More Than We Can Tell – Review

Back in June, I read Letters to the Lost, the first book in this series by Brigid Kemmerer. When I realized there was a book about Rev, Declan’s best friend in Letters to the Lost, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. After our summer vacation, I requested this through Interlibrary loan and finally got a chance to read it.

As expected, this book was wonderful! Kemmerer has such a realistic way of crafting the young adult voices in these two books. Her characters never make the story cheesy, which is a big feat for this genre. I haven’t found many YA books enjoyable in the past couple of years, but this author keeps me coming back for more. These books remind me of all of the emotions I would have felt myself during high school – the good and the bad, in the best possible way.

BLURB:

Rev Fletcher is battling the demons of his past. But with loving adoptive parents by his side, he’s managed to keep them at bay…until he gets a letter from his abusive father and the trauma of his childhood comes hurtling back.

Emma Blue spends her time perfecting the computer game she built from scratch, rather than facing her parents’ crumbling marriage. She can solve any problem with the right code, but when an online troll’s harassment escalates, she’s truly afraid.

When Rev and Emma meet, they both long to lift the burden of their secrets and bond instantly over their shared turmoil. But when their situations turn dangerous, their trust in each other will be tested in ways they never expected. This must-read story will once again have readers falling for Brigid Kemmerer’s emotional storytelling.

My favorite things about these books are the added elements of suspense that push the plot forward continuously. I’m always eager to see what happens next, making these quick, easy reads. Not to mention the great friendship between Declan and Rev. These guys melt my heart into a giant puddle.

I was anxious to learn more about Rev’s back story and see what events transpired before Letters to the Lost to make him the way he was. He’s the (kind of) emo dude in school that people loved to make fun of, simply because they couldn’t figure him out. I love these types of characters because there’s always hidden angst and a soft gooey center. The cards he was dealt in life were truly heartbreaking, but this made him an even more realistic character.

My only complaint is that it felt as if Declan and Rev switched personalities in this story. I expected to see more of the Rev we saw in the previous story, but instead, he came across like a completely new character in some instances. Declan played the role that Rev played in the last book, but that didn’t mean they needed to switch personalities.

The most important pattern with the two books are the wide range of relevant topics the stories cover. I think Letters to the Lost and More Than We Can Tell could both be very healing books for young people. The characters are comforting in the way real-life friends can be and Brigid Kemmerer’s writing is spectacular. I wouldn’t hesitate to read another book in this series, about Matthew (fingers crossed).

Rating: 4 stars

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