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A review by florallyplaid
The Theory of Unrequited by Len Webster
4.0
☆☆☆☆
Oh, my! Where do I begin with AJ and Evan? This book took me through an endless, overwhelming windwhirl of emotions, a few of which I might not be able to put to words. But I'm not surprised; it's just Len's super power.
To start off, we're looking at life through the eyes of Alexandra Parker, a 17/18-year-old hard working student who's in love with the boy next door. However, her beloved Evan is completely oblivious to that fact. It's only the cherry on top to that messy situation that Evan's older brother, Kyle, is in fact completely head over heels in love with Alexandra.
This might seem like somewhat of a cliché storyline, but I guarantee you it has its own magical twists and turns that give off its unique, vibrant yet soothing aura. It emphasizes the importance of family, goes deep into the emotional side of love (other than only the physical) and strays away from the successful, flawless, alpha male MC. The Theory of Unrequited is special in its own way; it's a book you'd never come across twice in a lifetime.
Alexandra
or AJ, as Evan likes to call her when he's not being serious and heart-to-heart, is a smart, determined young girl who falls for her best friend. For the first time in her life, she has to choose between the life she has always painted for herself in her mind or give up everything she has ever dreamt of and follow the whimsical swoon of her heart and join her best friend/true love all the way across the country in a university she doesn't even really want.
The choice gets harder and lines grow blurry, especially for someone her age with little experience at love and life. She needs to set out her priorities, and she chooses her future over the love of her life, consequently threatening the fate of their already strained relationship.
Personally, I thought Alexandra is a somewhat strong character in her own way, going all in for big decisions like that, knowing how much she would have to give up in the process. She needed another chance, and she took it willingly, and she was well aware of how 'toxic love' could sometimes influence her decisions terribly.
On the other hand, Alexandra literally whorships the ground Evan walks on and forgives him for every mistake. He's a great guy, but I thought that he's also a bit selfish and egotistical and self-centred and he's completely oblivious to her feelings. He wrongs her more than a few times and exhausts all her chances, and he isn't supportive of her own choices in life.
Evan
Evan's childhood and past events are mostly his main drive. Being an unloved, unwanted child ever since he was born, he has been neglected, ignored, and he lacked the motherly touch he then later found in Alexandra's parents. Therefore, he sees her as no more than a sister and a true friend who stands by him through thick and thin, and in a way, he believes he owes it to her to give back what her parents have offered him, a solace.
Evan's changing emotions confuse him to no end, and he's torn between being faithful to his second parents and cherishing their daughter for the rest of her life, and letting his true feelings for her come to the surface. He can't admit he might be experiencing something else other than sisterly love for her only because the thought of it alone would be a tear through the complete trust her parents had given him from the start. He decides he needs to act fast and set his feelings straight, especially when, for the first time, he realises that Alexandra, whom he took for granted almost all his life, might actually be slipping through his fingers.
Evan's character is complicated and I can't tell if I like him or hate him. He's a good man, loyal, truthful, genuine and caring. He sees Alexandra in a different light from anyone else and treats her like a treasured prize, but still his past keeps haunting him, and the urge to run away from the city where he found no love or care from his own family takes over him. He hates his brother who stole the light from him and is their parents' favourite son, successful and happy and well-known across the state. It doesn't help that Kyle is in love with Alexandra. Evan slips, and we can see his true feelings for Alexandra at this point.
Yet, his burning desire to leave and never come back blinds him from the fact that he isn't putting his best friend's interests at best anymore, and he might be letting her parents down for real this time.
The story follows a steady pace of a dual alternating POV, flipping through a series of flashbacks that go deeper into the pair's pasts, until the big twist towards the end and the climax just after that. It's not a light read, based purely on the emotional connection between the characters rather than the usual story arc.
Overall, The Theory of Unrequited is a complicated, emotional story that will definitely leave you nursing a terrible book hangover and begging for more.
Oh, my! Where do I begin with AJ and Evan? This book took me through an endless, overwhelming windwhirl of emotions, a few of which I might not be able to put to words. But I'm not surprised; it's just Len's super power.
To start off, we're looking at life through the eyes of Alexandra Parker, a 17/18-year-old hard working student who's in love with the boy next door. However, her beloved Evan is completely oblivious to that fact. It's only the cherry on top to that messy situation that Evan's older brother, Kyle, is in fact completely head over heels in love with Alexandra.
This might seem like somewhat of a cliché storyline, but I guarantee you it has its own magical twists and turns that give off its unique, vibrant yet soothing aura. It emphasizes the importance of family, goes deep into the emotional side of love (other than only the physical) and strays away from the successful, flawless, alpha male MC. The Theory of Unrequited is special in its own way; it's a book you'd never come across twice in a lifetime.
Alexandra
or AJ, as Evan likes to call her when he's not being serious and heart-to-heart, is a smart, determined young girl who falls for her best friend. For the first time in her life, she has to choose between the life she has always painted for herself in her mind or give up everything she has ever dreamt of and follow the whimsical swoon of her heart and join her best friend/true love all the way across the country in a university she doesn't even really want.
The choice gets harder and lines grow blurry, especially for someone her age with little experience at love and life. She needs to set out her priorities, and she chooses her future over the love of her life, consequently threatening the fate of their already strained relationship.
Personally, I thought Alexandra is a somewhat strong character in her own way, going all in for big decisions like that, knowing how much she would have to give up in the process. She needed another chance, and she took it willingly, and she was well aware of how 'toxic love' could sometimes influence her decisions terribly.
On the other hand, Alexandra literally whorships the ground Evan walks on and forgives him for every mistake. He's a great guy, but I thought that he's also a bit selfish and egotistical and self-centred and he's completely oblivious to her feelings. He wrongs her more than a few times and exhausts all her chances, and he isn't supportive of her own choices in life.
Evan
Evan's childhood and past events are mostly his main drive. Being an unloved, unwanted child ever since he was born, he has been neglected, ignored, and he lacked the motherly touch he then later found in Alexandra's parents. Therefore, he sees her as no more than a sister and a true friend who stands by him through thick and thin, and in a way, he believes he owes it to her to give back what her parents have offered him, a solace.
Evan's changing emotions confuse him to no end, and he's torn between being faithful to his second parents and cherishing their daughter for the rest of her life, and letting his true feelings for her come to the surface. He can't admit he might be experiencing something else other than sisterly love for her only because the thought of it alone would be a tear through the complete trust her parents had given him from the start. He decides he needs to act fast and set his feelings straight, especially when, for the first time, he realises that Alexandra, whom he took for granted almost all his life, might actually be slipping through his fingers.
Evan's character is complicated and I can't tell if I like him or hate him. He's a good man, loyal, truthful, genuine and caring. He sees Alexandra in a different light from anyone else and treats her like a treasured prize, but still his past keeps haunting him, and the urge to run away from the city where he found no love or care from his own family takes over him. He hates his brother who stole the light from him and is their parents' favourite son, successful and happy and well-known across the state. It doesn't help that Kyle is in love with Alexandra. Evan slips, and we can see his true feelings for Alexandra at this point.
Yet, his burning desire to leave and never come back blinds him from the fact that he isn't putting his best friend's interests at best anymore, and he might be letting her parents down for real this time.
The story follows a steady pace of a dual alternating POV, flipping through a series of flashbacks that go deeper into the pair's pasts, until the big twist towards the end and the climax just after that. It's not a light read, based purely on the emotional connection between the characters rather than the usual story arc.
Overall, The Theory of Unrequited is a complicated, emotional story that will definitely leave you nursing a terrible book hangover and begging for more.