We Contain Multitudes

I thoroughly enjoyed a good chunk of the novel. If you can suspend disbelief (which I did) that two teenage boys are writing to each other this way, there's some really beautiful writing. Authentic? Maybe not. But really lovely lines and sentiments. I got so swept up in the passion that develops between them, and by golly was I rooting for these two. I think that's why it hit me so hard when everything explodes. It seemed like the character motivations got way off track at some point. I loved the epistolary format, but I think if the letters had been interspersed with short chapters it would have been just as effective. Especially since it didn't make sense that they would spend so long writing a scene-by-scene replay for the other person when that person was actually there. After the first quarter of the book I was all set for a five star review, so I suppose I did end up being disappointed in the long run. Overall, I'd call it an achingly romantic read for (mature) teens who care about language more than reality.