A review by readers_sea
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I loved Macy and Elliot's story so much.

Macy and Elliot meet when Macy and her father buy a "vacation home" in the small town where Elliot lives. They're still young, but immediately hit it off and become inseparable. Since Elliot lives there full time and Macy doesn't, their time together is sporadic and unpredictable sometimes,  but they always make the most of it when they are together. Growing up together, they saw each other grow a lot, and of course that led to first loves and other firsts.

This book is told in dual timelines. One timeline is the past when Macy and Elliot were younger and still getting to know each other. Throughout the book, we get to see them slowly grow up throughout this timeline. In the other timeline, we are in the present. The present starts a decade after Macy and Elliot last talked/saw each other. Their departure was abrupt and left a lot of questions for some characters. As the story unfolds we are leading up to the night ten years ago when they stop talking. We get to see what happened and what led them to where they are today.

This story was so well done and layered. I loved how it was told in dual timelines because I felt like both stories were unfolding perfectly. I was rooting for them in both timelines, but also so curious as to what led them to not talk for a decade after seeing how they were growing up together. This story had a lot going on, and I loved watching it all unfold. There were a lot of themes and subjects that were brought up that I wasn't expecting, but overall I really enjoyed it and these characters.

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