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A review by celia_thebookishhufflepuff
The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson
5.0
WOW! I did not expect to feel this much, and I honestly thought I wouldn't like this book, or that it would just be a stupid teen road trip novel like so many of them are. It was so much more than that. Friendship is the key element of the story, but you can see that even from the plot description. What I didn't realize was that it would also be about family, and about secrets, and everything else.
From the very beginning of the book, I loved Destiny's character. She thought she had everything figured out, but she was never cocky about that. She kept herself closed up, but wasn't an annoying or unreliable narrator. I also liked Mira's contrast to her, and I'm glad that she was more of a part of the story. From the beginning, she tried to be happy and make people feel better, and that stood out against Des's stubborn alone-ness.
I like that there was no unnecessary or extra information around the beginning. There were two short chapters introducing the characters, but we got much more of a sense of them from the story itself. The four main characters were on the road within 30 pages from the beginning of the book, and they were trying to make things happen. The characters furthered the story, and the setup was done really well.
***The next paragraph contains some spoilers. Read at your own risk.***
I also loved the emphasis this story had on coincidences, even referencing some historical ones to emphasize this theme. In some ways it made the characters and their experiences a lot more relateable.
This is the first novel I recall reading that truly takes place in a single day. I've always wondered how that would work, how a writer could express all the feelings and hardships of a full story in that short amount of time. Pearson does this amazingly well.
Anyway, I think everyone should read this. I had a lot of fun with it. It will definitely go on my rereads shelf, and I want to find more books by [a:Mary E. Pearson|123463|Mary E. Pearson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1528497378p2/123463.jpg]. I hope I like her other writing as much.
From the very beginning of the book, I loved Destiny's character. She thought she had everything figured out, but she was never cocky about that. She kept herself closed up, but wasn't an annoying or unreliable narrator. I also liked Mira's contrast to her, and I'm glad that she was more of a part of the story. From the beginning, she tried to be happy and make people feel better, and that stood out against Des's stubborn alone-ness.
I like that there was no unnecessary or extra information around the beginning. There were two short chapters introducing the characters, but we got much more of a sense of them from the story itself. The four main characters were on the road within 30 pages from the beginning of the book, and they were trying to make things happen. The characters furthered the story, and the setup was done really well.
***The next paragraph contains some spoilers. Read at your own risk.***
Spoiler
I guessed from the point that the plane was mentioned that this might turn out to be like [b:We Were Liars|16143347|We Were Liars|E. Lockhart|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1402749479s/16143347.jpg|21975829], where a character is denying death. The front cover includes praise by [a:E. Lockhart|173491|E. Lockhart|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1399077200p2/173491.jpg], although [b:The Miles Between|6326889|The Miles Between|Mary E. Pearson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1312028710s/6326889.jpg|6512483] was published five years before [b:We Were Liars|16143347|We Were Liars|E. Lockhart|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1402749479s/16143347.jpg|21975829]. In all honesty, I'm not sure why the latter received the hype that it did when this one was so much more well written. Although the books take place under different circumstances, these central themes were the same, but [a:Mary E. Pearson|123463|Mary E. Pearson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1528497378p2/123463.jpg] ends this book with a lot more closure than Lockhart does with her book. Because of what happens at the end at the school, there is truly a happy ending to this book, despite the harrowing experiences the characters undergo throughout the story. I really appreciated that.I also loved the emphasis this story had on coincidences, even referencing some historical ones to emphasize this theme. In some ways it made the characters and their experiences a lot more relateable.
This is the first novel I recall reading that truly takes place in a single day. I've always wondered how that would work, how a writer could express all the feelings and hardships of a full story in that short amount of time. Pearson does this amazingly well.
Anyway, I think everyone should read this. I had a lot of fun with it. It will definitely go on my rereads shelf, and I want to find more books by [a:Mary E. Pearson|123463|Mary E. Pearson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1528497378p2/123463.jpg]. I hope I like her other writing as much.