Natalie and Dan were electric from the moment they met. Witty banter and sizzling chemistry made falling in love easy, inevitable. He was in awe of her subversive art and contagious zest for life; she was drawn to his good-guy charm and drive to succeed as a documentary filmmaker.
But that was before. Before a few little lies turned to broken trust. Before hot tempers turned to blowout arguments. Before a hundred tiny slights broke them open and exposed the ugly truth of their relationship.
And now Natalie wants Dan to know just how much he broke her.
Over the course of one fateful day, Dan reads the sixteen letters that Natalie has secretly, brilliantly, hid in places only he would find. As Dan pieces together the story she’s trying to tell, he realizes that Natalie has one more message for him. And it just might send his carefully-constructed life tumbling down. (Pub Date: Jul 25, 2017)
Review based on an ARC provided by Edelweiss. I also want to thank the publisher for giving me this opportunity.
Reminding me of Thirteen Reasons Why, this story followed Natalie's many letters to Dan as she retold their story, intercalating with her ex-boyfriend Dan's own interpretation of the happenings. This isn't a romance, this isn't a drama.
Why the comparison? Not only the letters but Natalie's tone also reminisced Hannah's, as a bonus, she tended to visit the places things had happened. Moreover, Dan knew he had played an important part in the breakup even though it isn't immediately clear to us at first.
To be honest, this was entertaining at the same time it felt refreshing having a contemporary YA that proposed to discuss a relationship without being either romantic or tragic. This is a relationship that went wrong, and Natalie's sixteen letters will elucidate how. I was surprised when I finished and checked the low average the book has received.
I can't say I loved the characters as people but I loved how the author built the two. Both Natalie and Dan are insecure to the point of being insensitive to each other's insecurity. And there is a great theme for a group reading—toxic relationships. Everything that happened between the two sounded very real to me, I'm sure any reader could identify with the situation.
And wow, Natalie's letters had a tone that really kept me pierced to my Kindle. It felt like anything was possible as the book went on. What will be her grand finale?, I'd ask myself while placing my bets.
This is where the book lost a star. While it was a four-star reading for 95%, could have even gotten a five, the ending was so lacking I considered shaking my e-reader to see if it hadn't hidden some chapter, anything to tell me that wasn't it. It's the kind of ending that burns it all down, I didn't want to kill the writer or anything. Nevertheless, for a story bringing such a quirky tone, the conclusion was too average. And definitely rushed. I even wonder whether the last pages weren't added after someone complained about how sudden it ended.
Either way, this was good, this was different, this was entertaining. A real pity it had such an unforgivable flaw as was this ending.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
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