A sweet story of first love with a fun, light science fiction twist.
A sweet story that combines the hell of high school, the overpowering of emotions during adolescence, finding oneself, and first love in a charming mix of everyday life and light science fiction.
Caleb suddenly finds himself feeling the emotions of everyone around him and the only one who calms him, despite feeling some serious things himself, is Adam. Adam is a loner mostly because he has some serious depression who constantly finds himself overwhelmed by social interactions, which doesn't keep him from having the biggest crush on Caleb. They'd been in the same school for years but had never actually talked to each other, so it was interesting to see how their interactions begin. It's sweet and realistic and you spend half the book just wishing they'd actually talk to each other instead of assuming they know what the other is thinking.
Shippen really put the effort into portraying what depression and other overwhelming feelings feel like and you're right there with Adam when he's in a deep flare or with Caleb when he wants to punch a bully that certainly deserves it.
The whole Atypical angle of the story is interesting and it's the thing that pushes Caleb and Adam together, but, honestly, the first love/teenage love story is mostly what kept me reading.
Both Caleb and Adam were a delight to follow and Shippen really does a fantastic job at bringing the awkwardness of teens to life. It's a solid story with compelling elements and a relatable message.
Caleb suddenly finds himself feeling the emotions of everyone around him and the only one who calms him, despite feeling some serious things himself, is Adam. Adam is a loner mostly because he has some serious depression who constantly finds himself overwhelmed by social interactions, which doesn't keep him from having the biggest crush on Caleb. They'd been in the same school for years but had never actually talked to each other, so it was interesting to see how their interactions begin. It's sweet and realistic and you spend half the book just wishing they'd actually talk to each other instead of assuming they know what the other is thinking.
Shippen really put the effort into portraying what depression and other overwhelming feelings feel like and you're right there with Adam when he's in a deep flare or with Caleb when he wants to punch a bully that certainly deserves it.
The whole Atypical angle of the story is interesting and it's the thing that pushes Caleb and Adam together, but, honestly, the first love/teenage love story is mostly what kept me reading.
Both Caleb and Adam were a delight to follow and Shippen really does a fantastic job at bringing the awkwardness of teens to life. It's a solid story with compelling elements and a relatable message.