Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas

Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas
Series: No
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: July 2nd 2015
Source: Publisher [Netgalley]

Ollie and Moritz are best friends, but they can never meet. Ollie has a life-threatening allergy to electricity, and Moritz's weak heart requires a pacemaker. If they ever did meet, they could both die.

Living as recluses from society, the boys develop a fierce bond through letters that become a lifeline during dark times-as Ollie loses his only friend, Liz, to the normalcy of high school and Moritz deals with a bully set on destroying him. But when Moritz reveals the key to their shared, sinister past that began years ago in a mysterious German laboratory, their friendship faces a test neither one of them expected. 

Narrated in letter form by Ollie and Moritz-two extraordinary new voices-this story of impossible friendship and hope under strange circumstances blends elements of science fiction with coming of age themes, in a humorous, dark, and ultimately inspiring tale is completely unforgettable.

Because You'll Never Meet Me was an... odd read. Very, very different and strange. It follows two boys - Ollie and Moritz - who are both recluses due to their differences. I went into this book expecting a contemporary about two boys who find a friend in each other, but it was so much more.

The book is told in letters. Ollie and Moritz begin writing to each other after Ollie's doctor - Auburn-Stache - gives Ollie Moritz's address, hoping that they'll be able to help each other. Ollie lives out in the middle of the woods with his mother because he has an allergy to electricity. Being in the presence of something electrical causes him to have severe fits. Moritz has a weak heart and requires a pacemaker, along with something else that's unique about him that I don't want to mention because it'd spoil the book. The boys cannot meet each other because there's a chance both of them would die.

Because You'll Never Meet Me took me a while to get into. It took me almost a week to read, and most of that time was spent getting to the 50% mark. Honestly, to begin with, I had no idea what to think about the story. I wasn't particularly invested in either of the boys and the only reason I kept reading was to find out what had happened to the both of them. Around the 50% mark I finally felt myself being drawn in and starting to care about the characters. Their stories started to inter-twine and become more interesting, and I was looking forward to finding out what was really going on.

Parts of the story were hard to believe. Moritz uses echolocation to "see" things and people, and honestly, it was pretty hard to wrap my head around how much he could "see" just by clicking his tongue. But there was a pretty big plot twist that Mortiz was keeping back from Ollie, and I was pretty shocked when it was revealed. There'd been talk of labs and whatnot, but when Moritz revealed the truth, I was actually pretty shocked.

Both Ollie and Moritz go through a lot throughout the book, and they both help each other. They grew and changed with each letter, and it was lovely to see. The ending - even though it was kind of sad - was my favourite part. I had so much hope for Ollie at the end and I hope that one day he and Moritz will finally meet.

Overall, Because You'll Never Meet Me was a strange and unique read that I ended up enjoying by the end. It took me a while to get into, but I'd say it was worth it because I've never read a story quite like this before.