I’m going to be honest, I picked this book up purely for the cover. The synopsis was okay but nothing massively intriguing to me at the time, but this cover! I saw this book, and another one by Gavin Extence called The Empathy Problem, in a secondhand bookshop and my friend bought them both for me. I literally couldn’t leave them behind because they were both so beautiful! I have yet to read The Empathy Problem but I’m really looking forward to it now!
So, beautiful cover aside, what is the book actually about? We follow a young boy, Alex Wood, who was hit on the head by a meteorite as a child and is being raised by an eccentric fortune-telling mother. He meets an old man, Mr. Peterson, and they become an unlikely duo and come to care for each other. When Mr. Peterson has an unusual predicament, Alex helps him out and this results in them driving to Europe… If you want to know more you’ll have to read the book! As I think anything else spoils the essence of the plot.
The thing about this book is that the plot isn’t necessarily the main driving force. It’s an interesting and intriguing storyline, however, the main focus of the book is really Alex and his interactions and relationships. The writing is so beautiful, and slips easily into the mind and sticks there, making you think.
This book is so beautiful and one that I wish I heard more people talking about, an amazing coming of age novel which tackles so many different issues and I look forward to re-reading it in the future, along with other novels from Gavin Extence. 100% 5/5*****
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