I’m in a melancholy mood, and this book is part of the reason. The three main characters—Adri in 2065, Catherine in 1934, and Lenore in 1919—are all aching for something, some intangible piece to make their lives feel whole. And this makes you ache with them, which I guess is a good sign of a well-written book.
The characters in this book were very well-rounded. The real setting of the book is in the future, and Adri is getting ready to leave to settle Mars. However, before she goes, she must spend her last three months with a distant cousin she’s never met. While there, she finds Catherine’s letters from the 1934 Dust Bowl era, and within those letters are another set of letters from Lenore in 1919 Britain after WWI to her best friend, Catherine’s mother. The layering of so many different stories does not seem strained and the progressions though them are very natural. The characters have a tenuous connection, but their aches for something more, some more fulfilling connection is a constant pulse throughout the book.
My only concern about this book is that it’s more of a thinking and processing book, meaning the characters are constantly talking about what they are thinking and whether or not it matters in the grade scheme of things. Yes, there are young adult readers who do enjoy a slower paced novel, but the target audience is very narrow. Most young adults I know want action or larger-than-life characters instead of a let’s-think-about-the-meaning-of-life main character.
Overall, it’s not a bad read, just be prepared for a downer.
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