Nowhere Near You {by Leah Thomas}

Title: Nowhere Near You
Author: Leah Thomas
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Series: Because You'll Never Meet Me, #2
Genre: YA Contemporary/SciF
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
source: NetGalley

Ollie and Moritz might never meet, but their friendship knows no bounds. Their letters carry on as Ollie embarks on his first road trip away from the woods--no easy feat for a boy allergic to electricity--and Moritz decides which new school would best suit an eyeless boy who prefers to be alone.
Along the way they meet other teens like them, other products of strange science who lead seemingly normal lives in ways Ollie and Moritz never imagined possible: A boy who jokes about his atypical skeleton; an aspiring actress who hides a strange deformity; a track star whose abnormal heart propels her to victory. Suddenly the future feels wide open for two former hermits. But even as Ollie and Moritz dare to enjoy life, they can't escape their past, which threatens to destroy any progress they've made. Can these boys ever find their place in a world that might never understand them?

Oh, how much I enjoyed reading Ollie and Moritz again. I was entranced by the first book, and while this wasn't quite to the level of that one, I still loved it so much. It was so good to see my faves again, as well as a whole cast of new characters that I loved getting to know.

Ollie has finally left his home in the woods on a mission to find more of kids like him, and tell their story. Moritz has to decide where to continue his schooling. Both of them have completely uprooted their lives, their only constant being the letters they write to each other.

Again, it takes a very talented writer to write an entire book in letters, and Leah Thomas is that. Both voices were very distinct, and you really got to see their character through the letters. While Moritz's letters were in present time, Ollie's actually lagged by a couple months at first. This wasn't confusing though. It added a sense of mystery and intrigue to what was actually happening, and I found myself wondering what was happening. While the beginning was a bit slow for me to get into (mostly because I forgot some Important Things that happened in book 1 and was a bit confused), once I got into the groove, I found myself needing to know what was happening.

This is a story of Ollie and Moritz finding their place in the world, and with each other. They have both seen some pretty bad things, but they are trying to figure out how to move on and live life. I found myself looking forward to Moritz's parts more in some places, but I still enjoyed both sides of the story that was being told. I also loved the new characters that we got introduced to and their stories.

So, in short, I loved this book. It's a story about messy lives and messy relationships and living and I adored it, just like I adore Ollie and Moritz.

Leah Thomas:

Twitter | Goodreads

Because You'll Never Meet Me {by Leah Thomas}

Title: Because You'll Never Meet Me

Author: Leah Thomas

Genre: YA Contemporary

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Source: NetGalley

 

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.

Wow. Guys, I loved this one. It was amazing. It was a wholly unique plot, which drew me in from the beginning. It was told with such a unique and strong voice that it's almost hard to believe that this is a debut.

This story is told in letters, which makes it all the more interesting. We follow two boys who live across the ocean from each other. Ollie lives in a cabin in the woods with just his mother, because he is allergic to electricity. He's missed out on all the normal childhood experiences. Moritz, while not a hermit, also has some...interesting issues that keep him from people. While he still has to go to school, he keeps to himself in hopes that people will not find out what is actually wrong with him. On top of that, his pacemaker means he and Ollie can never actually meet.

I love that this was a guy friendship book. I feel as if there's not nearly enough of those out there, and I really loved this bromance between the two. Thomas also managed to keep their voices distinct, which is a hard thing to do, especially in letter form. But she built up both the characters complexly, separately. Ollie is fun, quirky. Only having known a handful of people in his life, he doesn't adhere to normal social rules. I thought he was hilarious, although his super-happy outlook on life is often hiding his loneliness and despair. Ollie decides to write Moritz his autobiography of sorts, leading up to whatever happened with his friend, Liz. Moritz is a bit darker, closed in, he has a very cynical and angry outlook on life. I loved these characters, and I thought they were written very well. Both we complex and interesting and different.

But slowly, the boys begin opening up to each other, and become best friends. They help each other through dark times. Moritz is dealing with some serious bullying at school, and Ollie is spiraling deeper into despair over what happened with Liz. Both boys have some heavy baggage, and we slowly get to see it unfold. We get past rememberings with present happenings, and it all comes together to make one beautiful, complex story.

At the end, things come to light that take a turn from contemporary. Some people have said that it takes more of a Sci-Fi turn. I loved it. It wasn't what I was expecting, but it added an air of intrigue. I'm not sure that I would call it Sci-Fi, but just maybe not so realistic. I loved this book so much, and I'm not sure I was quite ready to say goodbye to Ollie and Moritz.

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Leah Thomas:

Twitter | Goodreads