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A review by arayofreading
More Than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer
3.0
**3 stars**
tw: parental abuse, bullying/harassment
This is difficult for me to rate. I loved [b:Letters to the Lost|30038855|Letters to the Lost (Letters to the Lost, #1)|Brigid Kemmerer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1464361740i/30038855._SY75_.jpg|45042926] so much, and so I was really excited to read this spin-off. And while there were definitely moments that I really loved, there were also a lot of things I think this book could have done better.
This book has two POVs, the first of which is Rev who is a survivor of abuse by his biological father. We only saw a little bit of Rev in Letters to the Lost, and so I loved getting to explore more of his character and backstory. His struggle to not follow the cycle of abuse and become his father is incredibly heartbreaking (seriously, don't read this book if you want to be happy) but his learning how to cope with it and seek help and guidance was inspiring. The highlight of the book was probably his and Declan's friendship and his relationship with his adoptive parents; they were so supportive and understanding, but also pushed Rev to grow. While I do think the resolution was a bit anti-climactic, I still think it wrapped up his journey nicely. I also wish his relationship with Matthew (his foster brother) was developed further, but I did like the direction it went.
The second POV was Emma, who is a gamer/coder that designs an online game that becomes popular. However, she becomes a target of online harassment as some guys don't like seeing a girl "invade" their space, while at the same she deals with parents going through a divorce. I thought her story had so much potential--a female protagonist who likes coding with important and relatable struggles--but it was not executed well. Emma is extremely rude and bratty to her best friend who does nothing wrong and is actually really supportive and understanding, as well as to her mom who is judgmental of Emma's gaming habits but also does not do anything wildly wrong either. Now, I don't mind a character being unlikable and doing bad things as long as the character grows in some way, but I did not see enough of that in Emma. Things were addressed, but it just didn't feel enough given her lack of empathy and judgment of other people.
Overall, while I think Emma's storyline could have been handled better, I think this book talks about serious topics that would be valuable to read about.
tw: parental abuse, bullying/harassment
This is difficult for me to rate. I loved [b:Letters to the Lost|30038855|Letters to the Lost (Letters to the Lost, #1)|Brigid Kemmerer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1464361740i/30038855._SY75_.jpg|45042926] so much, and so I was really excited to read this spin-off. And while there were definitely moments that I really loved, there were also a lot of things I think this book could have done better.
This book has two POVs, the first of which is Rev who is a survivor of abuse by his biological father. We only saw a little bit of Rev in Letters to the Lost, and so I loved getting to explore more of his character and backstory. His struggle to not follow the cycle of abuse and become his father is incredibly heartbreaking (seriously, don't read this book if you want to be happy) but his learning how to cope with it and seek help and guidance was inspiring. The highlight of the book was probably his and Declan's friendship and his relationship with his adoptive parents; they were so supportive and understanding, but also pushed Rev to grow. While I do think the resolution was a bit anti-climactic, I still think it wrapped up his journey nicely. I also wish his relationship with Matthew (his foster brother) was developed further, but I did like the direction it went.
The second POV was Emma, who is a gamer/coder that designs an online game that becomes popular. However, she becomes a target of online harassment as some guys don't like seeing a girl "invade" their space, while at the same she deals with parents going through a divorce. I thought her story had so much potential--a female protagonist who likes coding with important and relatable struggles--but it was not executed well. Emma is extremely rude and bratty to her best friend who does nothing wrong and is actually really supportive and understanding, as well as to her mom who is judgmental of Emma's gaming habits but also does not do anything wildly wrong either. Now, I don't mind a character being unlikable and doing bad things as long as the character grows in some way, but I did not see enough of that in Emma. Things were addressed, but it just didn't feel enough given her lack of empathy and judgment of other people.
Overall, while I think Emma's storyline could have been handled better, I think this book talks about serious topics that would be valuable to read about.