Review: The Love That Split The World by Emily Henry

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Title: The Love That Split the World

Series: N/A

Author: Emily Henry

Publisher: Razorbill

Publication Date: January 26, 2016

Pages: 396

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Paranormal

Source: Won book in a giveaway

Rating: 4.5

Synopsis

Natalie Cleary must risk her future and leap blindly into a vast unknown for the chance to build a new world with the boy she loves. 

Natalie’s last summer in her small Kentucky hometown is off to a magical start... until she starts seeing the “wrong things.” They’re just momentary glimpses at first—her front door is red instead of its usual green, there’s a pre-school where the garden store should be. But then her whole town disappears for hours, fading away into rolling hills and grazing buffalo, and Nat knows something isn’t right.

That’s when she gets a visit from the kind but mysterious apparition she calls “Grandmother,” who tells her: “You have three months to save him.” The next night, under the stadium lights of the high school football field, she meets a beautiful boy named Beau, and it’s as if time just stops and nothing exists. Nothing, except Natalie and Beau.

Emily Henry’s stunning debut novel is Friday Night Lights meets The Time Traveler’s Wife, and perfectly captures those bittersweet months after high school, when we dream not only of the future, but of all the roads and paths we’ve left untaken.

My Review

This book is brilliant! I have never read anything like it. This book will keep your mind churning trying to figure things out. This book is written as a contemporary, but with am alternate reality/time travel aspect.

What I liked

This book is diverse! I love, love, love this! The main character, Natalie, is of Native American descent and she was adopted by a Caucasian couple. Both of these things keep things diverse and original. Natalie's ancestry and her adoption are a big part of who she is and has a lot to do with how she lives her life and how she feels about herself. Also, mental illness is touched upon which only adds to the diversity.

I loved the alternate realities/time travel aspect of the book. I have honestly not read anything like this book before. I have always loved alternate reality and time travel stories. I don't think that there are enough young adult books in this vein of science fiction/paranormal.

I really loved seeing how mental illness was touched upon in the book. Natalie undergoes counseling and she sees people that are't there, or so she thinks. It comes across as mental illness initially until the alternate reality/time travel aspect develops. It was interesting to see how the people in Natalie's life treated her when they thought that she was having night terrors and seeing people that no one else could see. 

The characters are so well written. I instantly connected with them. They are described so vividly, and you really get to know their inner selves through the writing. Their passions, their addictions, their fears, everything is displayed brilliantly.

I adored the concept of two people from different realities falling in love. This whole concept is just so romantic, and tragic, and beautiful.

What I didn't like

Everything about this book was perfect to me except for the ending. It didn't provide enough closure for my liking. The ending is vague at best. We only get one tiny detail as to how the ending goes, and we don't even get all the information involving that. Everything else is up in the air. If the ending supplied more details about how things turned out, this book would be flawless.

Would I Recommend It

Yes, this book is fantastic! It is just a marvelous read that will leave you full of so many emotions. This book is wholly original and the diversity is top notch.

If you have read The Love That Split The World, what did you think? Did you like the alternate reality and time travel aspect to the book? What did you think of the ending? If you haven't read it, let me know what you've been reading lately!