Publishers Weekly
01/23/2023
Due to an early onset of the scientific phenomenon called the twinge—during which individuals experience a seizure when they’re exactly halfway throughout their lifespan—morose 16-year-old Flint Larsen has always known when he was going to die. After his parents spend their life savings trying to make the most of the short time he has left, Flint decides he wants to spend his final 41 days, nine hours, and 42 minutes in Carbon Junction, “the one place I knew wouldn’t leave my parents in debt.” His plan to quietly wait out his death is derailed, however, when he meets September Harrington, an irrepressibly cheerful teenage scientist whose goal is to cure the twinge. Flint declines to divulge that his life cycle is coming to an end, and as the two spend more time together, he finds himself enjoying his existence for the first time since he was eight years old. The narrative alternates between the pair’s perspectives, rendered in distinct, fluid-feeling prose by Bourne (You & Me at the End of the World), occasionally diverting attention away from Flint’s ever-present ticking clock and lowering the book’s sense of urgency. The novel’s assured emphasis on the difference between living and surviving presents a hopeful read. Characters cue as white. Ages 14–up. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
Praise for The Half-Life of Love
"In The Half-Life of Love, Brianna Bourne offers us a moving and enthralling story that reminds us that love lights our way as we all travel in death’s shadow." —Jeff Zentner, award-winning author of In the Wild Light and The Serpent King
"Every once in a while, you read a book so perfectly devastating that the only thing to do is shove it into the hands of all your friends and beg them, 'READ THIS.' This is that book. Flint and September’s unique story is filled with the kind of joy and heartache that reminds you what it is to be human, to love, to grieve, and—best of all—the kind that reminds you why you read to begin with." —Ashley Schumacher, author of Amelia Unabridged
Praise for You & Me at the End of the World
"An altogether lovely book about human connection and taking second chances—even when they might come on the heels of an apocalypse. A stellar debut." — Emily Henry, New York Times bestselling author of A Million Junes and Beach Read
"A nuanced exploration of loneliness and isolation, You & Me at the End of the World is about making connections with other humans and how extreme circumstances can connect us in extraordinary ways." —Marisa Reichardt, author of A Shot at Normal
"Romance fans will thrill to the slow smolder of their drawn-out attraction, which twists and turns its way through psychological drama..." — Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
2023-01-12
In a world nearly identical to our own, two teens struggle with tragedy.
Flint’s existence has unfolded under the shadow of a phenomenon in which people experience a twinge, or medical event, at the halfway point of their lives, revealing the exact date when they will die. Flint and his family have returned to his childhood home of Carbon Junction, where he half-lifed when he was in third grade. When the book opens, his death date is just 41 days, 9 hours, and 42 minutes away. Flint is reacting angrily to his heartbroken parents’ attempts to help, barely eating, and refusing basic comforts like warm clothing. Carbon Junction is also home to the Half-Life Institute, where the phenomenon is researched. September, a brilliant young woman who interns there, is grieving the death of her 4-year-old sister. At its heart a romance, this alternating narrative juxtaposition of a melancholy but beautiful boy clad in all black and a vibrant girl who only wears bright colors is a familiar opposites-attract setup. The tension between the two is drawn out at length, which should please fans of the genre. The science-fiction elements are less developed but still create a compelling premise that guides the plot and gives ample motivation to the sympathetic characters for the complicated decisions they must make. The main characters are cued White; there are some queer and racially and ethnically diverse secondary characters.
A thoughtful, heart-rending story of doomed first love. (Romance. 13-18)
