One HELLO can change a life. One HELLO can save a life.
Tricia: A girl struggling to find her way after her beloved grandma's death.
Emerson: A guy who lives his life to fulfill promises, real and hypothetical.
Angie: A girl with secrets she can only express through poetry.
Brenda: An actress and screenplay writer afraid to confront her past.
Brian: A potter who sets aside his life for Tricia, to the detriment of both.
Linked and transformed by one phone call, Hello? weaves together these five Wisconsin teens' stories into a compelling narrative of friendship and family, loss and love, heartbreak and healing, serendipity, and ultimately hope.
Told from all five viewpoints: narration (Tricia), narration (Emerson), free verse poetry (Angie), screenplay format (Brenda), narration and drawings (Brian).
Review
Multiple narratives are a bit hit and miss for me. I love using this technique myself, but I've never done anything more than three perspectives. This is in large part, because I've read a few books before that have several view points, and it doesn't always work. However, whenever I see a book that does have a lot of perspectives, I tend to have my interest heightened, and if the story looks good, I'll usually pick it up.
This, along with the promise of not just multiple narratives, but some interesting narrative styles as well, such as free verse poetry and drawings, had me excited about this book.
For me, Hello?, pulled off the multiple narratives effortlessly. I loved how all the styles blended together. How links between the people slowly started to emerge.
On top of that, I loved all the characters.
In multi narrative pieces, you run the risk of having a character or two, who are as captivating. I've read books before, where I want to skip over certain characters chapters, because I'm way more invested in whats going on with others. With this book, you don't get that urge to skin over any chapters. All of the characters are interesting, with interesting things going on in their lives, and everything ties together really well. So I didn't ever find myself bored, and wanting to skip onto someone else's story.
On top of this wonderful blend of stories and styles. You have the storyline itself. Tied together with all the right emotions. This book easily pulled me in, and held on until the very last page.
Sweet moments, sad moments, and everything in between. This book weaves emotions together beautifully. I highly recommend it.
Rating
10/10
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