattered, which shows during the camping incident. when she realized the true extent of what made ollie different from most people, she pushed him away and blamed him for something he couldn't help. i can never stomach stigma and discrimination. ollie was too reliant on her presence and that greatly hindered him when she was gone.admittedly, ollie was not innocent in the fact that he DID have his faults that contributed to the mental damage their relationship developed to be. being isolated from the world in almost every possible way had him stuck in his own world despite wanting explore what the rest of the world had to offer because he thought that it would never be possible for him. it wasn't something he, or even i as the reader, realized, until liz pointed it out. i was stuck in his world right along with him.
moritz. ah, my moritz. a refreshing character in the sense that, NO, he's not straight, as ollie immediately assumed of him, and, YES, he fell in love with ollie in a clichéd way, but NO they did not (and probably won't ever) end up together romantically in the end by some weird, unrealistic, amateur story-ending miracle.
(but who knows? ollie's never known anyone to explore his sexual and/or romantic attraction with except liz. there's many possible horizons left by the open ending)
i'm glad ollie was able to recognize mo's difference from him without being told and being able to accept it so easily. maybe it's because he's been so sheltered that sexuality seems like nothing to him, really. he's so very comfortable in his sexuality and in his friendship with mo that mo confessing his love for him did not deter him in any way. he took it in stride and that's one of the things that made me love his character the most.
mo's past was one that definitely took an unexpected turn for me. i didn't expect a real laboratory like ollie had fantasized and i didn't expect the mutations he thought he might've dreamt to actually be real within those children. the fact that they WERE makes the laboratory all the more crueler.
i wonder about his mother. what happened to her, truly? why couldn't she look at him? shame for turning him this way? shame for not loving him? shame for deviating from her path and becoming what she had? disassociation from all possible emotions? so much is left with her character that intrigues me. where did she go? she died? she didn't? such mystery.
owen and fieke. i felt their characters were underwritten, but that's not too surprising from first-person format. we never really get to know most of the background characters outside of ollie and mo's perception of them. i didn't really see the reason why owen was so mad that mo fled from his kiss, however that might've been the underwritten-ness coming into play there. that lacked premise for me to be able to understand owen and fieke's intense anger. but i digress.
all in all, i enjoyed this book, the eloquent writing style, and the characters within it immensely. i kind of felt ollie and mo spoke way beyond their years but they both had reason to and it was successful it not seeming unrealistic for their ages, which i applaud. the ending i was surprisingly not that upset with. maybe it's because i was honestly expecting one of them to die or commit suicide at the end (their lives DID seem incredibly bleak. loneliness is terrible and they each seemed at the epitome of it. but, thankfully, the story was ended on a hopeful note for each rather than a morbid one. but again, digressing). maybe it's due to the fact that i never expected them to meet at all in the first place, at least within the frame of the book. it's a premise already set. they're literally polar opposites and them meeting could be catastrophic to both of them. therefore, the way the novel ended actually pleased me. i'm glad ollie's going to see the world and step out of the sheltered-ness hindering his functionability so he can truly discover himself. i'm glad moritz has stepped away from being the self-deprecating, bitter young man we see in his first letter and is finding a place for himself where he can feel that he DOES deserve nice things and happiness. because he does. both him and ollie do.
i hope that in the world beyond the last chapter that they do meet and both live through it unharmed and happy.
definitely recommend this read.
Two teenage boys on opposite sides of the Atlantic write each other letters to connect with another teenager because they are both lonely. Their physical differences keep them from connecting with other teenagers. Their similarities are more than they realize and their relationship is more than they ever imagined. Very sweet novel of overcoming barriers and coping with difficulties.
I went into this thinking it was a standard contemporary epistolary and turns out it's actually got some very magical-realism-y vibes?? Not a bad surprise. :)
ETA: Upon further research, I'm reading a lot about how ableist this narrative is and I'm downgrading my rating.
ETA: Upon further research, I'm reading a lot about how ableist this narrative is and I'm downgrading my rating.
Yaay book 2 of the Booktube-A-Thon!
This one was REALLY slow/uninteresting in the start, but gets so much better the more you read. The characters really evolve and their voices become more enjoyable as they open up to each other more.
I enjoyed the fact that it's a letter narrative and to see two boys develop a real deep friendship. Though there are crazy elements in here (and I mean really like "WOOOOW WAIT WHAT???" crazy), the friendship was so real with its ups and downs and made this story so enjoyable.
And maybe made me tear up - a few times actually.
.
This one was REALLY slow/uninteresting in the start, but gets so much better the more you read. The characters really evolve and their voices become more enjoyable as they open up to each other more.
I enjoyed the fact that it's a letter narrative and to see two boys develop a real deep friendship. Though there are crazy elements in here (and I mean really like "WOOOOW WAIT WHAT???" crazy), the friendship was so real with its ups and downs and made this story so enjoyable.
And maybe made me tear up - a few times actually.
.
Wow. I just... there's no words for how I feel right now.
I really, really didn't expect this book to be like this? I know the cliche to "never judge a book by its cover" is a thing, but I can't think of any book's cover that has misled me so much since I read Anna and the French Kiss when I was 15. I thought, initially, this was a book about a boy and a girl falling in love, never to meet each other until some miracle. In ways, I'm write; there are some smaller miracles, and there is some love, but it's all quite muddy. And most importantly, it's not a boy and a girl, but a boy and a boy, both of whom grow and learn and change for what seems like an optimistic future. I'm so emotional over the entire journey; even more so, I'm emotional because there's a sequel, and it's even better rated on this site, and I'm going to face it soon. But, for now, I want to face this book and deal with the emotions I have and the gratefulness that there's a book like this masquerading as only one genre when it encompasses so many things within YA Lit that I love.
I'd decided pretty early on that Ollie and Moritz were now my adopted sons; Ollie, who appears bright, cheerful, and energetic, and Moritz, my sulky, depressed, closed-off son. Each boy seemed so special almost immediately, and I was enjoying the lightness of the story until, suddenly, it faded a bit. And in turn, we see lots of different aspects of (a potentially fantastical) adolescence; Ollie "faking the happy" and Moritz's distrust, and those aspects of anxiety and fear and depression which are all more difficult and common than I think we ever imagine they are in reality.
I wish I could go on pages of ranting for this book; I'm not as deft with words as either Moritz or Ollie, and I think that the book should speak for itself. Words hold their own power, as Moritz explains to Ollie; I think this novel will show you magic and reality in a way that I'm not sure I've seen the two blended before.
Looking forward to the next novel - but for now, I'm going to savor this one. Definitely a YA book that's special and has affected me, and perhaps that, too, is for the better.
I really, really didn't expect this book to be like this? I know the cliche to "never judge a book by its cover" is a thing, but I can't think of any book's cover that has misled me so much since I read Anna and the French Kiss when I was 15. I thought, initially, this was a book about a boy and a girl falling in love, never to meet each other until some miracle. In ways, I'm write; there are some smaller miracles, and there is some love, but it's all quite muddy. And most importantly, it's not a boy and a girl, but a boy and a boy, both of whom grow and learn and change for what seems like an optimistic future. I'm so emotional over the entire journey; even more so, I'm emotional because there's a sequel, and it's even better rated on this site, and I'm going to face it soon. But, for now, I want to face this book and deal with the emotions I have and the gratefulness that there's a book like this masquerading as only one genre when it encompasses so many things within YA Lit that I love.
I'd decided pretty early on that Ollie and Moritz were now my adopted sons; Ollie, who appears bright, cheerful, and energetic, and Moritz, my sulky, depressed, closed-off son. Each boy seemed so special almost immediately, and I was enjoying the lightness of the story until, suddenly, it faded a bit. And in turn, we see lots of different aspects of (a potentially fantastical) adolescence; Ollie "faking the happy" and Moritz's distrust, and those aspects of anxiety and fear and depression which are all more difficult and common than I think we ever imagine they are in reality.
I wish I could go on pages of ranting for this book; I'm not as deft with words as either Moritz or Ollie, and I think that the book should speak for itself. Words hold their own power, as Moritz explains to Ollie; I think this novel will show you magic and reality in a way that I'm not sure I've seen the two blended before.
Looking forward to the next novel - but for now, I'm going to savor this one. Definitely a YA book that's special and has affected me, and perhaps that, too, is for the better.
I don’t know my feelings on this book, but I didn’t hate it. Which sounds bad, but it’s not. It’s just left me feeling weird, but not in a bad way. Interesting story once you get into it, which did take some time. And took a turn I was not expecting.