Both of Me by Jonathan Friesen

April 23, 2015     erinbook     Book review

Both of Me by Jonathan Friesen 


Release Date: December 23, 2014
Publisher: Blink
272 Pages
Received: BookLook Bloggers
Format: Hardcover


Rating: 

2.5  Nuts
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Description: It was supposed to be just another flight, another escape into a foreign place where she could forget her past, forget her attachments. Until Clara found herself seated next to an alluring boy named Elias Phinn—a boy who seems to know secrets she has barely been able to admit to herself for years.
When her carry-on bag is accidentally switched with Elias’s identical pack, Clara uses the luggage tag to track down her things. At that address she discovers there is not one Elias Phinn, but two: the odd, paranoid, artistic, and often angry Elias she met on the plane, who lives in an imaginary world of his own making called Salem; and the kind, sweet, and soon irresistible Elias who greets her at the door, and who has no recollection of ever meeting Clara at all. As she learns of Elias’s dissociative identity disorder, and finds herself quickly entangled in both of Elias’s lives, Clara makes a decision that could change all of them forever. She is going to find out what the Salem Elias knows about her past, and how, even if it means playing along with his otherworldly quest. And she is going to find a way to keep the gentle Elias she’s beginning to love from ever disappearing again.
Review: I’d heard of this author, though I’d never read any of his work before. But I loved the cover and the premise sounded interesting so I accepted it for review. To be really honest the book was just…meh. When I was the book had a character with DID I immediately thought of Pretty Girl-13. The problem with this book is that it is no where near as gripping or engaging as Liz Coley’s.
With Pretty Girl-13 there’s a lot of suspense and mystery which is essential to keep the plot going. Both of Me doesn’t have that. You get a generic flawed girl who meets a weird boy and their stuff gets switched. There isn’t a whole lot to keep the reader interested. The DID is portrayed as “quirky” more than as what it is. I actually didn’t even recognize it as DID at first. I really didn’t like how Elias is portrayed.
As I said, the main girl is a sort of generic, flawed character. She lies to get money on the internet, there’s trouble at home, yada yada. Can we get a little personality here? I found her so bland! And of course she loves the “wacky” Elias. *headdesk* The more I think about it, the more annoyed I get.
This book could have been so much more than what I was. I needed some kind of suspense, something to keep me interested. As it was I found myself skimming a lot of the middle, and even part of the end. I kind of just wanted it to end, that’s not something I want to say about any book.
What did you guys think? Share in the comments!
Keep Reading!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.