Tommy Wallach, the New York Times bestselling author of the “stunning debut” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) We All Looked Up, delivers a brilliant new novel about a young man who overcomes a crippling loss and finds the courage to live after meeting an enigmatic girl.
“Was this story written about me?”
I shrugged.
“Yes or no?”
I shrugged again, finally earning a little scowl, which somehow … no?”
I shrugged again, finally earning a little scowl, which somehow made the girl even more pretty.
“It’s very rude not to answer simple questions,” she said.
I gestured for my journal, but she still wouldn’t give it to me. So I took out my pen and wrote on my palm.
I can’t, I wrote. Then, in tiny letters below it: Now don’t you feel like a jerk?
Parker Santé hasn’t spoken a word in five years. While his classmates plan for bright futures, he skips school to hang out in hotels, killing time by watching the guests. But when he meets a silver-haired girl named Zelda Toth, a girl who claims to be quite a bit older than she looks, he’ll discover there just might be a few things left worth living for.
From the celebrated author of We All Looked Up comes a unique story of first and last loves.
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From the moment I picked up this book I knew that it was going to be a very good read. Tommy Wallach as a writer puts himself into all of his book, showing us what kind of personality that he has. I think that everyone should read this amazingly unique standalone book if they want a shortish romance, heart wrenching, fun book.
The description of this story is very intriguing and it sounds so interesting, the cover is also very beautiful and simple, to be honest, I actually didn’t notice the cover. I know that sounds really bad but I honestly didn’t, it was only after I read the book I looked at the cover and was like oh that’s nice. It had no factor for me reading this clearly. But regardless of me not noticing it, the cover is actually very beautiful and simple and it’s one of the things I love about covers. His covers always seem simple and that is something I love.
We follow a boy named Parker who is mute, and a girl called Zelda who says she is immortal and it’s a very interesting story and plot. How they first meet is truly amusing, it’s the fact he robbed her but then left his journal behind so had to go back for it. The fact they meet like this and she isn’t mad or angry it’s so funny, you couldn’t ever imagine anything like that happening in real life. But that’s how they met and I think it’s a beautiful meeting and the story just goes from there.
Parker, I fell in love with immediately his character and the fact he was a writer made it ten times more relatable I always love it in stories when characters write it just reminds me of how much I love writing so seeing it in a story. Seeing how much a character can struggle or do it in a story just it makes me smile. Parker had a charm although he didn’t actually speak his personality showed very well and it showed through the writing in this novel.
Zelda, I love Zelda’s character but I for the life of me can’t tell what she said was true or not, like I’m stumped I kind of believe it, then I kind of don’t. It’s so hard to decide if it was true or not and I think that is the part of her character that is so endearing and you just want to read on and find out more about her.
Zelda managed to show Parker a different world from the recluse one he was living in, and her showing him it was such a nice story and to be able to see him grow and experience stuff outside his world. This is the part where I kind of believe Zelda immortality thing, the things she experienced and to be able to show and tell this to Parker it makes it more believable. Zelda was experiencing her last love whereas Parker was experiencing his first.
I can’t decide if the story was heartbreakingly sad, I kind of saw where the end was going and I was okay with that, because if you believe the immortal story which part of me does. Then Zelda lived a full life and I understood living forever can be horrible so I agree with the decision for her to do. And although it was sad I wasn’t bawling my eyes out sad.
Tommy’s writing is amazing and so easy to get along with, I love his writing and I fell in love with his writing in his first book but this one it reminded me even more of why I loved his writing. When he does bring out his 3rd novel I will read it, I think I’ll always read his writing. Just something about it is beautifully and magical and I love it.