Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas Review

Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas  

“There were things you would always be powerless to change…even if you are powerless, your words are not.”

Ollie is a 14 year old who is allergic to electricity, he lives in a cabin in the woods and apart from his mother and doctor he doesn’t really have anybody else. That is until his doctor gets him a pen pal from Germany who is 16 year old Moritz. Mo has a pacemaker to help his heart work and it’s electronic so if they were to meet – Ollie would die or Mo would die without his pacemaker.

The story is told through the numerous letters that the boys write to each other and the writing style is so on point. Reading the book you can just see the characters getting to know each other and become friends and when there are sad parts – it was just so real and heartbreaking. The story probably isn’t what you’ll expect; it’s not all cute and fluffy.  The story for most parts alternates between the 2 characters and there is a clear distinct difference between their writing styles which I loved as it showed their personalities. It was also apart from some sections was told in a chronological order. The story also focused on what the characters did during the week – so context for their story was added. 

I love the voices that told the story – the book just felt so realistic as if I was there with them. Ollie at first is so full of life and just full of happiness, he babbles on a lot and it’s so nice to see someone being happy when they’re trapped in this situation. He is very different to Mo who is very negative and hurtful towards Ollie at first because he’s such a closed and complicated character. As the story goes on we find out that Ollie has gone through an experience that has left him depressed and also a lot of his past is hidden from him. On the other hand Mo is at first very closed then he opens up and then he goes back to being closed – his cycle is similar to Ollie’s however Ollie’s starts with him having gone through the first two steps already. I guess that’s why they clicked so well together because they understood something about what the other had gone through.

The big reveal or twist near the end was for me totally unexpected and really interesting to read. We get an insight into Mo’s early years and how it affected him. It’s a weird and drastic change from the first section which shows the difference as it goes from realistic fiction to science fiction. 

The romance for the book is more complicated as it’s shown that the boys both have their own love interests but their feelings for each other are left hanging.

★★★★☆